The Surprise of Asian Zombie Movie-"Travel to Busan

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The reason why "Travel to Busan" has won praise is definitely not only because the zombie special effects are outstanding, but also because the creator wants to issue a kind of social criticism through in-depth description of human nature.

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  "Travel to Busan" was released in South Korea on July 20, 2016, and the number of viewers exceeded 5 million in just a few days. It not only quickly reached the top of the Korean box office, but also broke many records set by previous movies. The media also commented that "The Busan Tour" has rewritten South Korea's box office history with explosive box office power."  This film with the theme of virus disaster is mainly classified as: action, thriller, and disaster film. Among them, the core element of horror and disaster-zombies, is the content that audiences are not familiar with. However, because the story originated from an unknown virus, and the species of zombies is still a future fantasy from the present, it is barely called science fiction. The film is not bad either. However, what is the reason that a seemingly ordinary zombie movie has won the audience's enthusiastic praise and triggered a movie-watching boom in China. This is the most curious place before watching "Busan Tour".

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  The story takes place now. The hero Xiyu is a securities company fund broker and a single father. In order to satisfy her daughter Xiu An's wish to go to Busan to celebrate her birthday with her mother, Xi Woo took time to accompany her daughter on the KTX high-speed train bound for Busan. At the same time, extremely suspicious riots occurred around the city.  On the one hand, the film did not create an atmosphere of horror excessively at the beginning, but resurrected through the deer hit on the highway, the fire truck that galloped past, the weird behavior of the girl who finally boarded the train, and the riot scenes in the news, the government The cover-up behavior of the department is used to prepare and render step by step. On the other hand, it focuses on shaping the image of the male protagonist Xiyu who looks bright and capable, but actually pays more attention to profit than righteousness, and explains the identity and background of the people who board the train through several typical scenes.  Soon after the train started running, the girl infected with the zombie virus was discovered by the female flight attendant, and the film entered its first climax. The onlookers who did not know the truth were initially at a loss, but as the number of bites increased rapidly, the zombie virus began to break out on the train, and everyone began to flee for their lives. I have to say that several scenes and close-ups of the female flight attendants and male flight attendants in blue uniforms are indeed very shocking and unforgettable.  It is said that in order to show the physical movements of the infected in the film, the director specially hired dancers to train and guide the actors six months before filming. The makeup team also has 20 to 40 staff members. Each zombie’s makeup is required. It takes about 40 minutes. Therefore, it is not surprising that the "zombie effect" that "Travel to Busan" finally presents in front of the audience is not inferior to similar films in Europe and America.  As the number of zombies exploded exponentially, Xiyu was forced to struggle with the survivors' passengers to survive in the cramped space, and a test of life and death, light and darkness, noble and despicable humanity began in the carriage. Xiyu’s selfish accident and Xiu’an’s innocence and kindness, Shanghua’s heroism and the selfishness of the bus company’s executives, pregnant women Shengjing helped others and cared for Xiu’an regardless of their own safety, and the old lady who witnessed the ugly human nature took the initiative to open Put zombies in the carriage, and so on. This series of large and small plots fully displays the life in crisis, and the unique ethics and morals, human affection, and karma in Asian culture are also reflected appropriately.

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  Another highlight of the film is its ingenuity in the performance of the zombie alienation process. Compared with the bloody and disgusting images of zombies such as the American TV series "The Walking Dead", "Tour to Busan" is lighter, which is more in line with the appreciation habits of Asian audiences. After being bitten, the infected person's eyes usually turn white, lose consciousness for a short time, and then become zombies looking for humans to bite. Normal people did not have powerful tools such as knives and guns when resisting, and there were no excessive bloody scenes such as headshots, decapitations, and residual limbs. So, how to shoot new ideas? The director has worked hard to deal with the transformation of several major characters.  Wrestler Shang Hua was bitten while resisting the zombies in the carriage with all his strength. For the safety of other survivors, he decided to resist the attack alone. Even if he had become a zombie, he still kept the resistance action and bought time for everyone, and Xi Yu At the last moment, they fought to protect Xiu'an and Shengjing and were bitten by the executive officer of the infected bus company. When he shut Xiu'an and Shengjing in the cab, and came to the tail of the locomotive alone, weeping bitterly, the sun reflected through the train on the mottled gravel, he recalled the happiness and joy of being a father at the beginning, and the shadow slowly fell. The treatment here is quite euphemistic and poetic.

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  If according to the routine of the American blockbuster, Xiyu is both the protagonist and the father. After fighting again and again, he survives to the end and deserves a happy ending. However, during the conversation with his assistant, he learned that this virus leak originated from the oil tanker he had forcibly rescued not long ago in order to plan. The infection at this moment made Xiyu forgiven through the salvation of human nature. He wanted to be a good father and worked hard to do it, although the result was not as satisfactory as expected.  The reason why "Travel to Busan" has won praise is definitely not only because the zombie special effects are outstanding, but also because the creator wants to issue a kind of social criticism through in-depth description of human nature. In the process of fleeing for their lives, the hidden human nature of the people gradually revealed. The ugliness, kindness, selfishness, indifference, and weakness in the heart were all revealed, and the audience themselves were asked again and again. If one day we are also in this way Train, what choice will we make? At the end of the film, the little girl and the pregnant woman arrived at their destination and were rescued by the local garrison, leaving a glimmer of hope.  After all, "Travel to Busan" is still a commercial film. No matter the subject matter, story, or performance techniques are new, the Korean director unexpectedly filmed it with rich layers and ups and downs, using a realistic image of a zombie. The trend of the plot in line with the psychology of Asian audiences fully aroused the tears, pain, refreshment, and warmth of the viewers, meeting the expectations of most movie fans to get a double shock of vision and soul. To be able to do so, it seems to have surpassed other films of the same level, it is not an exaggeration to call it the surprise of this year's zombie film.



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