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Peninsula

Back to the Apocalypse: 1on1 with Yeon Sang-ho (PENINSULA)

August 24, 2020 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Sequels are always incredibly difficult to create.

After the incredible global success of Train to Busan, South Korean writer/director Yeon Sang-ho was excited to return to the world that he’d created. However, rather than focus on the survivors of the first film, Sang-ho became far more interested in creating something new within that same universe. 

Enter Peninsula.

A sequel to the South Korean zombie film Train to Busan, Peninsula is set four years after the events of the initial outbreak and follows a new cast. Jung-seok (Gang Dong-Won), an ex-military and survivor of the outbreak, and his brother-in-law, Chul-min (Kim Do-Yoon) are treated as second class citizens after escaping the now quarantined South Korea and flee to Hong Kong. Wanting to change his life, Chul-min decides to take a deal with a Chinese gang in order to acquire millions of dollars. The catch is that the money is in a truck that is stuck in the now apocalyptic South Korea. Worried about Chul-min’s safety, Jung-seok joins him and his squad to get the money. Intent on surviving the hell that awaits them, they must fight both zombies and the psychotic survivors of South Korea in order to get their money and leave.

Like Busan, Peninsula is its own story with new characters. Asked why he was so interested in returning to the world of Busan in this way, Sang-ho points out that Peninsula allowed him even more toys to play with within his creation.

“Zombie movies are always something that evoke a lot of imagination,” he begins. “Since Train to Busan dealt with the time when the zombie outbreak first began, there were many new imaginative stories that could be created using the backdrop that started a period of time after the initial outbreak. So, I started working on the project thinking there could be a new story that could emerge out of that backdrop. Like Train to Busan was Train to Busan… I started working on [this film] with the thought that Peninsula would be Peninsula, an entirely new movie on its own.”

“I could have made the survivors of Train to Busan the main characters, but on the other hand, I really wanted to show that Peninsula was an entirely different movie and not Train to Busan Part 2. So, I wanted new characters that faced new situations.”

Using new locations and characters also provided Sang-ho the opportunity to really explore how people respond to such heightened circumstances. In particular, Sang-ho created Unit 631, a military compound that pits man against zombie for the sport of those in control. 

“The idea behind Unit 631 was to depict people who completely gave up on hope and only act on impulse, chasing after stimuli,” he explains. “I thought, ‘What kind of stimuli would remain for them?’ Then, the idea of a race based on gambling came to mind and thus the hide-and-seek scene was created. I wanted the audience to feel the horror that Goo Chul-min felt in that situation, so I thought of creating the game scene in one cut.”

Though the film obviously takes place in a horrifying fantasy world, Peninsula also seems strangely current, especially in the context of a global pandemic. While today’s situation is something he could never have predicted, Sang-ho also believes that the timing couldn’t be better for the film’s themes of hope and survival.

“One of the most important questions in making the movie was, ‘What kind of hope can humans create in a world full of isolation and despair?’ I couldn’t have predicted that our current situation would arise. However, I consider it fortuitous to have been able to meet the audience with such a timely and relevant theme. And I believe that this is the destiny only for the movie Peninsula.”

For Sang-ho, this question of where one finds hope is embedded within post-apocalyptic films and stems from man’s ability to focus on his own actions.

“The theme of most post-apocalyptic movies is the story of humanism, which ironically shines even more when set against a post-apocalyptic background. While making a movie with a post-apocalyptic background, I wanted to highlight those points. In any situation, we can look for despair or we can look for hope.”

In addition, Sang-ho also believes that Peninsula speaks to the nature of man’s role in community with one another.

“The theme of this movie is not about what kind of situation you find yourself in, but what kind of people you surround yourself with. This work reflects a lot about a person’s will to live in solidarity in the world.”

Of course, the obvious question is whether or not Sang-ho intends to continue to play in the Busan universe or if he’s prepared to move on. Taking his unique approach to the franchise, it’s Sang-ho’s hope that Peninsula may only be the first of many stories that take place in this post-apocalyptic world.

“I think there are many more diverse stories to be told within the world of Peninsula. Apart from actually directing it, I think there are many different stories of people that were not covered in this movie. I hope these stories will one day be made into movies.”

Peninsula is available in theatres now.

Filed Under: Film, Interviews Tagged With: hope, Peninsula, South Korea, Yeon Sang-ho, zombie, zombie film

Peninsula: When Zombies Mirror Reality

August 5, 2020 by Jason Thai Leave a Comment

A sequel to the South Korean zombie film Train to Busan, Peninsula is set four years after the events of the initial outbreak and follows a new cast. Jung-seok (Gang Dong-Won), an ex-military and survivor of the outbreak, and his brother-in-law, Chul-min (Kim Do-Yoon) are treated as second class citizens after escaping the now quarantined South Korea and flee to Hong Kong. Wanting to change his life, Chul-min decides to take a deal with a Chinese gang in order to acquire millions of dollars. The catch is that the money is in a truck that is stuck in the now apocalyptic South Korea. Worried about Chul-min’s safety, Jung-seok joins him and his squad to get the money. Intent on surviving the hell that awaits them, they must fight both zombies and the psychotic survivors of South Korea in order to get their money and leave.

Directed by Yeon Sang-Ho, Peninsula showcases the pain of the survivors of the outbreak and the manner in which they handle their pandemic. As we endure the reality of a global pandemic ourselves, this movie couldn’t have been timed better either. As they fight to survives, selfish human behaviour is fully on display. For example, in the beginning of Peninsula, as Jung-seok leaves South Korea, he abandons both a family begging for help and his elder sister and child in order to save himself. Considering himself a good man, Jung-seok tries to convince himself that he did all he could under the circumstances. Survivors hoard food. Factions divide the population.

While the film was completed far before the global pandemic, actions such as these mirror the self-justifications that we have seen in real life. For example, when faced with the outbreak of COVID-19, people raided grocery stores took as much as they could for themselves and their family with no regard for others. Even now, as the current pandemic has slowed, people are refusing to wear masks as they value their own comfort than the lives of others.

In an ironic twist, while on his mission in South Korea, Jung-seok encounters a horde of zombies and is rescued by the very same people that he abandoned four years earlier. Faced with his own selfishness, Jung-seok has a chance to do all that he can to help them. As the film goes on, the classic opportunity for redemption arises and Jung-seok must decide whether or not he will attempt to pay back the very survivors that he had left for dead in the first place.

I loved Peninsula. Director Yeon Sang-ho creates a truly immersive apocalyptic world. There’s lots of great shots of the destroyed South Korea that show the audience the vastness of the destruction, and how South Korea has fallen as a country. This is especially true within the set design of 631 unit’s compound, which creates a realistic—and horrifying—area for survivors. Throughout the film, there was never a moment where the film feels unrealistic in tone, and the CGI moments are well-implemented.

While the zombie theme has become a common in recent years, I personally think Peninsula is one of the few films that gives the genre new life. Peninsula handles its narrative extremely well and, through no fault of its own, is also timed perfectly, considering the current global situation. Through Jung-seon’s journey, we see that human selfishness and greed lead to nothing but misery to those involved. Peninsula understands that, by working together, we are able to get through hell which, frankly, is something we need to hear during the very real pandemic that we find ourselves in today.

Peninsula is in select theatres across Canada on Friday, August 7th, 2020.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Reviews Tagged With: Peninsula, South Korea, zombie film, Zombies

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