When trying to describe Jang Jun-Hwan’s madcap film, I could just throw out a string of genres: sci-fi, dark comedy, suspense, horror, etc. But even that would do nothing to prepare you for this mad journey of kidnapping and torture.

Byeong-gu is absolutely convinced that aliens are invading Earth, and in order to uncover their plot, he kidnaps a wealthy executive whom he believes to be the alien leader, and proceeds to interrogate him in his basement lair. Byeong-gu, however, is unhinged thanks to a deeply traumatic childhood, and as his interrogation grows increasingly desperate, something else is clearly at work in his troubled mind.

Save the Green Planet is one of those films that constantly zags when you expect it to zig, and its disturbing, convoluted, and surprisingly poignant storyline will have you cringing one moment and tearing up the very next.

I was fortunate enough to catch a midnight screening of Save the Green Planet at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival with Jang Jun-Hwan in attendance, and it was a truly magical experience as the crowd ate up every single minute of the film.