Park Sye-young‘s previous film, “The Fifth Thoracic Vertebra” was a rather pleasant surprise coming out of the Korean film industry, since his unique approach was both intriguing and entertaining. In his latest film, “Base Station” he continues in the same path of originality, although in a completely different style.
Base Station is screening at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
The story revolves around two siblings, Eden and Hyun-ho. The latter has been sick for years, and his big sister has deemed that electromagnetic waves are the ones responsible for his situation, and thus have pulled him out in the mountains, where they live a secluded life, away from any kind of civilization. One day, Hyun-ho’s craving for meat leads the two of them into a city, and Eden feels she has to shoot him with a projectile that is supposed to anesthetize him. His reaction, though, is much worse than she expected and eventually she has to look for help. During her search she stumbles upon a group of technicians installing equipment for a rather faster than 5G technology, called Li-Fi. It turns out, though, that something sinister is also happening at the same time.
Park Sye-young and Yeon Ye-ji have come up with a movie that seems to draw inspiration from “Save the Green Planet”, particularly in the way Eden perceives the electromagnetic waves. However, “Base Station” is far more unconventional and ambitious in its audiovisual approach. One of its standout features is the transformation from a dystopian, naturalistic narrative into a delirious thriller. This shift is particularly impressive due to the innovative use of sound, which heightens the overall intensity here. The impact of gunshots, conveyed only through sound rather than visuals, creates a grotesque and striking effect. This clever technique enhances the tension, as do the dynamic chase scenes and frequent close-ups.
The way a number of people (the technicians) soon appear to be something rather sinister, reminds of grindhouse productions of the past, and it works in similar fashion in terms of entertainment, despite the fact that the violence here is more implied than depicted. The occasionally low quality, dizzying visuals also add to the overall atmosphere of disorientation, with the same applying to the setting of the forest, which is induced with a rather ominous hypostasis.
In that regard, Sye-young’s job in the cinematography emerges as another great aspect here, as is the case with the editing by him and Yeon. The fact that “Base Station” is essentially a two-people endeavor, with Yeon Ye-ji also playing the role of Eden and being in charge of music and production design, adds even more to the quality of the overall effort. One could even say that this is a ‘quarantine film’ but one of the best we have ever seen.
“Base Station” is a gem of a film, another truly unique production by Park, who seems to continue the ‘ Korean Weird Wave’ all on his own at the moment.
