Train to Busan (2016)

To those of you who follow me on Instagram you will already have a good idea of how this film went, to those who don't- follow me below. This film has been one of the best we have watched this month. It had everything from suspense to heartbreak, it made me root for characters that never made it and it went beyond expectations. Truly, it hit such an itch that needed scratching and left me rejuvenated for the rest of the month. As I have been saying these past few posts I have hit a bit of a stand still where the films I am watching are good but they do not give me a hit of something more. They are films which in their own right are fine and bearable to watch but I am out here looking for show stoppers and finally I got a break through! This fucking film shot out the ground and had me in a choke hold the moment I saw Sang-Hwa on my screen.

I am no stranger to Kdramas though usually I stick more within the TV show realm than film. And if I am being completely honest I only added this film because of Gong Yoo (who played Seok-Woo) as after Squid Game ended I knew I wouldn't see him anymore I knew I needed another fix but what I didn't expect was for Ma Dong-seok to blow him out the water. I am sure I have seen this actor before too but for the life of me I can't figure out where. Sometimes I wish there was an app that allowed you to cross reference an actor with all the films they are in that you specifically have seen along with a short clip as a reminder. I'm sure there is an app similar out there somewhere but that requires inputting the information of everything I watch and I'm having a difficult time with LetterBoxd as is. The point I am trying to make is the casting in this film was phenomenal and did nothing to disappoint with acting.

Let me start with the criticisms I had with this movie as there were very little. Firstly I did know before starting the film that this was a zombie apocalypse style movie and I knew (obviously) there was a train. For that reason I thought the full movie was going to be them from start to finish on this train. Then one character starts acting strange at the far side and it turns out it's because of something they ate before getting on the train and then it spreads. So I thought the very first infected would come from this train and the rest would be revolving around the story of figuring out what is happening and calling for help, being forced to stay on the tracks because the military refuse to let them stop without adequate men, so on and so forth. But instead the movie starts with a snippet of character dynamics between the two main characters Seok-Woo and his daughter Soo-an. That is also fine but the zombie virus itself also starts outside of the film. In the end it worked really well drawing out suspense and making it clear no where was ever safe which sent them on a wild chase. However the only reason the train ever got infected in the first place was because of the one person that snuck on whereas I was more interested in the first ever case being on this train. I felt like that would have created so much more confusion and uncertainty.

If a film like that exists where from start to finish the entire thing is a train journey where they discover a new illness on that train and for whatever reason the group have to make their way through train carriages to get to the front. Each carriage holding new people and moments of uncertainty all while flash backs of each mini character group play to give us more insight to their character. Similar to that train anomaly game Shinkansen 0 but a film, please let me know. But even then as I said they did a good job at maintaining the chaos and untrusting nature that would come with a zombie outbreak. The second qualm I had was I wished it was longer. I know that may sound like me encouraging how great the film is but I more so mean I wish it was literally longer to allow for more time on the side characters. Clearly the main characters were the father and daughter duo which is why we were able to have those few moments before the actual train footage to show us the relationship the two shared. By placing their relationship as rocky I knew instantly this would be the typical trauma binding to being together parent and child but I couldn't help but hope for more with all the others we also saw.

By the time we were half way through the movie it was clear a core group was being formed. There were the original father and daughter but also: the pregnant woman and her husband, the baseball student and his girlfriend, the two older sisters and the homeless man. Truthfully I didn't understand why the homeless man lasted as long as he did, I was almost certain he was going to end up getting turned and betraying the group because he was keeping it a secret. But nothing happened so really I was thinking it wouldn't have been any different without him. All due respect he did come in handy for sacrificing himself. But I was hoping to see more on the sisters dynamic especially after getting split up but they instead became less than a background character. I also believe at the very least Sang-Hwa and Sung-Gyeong should have had some flashbacks to their relationship because they became the next leading characters and yet we know very little about them. The best interpretation seen of the other characters was from Min Yong-Guk against his baseball team. We had already had a scene where he wasn't able to save his friends when running for the train and was feeling guilty for it. To then be immediately followed by a carriage full of all his other team mates was so narratively juicy. Forcing him to face his guilt face first and yet he still didn't have to kill them! I was so sure when the zombies had them pined against the wall that it was going to be left to Yong-Guk to finally get over his guilt and recognise they're no longer the same before attacking them and helping save the others. But that never happened, he just remained shocked until they entered a tunnel. I am still thankful for that stand still reaction of denial that he has to face the people he once thought of as friends but there never came that moment of over coming it.

