LKFF 2013: Flu ***

It’s the perfect time of year for a scary movie about killer flu wiping out a population. Simply named Flu, this is a typical disaster movie, South Korean style, from The Warrior writer-director Sung-su Kim. However, it contains the drama within the boundaries of the district of Bundang, the suburb of Seoul – supposedly one of South Korea’s wealthiest and highest developed areas – so it has a unique identity as a piece of film-making from the region, even though it may follow the same plotlines of larger epics. It also presents an interesting insight into social and political attitudes of the region.

After a container containing illegal immigrants is found with just one survivor in Bundang, the residents quickly start to become ill and infected with a strange and deadly, flu-like virus that spreads as an airborne disease. The city with half a million people is sealed off, its fate in the hands of its clashing leaders and some international advisers who fear it will spread globally if not contained. It’s down to infectious disease specialist In-hye (Soo Ae) and rescue worker Ji-goo (Hyuk Jang) to save the suburb by finding the antidote that is closer to home than they think.

Flu has an attractive male and female protagonist who saves the day in equal measure, making it instantly appealing to any audience. Both Soo Ae and Hyuk Jang are commendable in their roles and have a reasonable rapport.

There is a lot of humour to be found in such a serious subject matter, with hero Ji-goo reminiscent of a jokey McClane at the very start. What feels odd is the over-theatrical nature of certain scenarios followed by something graphically gruesome that neither translates well in the lighter moments nor the more sober ones. Hence, tonally, the film feels a little uneven at times, possibly lost in translation in itself?

Sung-su Kim does make commendable use of a far smaller budget than a Hollywood production in recreating the scale of destruction of life, such as his body pit. It’s an impressive use of special effects and one that displays things with a genuinely chilling reality, rather than the zombie frenzy of video-gaming proportions of World War Z.

What tests our believability, but what is also vital for the film’s heart, is the key role of In-hye’s young daughter who needs to survive to provide the story’s hope – and steals the show, naturally. And survive she does, far longer than anyone else it seems in the same predicament. Still, the cute factor cannot be wiped out. This is not a sinister tale of fiction because of the jovial side. It also bangs the drum in a proud, nationalistic manner that Hollywood is often accused of, but it’s actually quite charismatic here rather than cringeworthy, or perhaps we are more forgiving?

Flu offers the same tropes as any other apocalyptic disaster movie, from introducing our heroes and their own romantic story arc to tracking the origins and outcome of the epidemic. Although it has its distinct national identity that fuels intrigue, simultaneously, it could be accused of being too willing to fit into the Hollywood disaster mould by not being more localised in its storytelling. Flu is a perfectly entertaining watch nevertheless.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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