Train to Busan 부산행 2016- South Korea

Premiering in May at the 69th Annual Cannes Film Festival, Train to Busan (부산행) by director Yeong Sang-Ho, was a surprising hit with festival goers. As the film broke multiple South Korean box office records with its release a few weeks back, it comes as no surprise the film was quickly purchased by Well Go USA entertainment for US limited releases. If you want to see if it is playing near you, check it out HERE.

This zombie breakout, thriller film is quite a surprise coming from the Korean entertainment market, seeing as Korean zombie movies can be counted on one hand. However, with Train to Busan, Director Yeong took a different approach by isolating most of the breakout to  the small confines of the Korean speed train, KTX. The film is also suppose to take place a day after Director Yeong's animation film Seoul Station (서울역) which was released earlier in April.  

Train to Busan follows a hard-working Seoul businessman, Seok-Woo played by Yoo Gong (The Suspect) who takes his estranged daughter to Busan to see her mother. Sadly, their trip takes a turn for the worse as the outside world is slowly being taken over by a zombie outbreak that somehow creeps its way onto the train. An array of characters from high school baseball team and students, including KPOP group Wondergirl's past member, SoHee, a pregnant woman and her buff, sarcastic husband, a narcissistic businessman and many more have to fight to survive until the train arrives in Busan, the only city safe from the outbreak...or so they think. 

I personally am over the zombie craze that has taken over a lot of American entertainment, however, this film was a breath of fresh air. Though the film starts out slow, hints of what is to come are spread through out the beginning of the movie, before speeding ahead (much like the train!) to a nonstop action packed movie. I really enjoyed how they kept most of the film within the small train cars of the KTX. Other than some shots of the news on television, or phone calls to coworkers/family, the movie never cuts away to the outside world. We are strapped into the action of the outbreak on the train only. 

The graphics in this movie were phenomenal. The acting was great. The writing in this film was amazing because even the sub characters that were not huge parts of the film, were written so well that audience viewers felt for them. An audience favorite who brought a lot of laughs was Sang Hwa (pictured to the right) played by Ma Dong-Seok (The Good, The Bad, & The Weird). His character was so well developed, and was a nice add in to the seriousness of the rest of the film. 

 Normally, I cry when animals are hurt in films (EX: I am Legend...dog scene...WHY!), but not so much people. But leave it to Korean media, masters of heartfelt Korean dramas, to mess with my emotions. I will not spoil anything, but lets just say I cried A LOT at the end of this film. The way they recreated one of the final scenes with the protagonist in the film had me blubbering like a baby. I feel the way this scene was shot was nothing like how it would have been done if it were in an American film. 

Whether you are a zombie film lover, or not, Train to Busan is a must see film of the summer. Make sure to check it out if it is playing near theatres near you! It might change your mind next time you are traveling by train! :) 

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What would you do if you were stuck on a zombie filled high speed train?
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