Back to the main characters for the film, I was pretty much certain that Soo-an was going to die. It is a classic within apocalypse films where a relationship with parent and child that is unstable, one of them will die. It's a natural cycle where they never realise how much they meant until they're traumatized together and the moment they want things to change it is too late. The reason I thought this would be Soo-an over her father all begins at the start of the movie when they are heading to the station. Before they even reached the train I was sure she was going to die and the reason for that is the smoke that landed on her hand. Was this a stretch? Absolutely. But it was one I felt confident in. As they're heading to the train station they're cut off by a fire truck heading to a huge fire implied to have been started from the infected. As the truck goes past ash starts falling from the sky and Soo-an reaches out and touches some of the flakes. My first impression was that she was then going to turn zombie because the pieces of ash she touched were from burnt zombies that drifted over and that because it was only ash it takes an even longer amount of time to take affect. If you couldn't already tell I have a very active imagination.

That didn't happen but I still felt strong in my guess that she would be the one to die because of how her dad came to interact with her. Although the relationship was unstable from the start it seemed to shift a lot of blame onto the father. He was the absent work focused one while his daughter just wanted to connect and when that wasn't possible she was ready to leave and see her mum instead because maybe she will give her the attention she needs. From the many films and shows I have watched it is a very classic trope to have the less interested party become the one who suffers. For example, out of a mum who works hard to give her child the best verses an ungrateful son who thinks his mother is trash the mum will be the one to die. The reason for this being the boy must suffer because he never realised how much his mum did for him and the moment he does it is too late. Leaving him grieving and guilty the rest of his life. I thought that would be the same sentiment here where Seok-Woo has been neglecting his child for his business and the moment he realises he should be spending more time with her and loving her is moments before she dies. However in this way all that still happens only the moment he realises he should be there for his child is the moment he has to die. In a way that is more potent. Even having that end moment where his daughter is gripping him, pleading not to leave juxtaposing the scenes before when all she wanted for her birthday was to see her mum, now on her birthday all she wants is her dad to finally stay and he can't.

It's a heartbreaking moment and one I was even more glad for when he did jump off the train. For a moment I was worried he would turn on the train and just turn round to attack them again but thankfully he leaned off and left them unharmed. It then makes you sit in that sadness when Soo-an finally sings the song she has been practicing. After previously stating she couldn't sing it at school because she had practiced it solely for the intention of singing it to him, she sang it as they walked through the final tunnel to safety. Not just in a poetic send of for her father but as a way of surviving once more. The soldiers on the other side were going to shoot them not willing to take the risk of them being infected or not and then they heard her sing and realised she was human. The song she practiced for her father was the reason they got to safety. As someone who in a way craves bittersweetness I was loving it. I also loved that Yong-Guk was killed by his girlfriend. The one character that stuck with him through out, the character that made him push past his guilt to get back to her, a character that wasn't supposed to be on the trip but came along for her boyfriend and a character that survived the first train ride because of her loyalty to her boyfriend and joining him at the front of the train. I wished we had more scenes of them together and explored their relationship further because we saw how devoted they were to stay together which only made it more monumental that out of everyone she was the one to die first and subsequently turn him.

Moving onto the number one best character for me, Sang-Hwa. This man had so much love and such a protective nature over his wife and unborn child how could I not love him. He was also painted as a younger version of Seok-Woo. In a way I was tempted to say they played foils of one another meaning they were two sides of the same coin but after more consideration I believe he is supposed to represent the man who Seok-Woo used to be. A man who was smitten with his wife and a bound protector of his family. We even see the difference between them both, when on the train Seok-Woo shuts the train doors early cutting off Sang-Hwa and his wife. They open the doors again just in time to save them from the zombies that followed but he still shows no remorse. In a way it does split my own views in two as on one hand I agree I would do everything I can to keep me and my loved ones safe first but on the other if you know for certain you can help others do you not owe it to them to do so. In opposition Sang-Hwa saves Soo-an from the zombies and encourages others to run to save as many people as possible when they arrive at the first stop. He even directly copies the scene with Seok-Woo when he has the door to the station stairs open and instead of closing the door he yells at him to keep going. He holds the door open and helps him through right up until the last possible moment. Completely contradicting Seok-Woo's personal mindset and showing wider communal help.

