Save the Green Planet

2004

Save the Green Planet

Critics Consensus

A funny and wildly inventive hybrid of various genres, Save the Green Planet! is definitely a unique viewing experience.

Save the Green Planet Photos

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Movie Info

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 beekeeper 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.

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Art House & International, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Directed By:

Jang Jun-Hwan, Jang Joon-Hwang, Jang Joon-hwan
Written By:

Jang Joon-Hwang, Jang Joon-hwan, Jang Jun-Hwan
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 2004 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Sep 6, 2005
Runtime:

116 minutes
Studio:

Koch Lorber Films

Cast

Shin Ha-kyun

Shin Ha-Gyun
as Lee Byeong-Gu

Baek Yun-shik
as Kang Man-Shik

Jung-min Hwang
as Sooni

Lee Jae-Yong
as Detective Chu

Paek Yun-Sik

Joo-hyun Lee
as Detective Kim

Lee Ju-Hyeon

Ki Ju-Bong
as Detective Lee

Kim Dong-hyun
as Tae Shik

Kwang-shik Kim
as Detective Seo

Won Woong-Jae
as Detective Jang

Ye Soo-Jung
as Byeong-Gu's Mother

Jang Young-Joo
as Old Byeong-Gu's Father

Jung Bohoon
as Ji Won

Son Jong-Hwan
as Sooni's Father

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Critic Reviews for Save the Green Planet

All Critics (41) | Top Critics (16) | DVD (1)

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

Jun 6, 2007 | Full Review…

Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
The film oscillates between wild humour, suspense, horror and pathos, sometimes all in one shot. It's quite something.

Feb 9, 2006 | Full Review…

Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic
Save The Green Planet has a free-ranging mood, mixing tragedy and comedy irregularly, but Jeong's film is equally free with genre, and entertains its audience openly before pouring on the astringent.

Sep 26, 2005

Noel Murray
AV Club
Top Critic
Like any roller-coaster ride, it may make you queasy, but you'll never be bored.

Aug 5, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
Top Critic
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.

Jul 22, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Murray Whyte
Toronto Star
Top Critic
Entertaining, visually inventive and truly out-there.

Jul 22, 2005 | Rating: 3/4

Jennie Punter
Globe and Mail
Top Critic
Additionally featuring a great finale, and a number of twists better left unsaid in this review, "Save the Green Planet" is a masterpiece curio, and at the same time, so much more.

Apr 7, 2019 | Full Review…

Panos Kotzathanasis
HanCinema
Clearly designed to win a cult following, its "chuck everything, including the kitchen sink in" approach to weirdery treads a fine line between "endearingly bat's-arse" and "trying a bit too hard".

Apr 19, 2011 | Full Review…

Ian Berriman
SFX Magazine
Part thriller, part dark comedy, part sci-fi epic, Save the Green Planet is both insanely addictive and completely insane.

Mar 1, 2007 | Full Review…

Ethan Alter
Film Journal International
Save the Green Planet may look like an ironic, jet black comedy -- and it succeeds brilliantly on that level -- but in it's sad and wistful heart, it's a completely sincere call for saving the Earth.

Dec 6, 2005 | Rating: 4.5/5 | Full Review…

Bob Westal
Film Threat
Wrapped up in all this madness is an affecting human core.

Nov 2, 2005 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
Save the Green Planet just can't shake its repellent, stagnant mood.

Oct 9, 2005 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

View All Critic Reviews (41)

Audience Reviews for Save the Green Planet

Dec 10, 2012

Utterly bizarre, existential, sci-fi, bloody, South Korean madness...

Marcus W Super Reviewer
Sep 19, 2012

If you look at the trailer, this movie would appear to be a comedy but you quickly discover that it is a horror film and one without a lot of merit. Disturbing.

John B Super Reviewer
Oct 06, 2011

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 be corrupt, but the inventive original idea is preposterously remarkable that frankly created a new genre, which Save The Green Planet! selfishly occupy. Organized chaos.

Jan Marc M Super Reviewer
Jun 27, 2011

This movie is absolute insanity, much like its protagonists, but I can pretty much guarantee that none of you have ever seen a movie like this and probably never will for a long time. I jizzed over the Adjustment Bureau and how that movie successfully mixed two genres into one movie. Well this movie is far more impressive. There's sci-fi, there's horror, there's thriller, there's comedy, some romance and even a little bit of social commentary. Realistically this movie is all over the place with its ideas, despite it all, it's a movie that just manages to click on all cylinders. I did like the story and how there is some emotional depth to the main character, to the point where, even if you know he's insane, you can sympathize with him because they do give you all aspects of his backstory. And you can see how that would drive him insane. So that was a fresh perspective. As is typical in a lot of these Korean movies I've seen, the acting is strong, especially by the main actor, who's really quite great. The rest of the cast is really good, but Shin Ha-gyun just does a great job with his performance. While the movie was not as funny as I thought it was going to be, it was still funny, but the movie was really a pleasant surprise on all fronts. For what it lacked in laugh out loud moments, it certainly made up for it with strong characters and a strong story. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that the Americans haven't tried to remake the movie, while dumbing it down for more casual audiences. But it's for the better, because what this movie does and its spirit, is caught perfectly in this movie and that's something you just can't replicate. It's funny, it's disturbing, it's sad, it's insane and it's just one of the most inventive movies of this past decade and it's a movie I wholeheartedly recommend, it literally has something for everyone. Transformers 3 won't give you that, so think about it.

Jesse O Super Reviewer