WaSanGo (2001)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Tae-gyun Kim

Writers:

Tae-gyun Kim (writer)
Dong-heon Seo (writer)

Release Date:

5 December 2001 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy

Tagline:

Violence inside Korean schools, especially WaSanGo.

Plot:

Violence in Korean High School, especially inside the WaSanGo (Volcano High). You won't be able to escape.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Blackboard | South Korea | Mud | Girl Fighter

Cast

Hyuk Jang	...	Kim, Kyeong-su
Min-a Shin	...	Yu, Chae-i
Su-ro Kim	...	Jang, Ryang
Sang-woo Kwone	...	Song Hak-Rim
Hyo-jin Kong	...	So, Yo-seon
Sang-hun Jeong	...	Golbangi
Hyeong-jong Kim	...	Shim, Ma
Shi-ah Chae	...	Yo-mi
Jun-ho Heo	...	Mr. Ma
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
André Benjamin	...	Kim Kyeong-su (MTV English Dub) (as André 3000)
Big Boi	...	(MTV English Dub)
Hie-bong Byeon
Snoop Dogg	...	Song Hak-lim (MTV English Dub)
Su-Jeong Eom
Mu-hyeon Lee
Method Man	...	Mr. Ma (MTV English Dub)
Tracy Morgan	...	(MTV English Dub)
Pat Morita	...	(MTV English Dub)
Mya	...	Yu Cha-i (MTV English Dub)
Pete Sepenuk	...	Dean

Also Known As:

Hwasan Highschool (literal English title)
Volcano High (International: English title) (Berlin film festival title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence, some partial nudity and language.

Runtime:

Canada:99 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Germany:121 min | South Korea:120 min | UK:95 min (25 fps)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:16 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Spain:18 | UK:15 (DVD rating) | USA:PG-13 | Malaysia:(Banned)

Company:

SBS

Trivia:

André Benjamin's film debut.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Noksaek uija (2005)

This is what live-motion comics should look like!

First of all, I want to make a point here. You can't review a comic the same way you review a piece of world literature. So don't review films such as Whasango (Volcano High) like you should review a more serious film, because... IT'S A COMIC!

The story is kept minimal and the characters are stereotyped. Then how come this still is an awesome film? Because it's a rollercoaster, and an extremely beautiful one. Bleashed colors, very nice CGI, cool stunts, over-the-edge acting... Whasango has it all. All it requires from it's viewers is to realise it's pure fantasy. But it's one of the best pieces of fantasy I saw lately.

PS: this is a review of the unedited, original Korean version.