On board he has a brief chat with Seok-Woo where he admits he understands why he works so hard and it is to do everything he can to provide for his family. It shows that he too has that same drive to do whatever it takes but also how easily it is to switch priorities under the guise of what is best for the family. He is also the one who when finally on board of the train for the second time instantly knows they all have to travel through the carriages but can't do it unprepared. Taking that leader role and ensuring everyone is prepared and never once trying to deny someone of venturing forth because he knows everyone has something they are fighting for. As much as I love him, I do wish he had used a little more tape when protecting himself. I mean I for one do not believe tape is going to save you from a zombie bite however if you are using the items you have I can understand the logic. That being said, if you are using tape as your anti bite protection does it not make sense to tape everything then. Including your upper harms, legged, torso and hands! Maybe then you wouldn't have been bit so easily! I should have known they wouldn't have made it but I was so enamoured by this man that I could accept no other reality than him and his wife surviving. The fact he got bit and knew he would never survive so decided to sacrifice himself to save his family, oh I was sobbing. It was the worst part of this movie I was actually fuming! They should have been end game! As a side note does anyone know what the baby was called? His dying words was the name he wanted the baby to be called which once again had me in streams of tears but the subtitles must have got misunderstood because I have no idea what it was supposed to say.

He was such a caring character that I should have seen it coming but didn't. He even had his baby's ultrasound as his phone background god I hate the writers for killing him! But what's worse, I hate the writers for not killing Yon-Suk fast enough! Once more it is typical to have the one character that everyone hates but lasts longer than they should and in this movie that character is Yon-Suk. In some ways I can always find an out into understanding why a character does what he does and usually it is an extreme case of needing to survive. By taking things to the extreme you ensure your own survival which is what happened with sectioning off the front carriage of the train. It is also something I can completely understand. Taking myself out of the equation and not thinking on what I would do, it makes sense that you would section the train off from the others as you don't know if they are truly safe. Especially after learning they passed multiple carriages with zombies in to get there. So as pissed as I was (and still am) that Sang-Hwa died because of how hard he was fighting to keep the others away I still understand the logic he had.

In fact I was glad that the older sister opened up the train doors for a second time as it was karma. It was such a good scene to have the sister think she has been reunited and is smiling bright and hopeful just to be killed from behind. Diabolical of course but also kinda juicy. For that same reason the moment where the surviving sister says her sister was always been the people pleasing, self sacrifice one which in the end got her killed. So why would she be like that and instead opening the doors and saying fuck everyone who played a part in having her sister become infected. Delicious. Such a diva. But that stupid man child lived! And he lived of course by hiding. Now there is nothing wrong with hiding in a situation where your life is on the line unless your a horrible person in which case it is just cowardly! This is where the bubbling hate comes in, when he begins sacrificing everything and anything he can without remorse or reason. This is another natural progression for the hated character so when he let the attended die so that he could escape the bathroom I wasn't surprised. Or even when he killed the young girl and subsequently her boyfriend. But the second he murdered the train conductor I wanted him gone immediately!

In a way the conductor was the unspoken hero. He was the only one able to drive the train, without him everyone would have died and what's more when they ran into the blockage on the tracks he didn't sit idle but announced to everyone the situation and then got out and looked for another train to carry everyone. That alone is true hero behaviour but he also got out of the train to help save the business man when he thought he wouldn't make it and how did he get repayed? By being thrown to the infected horde! How do you expect to drive anywhere without the driver! Out of everyone he should be the only logical surviver even if you only care about yourself because without him you are nothing. I was so glad he died but then he bit the main character anyway so even when he is dying he's still causing shit.

In summary, I really enjoyed this film. Were there moments of confusion and moments that I thought could be improved, yes. But I am a little narcissistic so of course I think my adaptations would have been better. All joking aside I truly enjoyed this film and definitely would watch again if I can just get over the heartbreak of Sang-Hwa. Truly a legend gone too fast. But for that reason I rated this very highly and look forward once again to watching more films for the rest of the month. Bring on tomorrows Shaun of the Dead!