Save the Green Planet! (2005) - Joon-Hwan Jang

Lee Byeong-Gu is a sad, sensitive young man whose grown increasingly delusional since losing his mother several years ago.  Obsessed with conspiracy theories and science fiction, Byeong-Gu is convinced that aliens are living among us, planning to destroy humanity during the next lunar eclipse.  In order to stop this from happening, Byeong-Gu must find the one alien who possesses the Royal Genetic Code, who just so happens to be his old boss, CEO Kang Man-Shik.  Together with his circus performer girlfriend, Byeong-Gu kidnaps Kap, intent on torturing him until he reveals his true identity and helps stop the invasion.  Joon-Hwan Jang's Save the Green Planet! is an inventive, unique piece of filmmaking that is incredibly unpredictable though always cohesive.  This film defies genre, being a mashup of every genre category in existence with direct references to film's like Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey.  A roller-coaster ride of emotion, Save the Green Planet manages to be demented yet humane and contemplative yet silly, in creating a truly memorable experience.  Very stylish and always entertaining, Save the Green Planet's greatest attribute of all is how it handles Byeong, a deeply disturbed individual whose loss of his mother has driven him to madness.  Much of the film itself is told through his perspective, with Joon-Hwang Jang creating a sympathetic character who the audience cares about, even being able to look past some of the monstrosities he commits in front of their very eyes.  It's this story of a young, broken man that makes Save the Green Planet! so impressive, especially considering how much escapism the film offers as a whole.  

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