Influenza is a 2004 short film (27 minutes) from South Korea, directed by Bong Joon-ho.
The film tells the story of an unfortunate Mr. Cho. As the film opens Mr. Cho is already in pretty dire straits, trying to eke out a living by peddling superglue on a subway train. He gets chucked off a train for that, and after being reduced to eating from garbage cans, he turns to crime. Specifically, he begins mugging people who are withdrawing money from ATMs. Eventually, he gains a female partner in crime (the film doesn't specify how), and his crimes grow more violent.
The gimmick is that the entire film is presented as footage taken by security cameras. Originally filmed by Bong as part of an Anthology Film.
Tropes:
- Anticlimax: The bank scene. Mr. Cho and his partner enter a bank looking shifty. A caption informs the viewer that they're both carrying deadly weapons. They seem about to graduate to bank robbery as Mr. Cho approaches the counter...and then music plays and confetti falls from the ceiling and people applaud. It turns out that Mr. Cho is the 20th customer on the 20th anniversary of the founding of the bank. He gets a prize in the form of a novelty check.
- Blatant Lies: In an early scene Mr. Cho is practicing his sales patter in a public restroom. He glues a leather strap to a tin can, the proclaims that, with this amazing superglue, it's impossible to pull the two apart. They then come apart.
- Found Footage Films: The entire movie consists of security camera footage. Supposedly they were all real security cameras, with Bong having to go back later and retrieve the footage.
- Funny Background Event: The climax has Mr. Cho and his partner mugging an old man in an ATM booth, fighting with him until Mr. Cho finally punches the old man to the ground. The two criminals assaulting the old man draws the attention of a crowd of people who watch from outside the glass booth. One of them shoves another, and they end up fighting, chaotically brawling around the square outside while Mr. Cho murders the old man inside the booth.
- Jump Cut: Many, throughout the movie, as it's presented as bits of found footage cobbled together.
- Leave the Camera Running: Most of the film is presented as long takes from stationary security cameras, with the only edits within scenes being Jump Cuts. The exception is the assault in the parking garage, in a scene where the camera slowly pans back and forth instead of presenting a static view.
- No Name Given: The woman who becomes Mr. Cho's partner in crime is never named.
- Noodle Incident: The concept of the film as a series of security camera films means that viewers never do find out how Mr. Cho and the lady who became his partner got together.
- Non-Indicative Name: Influenza. It's about two muggers. No one gets sick with influenza, or with anything else.
- Parking Garage: A long sequence takes place in a parking garage, where Mr. Cho and his partner assault, rob, and probably kill a man.
- Split Screen: Several scenes, like the scene where Mr. Cho is dragged off the train or the first time he robs a woman, are show in split screen views like one might expect from a video security system.
- Stupid Crooks: The film ends with a frenzied Mr. Cho beating the old man in the ATM booth to death. While a crowd of people watch from outside through the glass walls, taking pictures, and while Mr. Cho's partner is holding the door to the booth shut, trying to keep out the police who are battering at the door.
- Stylistic Suck: It's supposed to be surveillance camera found footage, so much of the film is in black and white with fuzzy, poorly focused shots.
