MORAL OF THE MOVIE

In cases of emergency, would you only help yourself/family or would you risk your life to help complete strangers? Train to Busan teaches us about how a “save yourself/your own” philosophy can ultimately be counterproductive and how we all have a better chance when we all help each other. Overall, the film criticizes class as today’s societies put some people over others in terms of social class, economic standing, etc.; to nature (ie. Zombies), however, we are all one and the same.

WHO I THINK WOULD MOST ENJOY THIS MOVIE

Fans of thrilling action movies (specifically, zombie movies) will have a great time with this new addition to the genre, but so will anyone who likes a combination of thrilling entertainment with symbolic social commentary.

ADDITIONAL NOTES/COMMENTARY

This is the first international film reviewed in this page and it’s for a reason. This year marked history with the Oscars granting the Best Picture award to a foreign-language film for the first time ever: Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (South Korea). I will eventually review Parasite as it is one of my favorite movies of all time, but I thought I’d first bring attention to a less mainstream film that deserved just as much attention. Over the past few years, there has been a cinematic movement in South Korea: Korean New Wave Cinema. There’s a new generation of filmmakers (Bong Joon-ho, Yeon Sang-ho, Park Chan-wook, etc.) who grew up with Hollywood blockbusters and have managed to integrate social commentary pertinent to Korean society within the context of entertaining Hollywood-esque blockbusters. However, the Korea-specific social commentary from these films is often applicable to just about any similar society with social hierarchies such as the U.S. There’s so many morals in Train to Busan that I didn’t go over in the “Moral of the Movie” section for the sake of brevity and avoiding spoilers. Nevertheless, if you see the film, you will get commentary on so much more than what I addressed such as class structures, the destructive power of wealth, corruption, the power of altruism and paying it forward, etc. Train to Busan will provide you a thrilling cinematic experience that will raise your heartbeat but also touch your heart with its many messages within the zombie-filled action. I sincerely hope you watch this movie as well as other foreign-language films that I will review and recommend in the near future. “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films” (Bong Joon-ho said this while accepting the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film for “Parasite” this year).