by usia review

If that setup sounds familiar, you might assume I’m describing Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2025 film that left its mark on the latest awards season.

In an old countryside house lives a young man who spends his days beekeeping and researching extraterrestrial life. Convinced that his boss is an alien plotting an invasion during the next lunar eclipse, he hatches a plan to kidnap the executive and force a confession by any means necessary.

If that setup sounds familiar, you might assume I’m describing Bugonia, Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2025 film that left its mark on the latest awards season. But more than two decades before Emma Stone took an electric razor to her head, director Jang Joon-hwan had already turned that deranged premise into his cult classic Save the Green Planet!.

This obscure oddity thrives on total chaos. From the opening credits, where a nauseating punk rock cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” blares over some aggressively early-2000s visuals, the film makes it clear that it has no interest in restraint. What follows is a two-hour onslaught of twisted humor, slapstick, torture, and moments of unexpected sincerity. If that concoction doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, I kindly ask you to turn away. Those who stick around will be rewarded with a wildly inventive and enthralling film that feels truly one of a kind.

Much of the film's unhinged energy comes from Shin Ha-kyun, who delivers a remarkably manic performance as the handsome, eccentric protagonist, Byeong-gu. He’s no hero by any means, yet he remains an absolute delight to watch. Even as his actions grow increasingly extreme, Shin plays the role in a way that prevents the character from ever becoming unlikable. It’s a fearless, full-bodied performance that feels perfectly attuned to the film's deranged spirit.

Opposite him, Baek Yoon-sik plays Kang Man-shik, the pharmaceutical executive suspected of being an alien. Introduced as a cold-hearted bastard who fails to earn our sympathy, he instead becomes a constant source of amusement as he scrambles for any chance to escape. The film gleefully reduces him to a punching bag in every sense, especially as it leans into the cat-and-mouse dynamics between him and Byeong-gu.

Beneath its outrageous surface also lies something far more substantial. Byeong-gu’s past hints at a life shaped by trauma and exploitation, and Jang uses the film’s absurd premise to critique human nature and its inclination toward violence, destruction, and greed. In that light, Byeong-gu's worldview feels less like the product of madness than a warped but understandable response to the cruelty that shaped him. The result is a film with a surprising emotional weight beneath all its grotesque humor.

Save the Green Planet! is an unconventional film that certainly won't appeal to everyone, making it best suited to those already intrigued. The film still holds plenty of surprises, and supporting characters, such as a determined detective and Byeong-gu’s naïve but devoted companion, help flesh out its world. While some viewers may prefer the more grounded direction that Bugonia takes, those curious to see this premise pushed to some truly wicked places will find Save the Green Planet! more than willing to go there.

Kai Prince

Kai Prince was born and raised in Sacramento, California, and is currently pursuing a degree in Cinema at San Francisco State University. His early fascination with film evolved into a study of the medium as both an artistic expression and a lens through which to examine past and present societies across the globe. He is especially drawn to films that challenge their audiences, defy convention, and open viewers to worlds beyond their own.