부산행 118 min., 2016 South Korea Korean / Czech and English subtitles Director: Yeon Sang-ho Distributor: ADS Servise
Divorced workaholic (Gong Yoo) boards a train from Seoul to Busan with his young daughter (Kim Su-an). Their journey is interrupted by the outbreak of a zombie epidemic that turns the train into a moving death trap within moments.
When Yeon Sang-ho premiered his live-action debut Train to Busan in the Midnight Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, he breathed new life into the zombie genre and created one of the most successful Korean films of recent decades. Elaborate action sequences, claustrophobic spaces, and mesmerizing, surging masses of undead bodies form the foundation of Yeon's impressive action choreography. Yeon expanded his zombie universe with the animated prequel Seoul Station (2016) and the action-packed sequel Peninsula (2020), before returning to the genre this year with Colony (2026), which also screened at Cannes. Yet Train to Busan remains the unsurpassed pinnacle of his filmography. Its greatest strength lies not in the sheer number of zombies or technical virtuosity, but in Park Joo-suk's meticulously crafted screenplay, which focuses on character development and gives their relationships and motivations room to unfold. Amid the relentless pace of the action emerges a surprisingly intimate story whose emotional impact rivals the spectacle of its action sequences. Train to Busan is more than a thrilling genre ride: it is a film about the undead that truly has a soul.
