Colossal (2016) was an independently produced international film involving five countries. It had a smaller budget than typical Hollywood films, which allowed it to explore themes of domestic abuse and alcoholism. Starring Anne Hathaway, the film used intertextuality and foreshadowing to tell the story of a woman who realizes she is connected to a monster attacking Seoul. Her character's ability is shown to stem from childhood trauma.

1. Colossal (2016)
Colossal is an example of a multi-national independent film, as it features international co-
production from five countries: Canada, South Korea, United States, China and Spain. It was
produced by two Canadian studios, Voltage Studios and Brightlight Pictures. A Spanish director,
Ignacio “Nacho” Vigalondo, led the appearance and actors for the project. A South Korean
investment company, Union Investment Partners, agreed to invest in the film provided part of it was
set in their country of South Korea. A Chinese company, Neon, distributed the film, which was their
first film to distribute, and an American film company managed the finances.
The film was significantly assisted by the presence of Anne Hathaway, one of the leading actresses of
the time. Hathaway’s career started in 2001 as the lead of the highly successful “The Princess
Diaries” and has remained strong ever since. Although she is a blockbuster actress, she offered for a
more unusual role in an independent film and signed on before funding began, proving to have an
important role in the production of the film. It also led to Jason Sudeikis, another celebrity actor,
having another major part in the film.
Because it is classed as an independent film, there are numerous differences in this film from the
Hollywood standards. Independent films usually have smaller budgets than Hollywood films, which
contrary to common belief actually allows for more freedom in terms of storytelling and can explore
more themes; in this case a theme of control and domestic abuse towards women and alcoholism. It
also makes use of high concept film to discuss personal, human issues. These risks can be taken, as
the lower production cost means the film will lose less money if it tanks. Because of this, big name
film companies cannot take these risks as they have to appeal to as many people as possible to turn
a profit, as many themes taken by this movie would not appeal to the vast majority of people.
Intertextuality plays an important role to the plot. Most obviously, there is the appreciation for Asian
kaiju films with a giant monster attacking Seoul poking fun at the cliché of a monster attacking
Tokyo. A giant robot also has a role in destroying the city. Foreshadowing is also present in the film,
as it is slowly revealed that Anne Hathaway’s character is the monster attacking Seoul and it occurs
whenever she walks through the local playground in town. The monster is also shown to have
appeared 25 years before the present, foreshadowing that this occurred when Hathaway’s character
was a child and Jason Sudeikis’s character destroying her model of Seoul, leading to them both
having the ability to destroy Seoul when they are both struck by lightning. Another instance of
foreshadowing occurs near the end of the film. When trying to think of a way stop Sudeikis’s
character from completely destroying Seoul, a map with a line from her town to Seoul, which she
put up to work out how she was related to the monster, flips upside down. This very clearly
foreshadows the resolution of the film, in which she flies to Seoul to confront the robot of Sudeikis’s
character and overpower him.
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2. 5. Anon. (2004). Anne Hathaway. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hathaway.
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