"Host & Guest" is a beautifully developed drama about a different kind of odd couple, an unlikely friendship that develops between a cynical film professor and a cheerful evangelist. The film ultimately makes viewers appreciate the differences that make us individuals

It was one of the high points of the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival. It should not be confused with "The Host," another excellent South Korean film that played at the festival. "The Host" is a comedic horror film, and the two films could not be more different.

Ho-Jun (Kim Jae-rok) does not believe in love, and his social graces leave much to be desired. His idea of romance is masturbating while viewing a porn site (perhaps he should get together with the Richard character in "Little Children").

He is also a complete film fanatic, and we suspect that he can relate to cinema associated figures more than the people that he knows. Ho-Jun frequently quotes Jean- Luc Godard, and he compares every aspect of his life to films. He even tries to pick up a woman by offering to lend her his prized copy of Fassbinder’s "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" (which may be one of the most depressing films ever made).

He accidentally gets locked into a bathroom naked, and he is extremely upset because he thinks he will miss a screening of an obscure Turkish film. Luckily, an evangelist named Gye-Sang (Gang Ji-hwan) lets him out, and an odd friendship develops between the two men.

The film is made up of delightful small moments that spotlight the men’s opposite outlooks on life. Gye-sang is chaste, religious, and conservative, whereas Ho-Jun is lascivious, atheistic, and theoretical. In the end the Christian viewpoint comes off more sympathetically, which is somewhat surprising and refreshing. Most of the art and Indy films that I see are hypercritical of organized religion.

"Host & Guest" will surely appeal to students of Korean culture, film buffs, and Christians. But this low budget film is so charming and accessible that it has the potential to please a much wider audience.