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Ha-kyun Shin, Baek Yun-shik, Hwang Jeong-Min, Lee Jae-Yong, Lee Ju-Hyeon ... see more see more... , Ki Ju-Bong , Yun-Shik Baek , Jeong-min Hwang , Jae-yong Lee , Ju-hyeon Lee , Ju-bong Gi , Mu-hyeon Lee , Roe-ha Kim , Shin Ha-Gyun , Hwang Jung-Min

The genre-bending black comedy sci-fi thriller Save the Green Planet! marks the feature debut of writer/director Jang Jun-hwan. Shin Ha-kyun of Joint Security Area stars as Byun-gu, an eccentric beeke... read more read more...eper who, with the help of his tightrope walker girlfriend, Sooni (Hwang Jeong-min), kidnaps a powerful and successful businessman, Man-sik (Baek Yun-shik). Byun-gu believes that Man-sik is an alien from the planet Andromeda, one of many hiding among us and plotting to destroy the Earth in a few days. Amphetamine-popping Byun-gu sees himself as the planet's last hope, and sets about torturing Man-sik with relish, trying to convince him to contact the "Royal Prince" and call off Armageddon. A battle of wits and wills ensues, with Man-sik trying to convince his captors that he's human and attempting to escape. Man-sik recognizes Byun-gu as a disgruntled former employee whose comatose mother suffers from a mysterious illness. It begins to seem that Byun-gu's true motivation may be personal, but he's still ruthlessly determined to get Man-sik to confess and cooperate, even if he has to risk killing him. Meanwhile, a disheveled detective, Chu (Lee Jae-yong), and his young acolyte, Inspector Kim (Lee Ju-hyeon), discover that the person who kidnapped Man-sik may have struck several times before, always with deadly results. The distinctly offbeat Save the Green Planet! was a box-office flop in South Korea, but it won some acclaim on the festival circuit. The film had its U.S. premiere at the 2004 New York Korean Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Flixster Users

86% liked it

7,042 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

39 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Jun-hwan Jeong

Release Date: January 1, 2004

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DVD Release Date: September 6, 2005

Stats: 597 reviews

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Know Kung-Fu? Shin Ha-kyun Baek Yun-shik Shin Ha-kyun
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Flixster Reviews (597)

  • fb1216165431
    October 6, 2011
    fb1216165431
    Bizarrely impressive, Save The Green Planet! is an obtrusive South Korean hybrid of ridiculous mystery, grotesque suspense, odd romance, eccentric science fiction, and dark humor that follows the dangerous obsession of a man with the extraterrestrial. Save The Green Planet! may b... read moree corrupt, but the inventive original idea is preposterously remarkable that frankly created a new genre, which Save The Green Planet! selfishly occupy. Organized chaos.
  • arashxak
    November 12, 2009
    arashxak
    What a delight, A multi-genre film that successfully twists your emotions & thoughts, Not just some random images and actually an Impressive & thought-provoking experience
  • SirPant
    September 22, 2009
    SirPant
    Bonkers as anything and sometimes a little hard to follow, but overall brilliantly bizarre.
  • kiriyamakazou
    May 20, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Save the Green Planet is a film that refuses to be defined by a single genre and goes against what you may have come to expect from cinema. It's true originality packaged in comfortable surroundings. The story may sound like a comedy but this is hard hitting, thought provoking an... read mored at times, difficult to watch. The film keeps us guessing as to whether the aliens exist, it's all the ravings of a madman, or maybe a bit of both. It deals with human nature in a frank and unsettling way. We are given a protagonist that we gradually become more and more distant from. The comedy is very dark but not so much that it isolates the viewer. One scene has a character shoot at a swarm of bees in a sad attempt stop them from attacking. The film laughs at this action by showing a couple of bees fall to the ground dead. This one moment sums up one of the main points of postponing the inevitable. To say what the film is truly about is to give away the ending. A film that demands another watch.
  • garyX
    November 26, 2008
    garyX
    A disgruntled ex-factory worker kidnaps the CEO of his former employer, convinced that he is an evil alien out to destroy the world in one week's time. But then again, he could just be a delusional lunatic...This complete fruitloop of a film is unlike anything else you are going ... read moreto see. For most of the film it's like a semi-comic version of Misery as Byung-gu sadistically tortures the man while a similarly oddball cop who's been demoted to kitchen duty tries to track him down. Then as a ploy to escape, his victim concocts a Usual Suspects style history of the planet consisting of every pop culture sci-fi story combined with pre-history, myth and religion. And then it just gets WEIRD! Starting off as a cross between Seven and Misery and ending up like The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, this has got to be one of the best sci-fi-comedy-horror-serial killer movies I've seen....Totally hatstand.
  • kenstachnik
    June 10, 2008
    kenstachnik
    Soooo much fun. A delightful, silly, scary, funny and completely entertaining film
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    August 10, 2007
    DragonEyeMorrison
    A unique cinematic experience in the best way possible. A film that joyfully jumps from one genre to another with such tight precision and timing that it's amazing this was the first film from it's director. While another film would have choked trying to incorporate so many genre... read mores, the way STGP gets away with it has to be seen to believe.

