A WEREWOLF BOY (2012)

Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Director: Jo Sung-Hee
Cast: Song Joong-Ki, Park Bo-Young, Yoo Yeon-seok, Jang Young-nam, Kim Hyang-ki, Lee Yeong-ran
RunTime: 2 hrs 26 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures & Festive Films
Official Website:

Opening Day: 13 December 2012

Synopsis:  Summoned by an unexpected phone call, an elderly woman visits the cottage she used to live in as a child. She recalls the memory of a boy she knew 50 years ago… When her family moved to a small rural village, Suni discovered a “wolf boy” hiding behind a bush. The girl, now an old woman, has never been able to purge the images of his wild eyes and animal-like behavior from her mind. She recalls teaching the boy how to wait patiently before a meal, to wear clothes, to speak, to write and to behave like other humans so that he could one day live like a normal man. She opened her heart to the innocent boy and he fell in love with the girl, the only person to ever show him affection. However, when threatened, the “wolf boy” let loose his bestial instincts and became the subject of the villagers’ fears. In order to save the life of the boy who risked his to be by her side, she left him with a promise: "Wait for me. I’ll come back for you."

Movie Review:

The season of the vampires is finally over, and for those Twi-hards on the Jacob camp, perhaps you can lick your wounds with this Korean romance melodrama instead, where I'm certain despite the lack of abs and flesh, has a lot more heart and soul in telling a sincere fantasy love story that will tug at your heartstrings, and open up those tear ducts many times over than what all of the Twilight movies combined cannot achieve. With A Werewolf Story, the Korean wave in the genre continues to grow strongly, with strong support shown back home as this film climbs the box office charts.

Written and directed by Jo Sung-Hee, it's a love story that's pure and simple, weaved around a somewhat isolated and idyllic neighbourhood in which lead protagonist Suni (Park Bo-Young) has to live in, for a weak lung condition. Her family, made up of siblings and mom (Jang Yeong-Nam), have been moving around of late to find the perfect home to settle in, but given the state of finances, can only afford something from the goodwill of their landlord Ji-Tae (Yoo Yeon-Seok), the slimy son of their late father's business partner who has that sense of sickening, rich man entitlement which he imposes on the family, adamant that he'll get his dream girl Suni sometime soon.

But as fate would have it, the house she stays in has a long-staying guest in the barn, that of a teenager thought to be raised by wolves, exhbiting traits of the canine family, and without the ability to speak. Taken in by the family because it's inhumane to just throw him out, the boy, now christened Chul-Soo (Song Joong-Ki), becomes a part of the family as he dines, well, gobbles, and plays with the children. But his disgusting ways, being away from human contact for years, irks many, until Suni takes it upon herself to train and tame the beast within, slowly reintroducing him to the ways of humanity, and in so, a friendship, followed by a strong relationship develops.

Humanity though is not always about the benign, and soon we have the darker aspects of the human condition come through by Ji-Tae, who sees Chul-Soo as an obstacle to his acquisition of Suni's heart, and not before long once we're let in to the secret behind Chul-Soo that allows for some excellent CG effects to be shown to justify the film's title. The Boo Radley mockingbird in Chul-Soo becomes hunted inevitably, by scientists who want to know more about this freak of science, and the military as always, wanting a cover up on a project that had gone awry. And these incidents only serve to deepen the lover's relationship a lot more, since it hits home emotionally when a couple destined for each other, have to be forcifully kept apart by circumstances.

You can just about draw parallels from many films, two of which stood out in my mind when viewing it. The first being the rather obvious Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan from 1984, which the movie somewhat adopted its premise from, with a girl and Tarzan having to connect given the former's surely and steady ways to teach her fellow friend how to read, write, and just about spend as much time together that they inevitably connect on an emotional level. Then there's the Incredible Hulk, except that Bruce Banner isn't the brilliant scientist that he is, but remains the Hulk most of the time, unleashing his rage when his lady love is under threat. That, together with the growing forbidden love the couple share just as the identity of the monster beneath couldn't get controlled any further.

Park Bo-Young puts in a commendable and lovable performance as the teenage girl at the cusp of a budding romance that sprung from nowhere, and has the acting chops to highlight a spectrum of emotions from the highs of being in a relationship, to the lows of having to take drastic action to protect the boy she loves. As the titular character, Song Joong-Ki continues to convince he's a force to be reckoned with, showing that hours of research paid off as he moves, and behaves, very much like a typical canine/wolf with that unswerving loyalty toward his owner/trainer, together with that innocent twinkle in the eye balanced with the ability to turn into a rampaging monster at any sustained provocation. You will silently root for this underdog when he deals his brand of animal justice that cannot be reasoned with, when up against those with sense of entitlement, and schemes that bear false witness for selfish reasons.

A Werewolf Boy is clearly targeted at the female demographic across all age groups given its ending, which I obviously cannot reveal. It's a melodrama that's all set to polarize opinions from any male audience member, so much so that an alternate ending was being offered in Korean cinemas, and it'll be interesting to have a sneak peek at what that had actually entailed. But give the original finale a go, and see how divided your and your friends' opinions can get. A Werewolf Boy scores in its screenplay, characterization and the delivery of its leads in making you feel for them every step of the way. Highly recommended!

Movie Rating:

(As close to a perfect melodrama as can be)

Review by Stefan Shih