Movie review: 'A Werewolf Boy' is part human drama, part fantasy, and all heart

Back in 2011, when the award-winning film “A Werewolf Boy” went into production, it was evident that the South Korean entertainment landscape would succumb in part to the rise of the supernatural/fantasy creature features currently sweeping Hollywood.

But while the other South Korean TV mini-series and films depicting vampire prosecutors, vampire k-pop idols, and ghosts were all mythology-heavy spectacles or campy comedies or dark, serious dramas, writer-director Jo Sung-hee opted for a quiet and emotional approach when he made “A Werewolf Boy.”

Enter the wild child

When Kim Soon-yi (Park Bo-young) and her family move into a country house on the advice of her doctor so that she can recuperate from a lung ailment, she discovers a wild boy (Song Joong-ki, who also headlines “The Innocent Man,” currently broadcasting on GMA-7) locked up in the barn.  

Everyone in the town thinks the boy, who the family names Chul-soo, is an orphan, so Soon-yi’s mother takes him in.  Soon-yi and her younger sister Soon-ja try to integrate him into their daily lives and to teach him some social skills, which are not easy feats when Chul-soo tends to behave like a dog most of the time, especially on the dinner table.  This segment of the film is its funniest and most lighthearted, yet it is also when the characters truly begin to develop.

The family’s peace and quiet is shattered when Ji-tae, the son of their deceased father’s business partner, and the one who pays the rent for the country home, tries to take advantage of Soon-yi.  As Chul-soo attempts to save her, he turns into a werewolf, and would have murdered Ji-tae and his posse if Soon-yi hadn’t essentially commanded him to sit and stay.  The almost-murder gives way to an investigation into Chul-soo’s origins, and eventually, he is locked up in the barn again.

Breaking the supernatural mold

The main story arc of “A Werewolf Boy” is a familiar one, reminiscent of films like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Edward Scissorhands.”  But the remarkable thing about “Werewolf” is how writer-director Jo’s focus on the character interactions and emotional beats made the film more a human drama rather than the fantastical story one would expect with such a titular character.  This is the film’s particular charm.

As a supernatural romance and a young adult one at that, “Werewolf” defies the conventions, the usual power dynamics of characters, and the gender stereotypes. Male characters often have supernatural abilities, and are, therefore, more powerful. They often rescue the female characters, who are usually regular humans possessing special characteristics attractive to the supernatural males.

Chul-soo is the supernatural character here, but he is not necessarily the more powerful one; he does not have a voice in this world, and he needs Soon-yi to teach him and to protect him. She is also the one  making decisions as far as their future goes, while Chul-soo can only wait.

“Wait!” is actually the first word that Chul-soo learns to respond to, thanks to what Soon-yi learns from a dog training manual.  It’s tragic how powerful a word it is in Chul-soo’s world—one that can make him behave at the dinner table and play nice with the neighborhood kids, one that gets through his animal instincts to prevent him from killing someone, and one that can keep him from leaving and hoping for a very long time.

Notable performances

“Werewolf” is also notable because of its dream-like cinematography, subtle musical score, and excellent acting by both Park and Song.

Song’s performance, in particular, is noteworthy because he has speaking lines only at two pivotal points in the third act. For most of the film, the audience gets to know Chul-soo only by his actions, expressions, and his wordless interactions with the other characters.  

Song displays an endearing kind of vulnerability as Chul-soo—a quality audiences did not get to see in his performances in his most popular TV dramas, “The Innocent Man” and “Sungkyunkwan Scandal.” He won a lot of praise and some awards for this role—it is one that makes his a memorable name, as he dropped out of acting last month to begin his two-year mandatory military service.

Park is commendable for her nuanced portrayal of Soon-yi, who viewers first see as a sickly outcast, then as a patient companion to Chul-soo, his staunch protector, and finally, his tragic love.

The film is not without some shortcomings. While the revelation of Chul-soo’s origins kicks off an important chain of events, it feels a lot like an afterthought. Props to writer-director Jo for the surprisingly science fiction back story that leaves traditional werewolf mythology by the wayside, but it was not utilized for anything other than Ji-tae’s revenge. Origin stories normally justify or fuel character motivations and help characters understand themselves, but Chul-soo doesn’t even learn how he became what he is.

The token villain Ji-tae, meanwhile, is stereotypical, and he is more of a plot trigger than an antagonist.  He seems to have been written just for the audience to have someone to hate, but he didn’t really need to have such a bad track record if his only role is to move the plot along.

There will also likely be a lot of strong opinions about the ending, but ultimately, it is consistent with the tone and theme of the story.

Overall, “Werewolf,” like its main character, is hard to classify as one thing. It is part supernatural romance, part human melodrama, part fantasy, and even a wee bit sci-fi. It is also a coming-of-age tale, and an ode to a pure and bittersweet first love. But what holds everything together and what draws the viewer in is the emotional thread that runs through the story—a very earnest depiction of the power of love and human compassion. — VC, GMA News

Meann Ortiz is a freelance writer, blogger, and Korean drama/movie enthusiast.  You can read her other reviews at The Girl Who Read and Other Stories. The opinions expressed in this review are solely her own.