    There is some bloodshed, but this is hardly a gore cheap-fest, there is drama, very dark comedy, sci-fi and even some kung fu trow in the mix. At the core the film actually contains a very strong social commentary. A shame that many will see this just as a mindless experiment in genre-fusion, when it's actually a whole lot more than that. An absolute must see.
  • Saxia
    August 1, 2007
    Saxia
    One of the weirdest movies I've ever seen! A surprising combination of humor, horror and drama.
  • gator681
    April 24, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic][color=green]"Save the Green Planet!" is a movie from South Korea which starts out with Byeong-gu(a beekeeper and mannequin maker) and his loyal sidekick, Sooni(a tightrope walker), kidnapping Kang, an executive of a chemical factory. Byeong-gu believes Kang... read more to be an alien from Andromeda and tortures him about an upcoming visit from an alien prince. So, obviously he's insane, right?("Somewhere over the Rainbow" is an often-played refrain.) [/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#008000][/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#008000]"Save the Green Planet!" is a wild, cracked, irreverent movie with a twisted sense of humor and a tender heart undeneath everything. It is also quite visually impressive. On the one hand, it is very violent but it is also anti-violence. It seems to think torture is not the best way to get to know someone. And I loved the ending.[/color][/font]
  • lesleyanorton
    May 13, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    Part Old Boy style hostage gore thriller, part eco-logical sci fi, part quirky comedy. Mad-as-a-loon Byung-Gu with his tightrope-walker girlfriend-sidekick captures the CEO of a large chemical company, and tries to torture him into confessing he's an alien from Andromeda and out... read more to destroy the world (before the police resue him or the next lunar eclipse, whichever comes first). It's all true you know.

View All Save The Green Planet Reviews

Critic Reviews

Andrea Gronvall
June 6, 2007
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

Punk graphics and a snaking camera add zest to the story, which is alternately heartbreaking, suspenseful, and darkly funny. Full Review

Murray Whyte
July 22, 2005
Murray Whyte, Toronto Star

Demented yet somehow humane, Save The Green Planet is a visually ingenious hybrid melding horror, black comedy, revenge thriller and science fiction into an unpredictable, cohesive whole. Full Review

Jennie Punter
July 22, 2005
Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail

Entertaining, visually inventive and truly out-there. Full Review

Ruthe Stein
May 13, 2005
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle

There's a very human story within the one involving possible space aliens. Full Review

Richard James Havis
April 29, 2005
Richard James Havis, Hollywood Reporter

The film's success is mainly down to its vibrant energy. Cinematography is zappy, making much use of tricky visual effects, and performances are manic.

Elizabeth Weitzman
April 22, 2005
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

Somehow, Jang manages to meld shocking sadism, slapstick laughs and a poignant political plea into a head-spinning trip that, it seems safe to say, is like none you've taken before. Full Review

Derek Elley
April 21, 2005
Derek Elley, Variety

Works on a variety of levels, from gruesome slapstick comedy through social critique to genuinely chilling Grand Guignol. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
April 20, 2005
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

A dog named Earth and aliens both domestic and imported rotate around one another in this self-consciously freaky, rambunctiously goofy genre hybrid from South Korea. Full Review

Gene Seymour
April 20, 2005
Gene Seymour, Newsday

Unlike just about every other American action movie, this film knows how to embrace momentum without sacrificing challenges to the mind or the soul. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
April 20, 2005
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Makes you wonder just what new talent the increasingly inventive and idiosyncratic Korean cinema is going to give us next. Full Review

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