Bong Joon-ho 봉준호 a Director in Motion. The Extraordinary Filmmaker Responsible for Parasite, Snowpiercer, and Mother.
Written & Edited by: Lee Fenton
His pictures are iconic, visually stunning, and often enigmatic. An auteur, Bong Joon-ho 봉준호 utilizes a cinematic tone that is simultaneously plangent and hopeful.
A South Korean filmmaker that has the joy of being the recipient of the only Academy Award for Best Picture awarded to a film that’s not in english, Joon-ho has more accolades than any other international director, writer, producer. He continues to craft award winning cinema that lampoons societal issues; examining the differences between standards of living among the poor and rich – with stories that commonly have dark comedic undertones.
In recent years, the class struggle has become a common thread among South Korean productions – afterall ‘Squid Game’ was a massive hit on Netflix. It examines similar themes, ‘Squid Game’ is a fictional game-show where the contestants compete for a large sum of money; while trying to avoid injuries and potential fatalities. The show was a critical and commercial success, even though subtitled entertainment is generally a hard-sell to western audiences.
A conclusion that could be drawn – if I may go out on a limb, the South Korean public is focused on the real world wealth gap and future economic repercussions. Classism is what’s on the mind of the average Korean movie-goer; perhaps Bong Joon-ho is expressing the current sentiment of his countrymen, and the world as a whole. This is a very important feature of his filmmaking – the intention is on the surface of his films – but also saturates their many, many layers. It took me multiple viewings to absorb every bit of visual minutiae from ‘Parasite’ (2019), however, I understood the gist of the plot easily enough the first time, which is essential to an easily digestible film. Such is Joon-ho – his narratives are straightforward enough that you “get them” on the first run-through, yet, we return for more – knowing that the well offers a fresh draught each time. His cinematography frames things in a way, which is not only pleasant to the eye – but also communicates an incredible wealth of information.
In ‘Parasite’ (2019) the focus on the small bit of sunlight that comes through the windows of the semi-basement apartment is a representation of the families chance at a better life – juxtaposed against the complete lack of light that the maid’s husband is subjected to, and the sunbathed property that the rich family is in possession of. There are three separate and clear motifs of where these different characters belong in the hierarchy of society.
Bong Joon-ho 봉준호 is an exceptional director: his films incorporate themes of class & wealth disparity – delivered with a finesse and expertise that only his unique vision could manage. Joon-ho’s ability for translating an inner message to the screen is almost unparalleled, instituting unexpected arthouse techniques in his larger films, while spending the majority of his time on smaller pictures that offer introspection through extended dialogue.
Bong Joon-ho has a diverse catalog of films.
He’s one of the fastest “rising star” directors in Hollywood, since his feature-length debut of ‘Barking Dogs Never Bite’; a macabre comedy that follows a couple forced to face the realities of living in poverty. The husband (and main character) is suffering a mental breakdown and is slowly forming an intense hatred of dogs – leading him to do some very objectionable things. (I have not seen Bong Joon-ho’s first film but from what I’ve read on the wikipedia page – it may be triggering for some. Especially if violence towards animals is a no-go for you, then avoid ‘Barking Dogs Never Bite’.)
This was a very risky film for a young director to make and he certainly risked alienating more than a few audience members. Bong Joon-ho claims he was inspired by finding a dead dog on the top of an apartment building, when he was a young boy.
See here: “The plot was inspired from Bong's childhood experience of finding a dead puppy on the top of the building. This left a strong impression on him, and he was scared that the security guards would eat it.” [1] -Wikipedia
None of Bong Joon-ho’s films have a rating lower than 76% on RottenTomatoes and most of them sit at a much more impressive 86% - 99%. By taking a look at his filmography, it’s easy to see that he has a track record for making quality pictures. Both the critics rating and audience rating are in agreement, which is often not the case.
CRITICS RATING
AUDIENCE RATING
99%
90%
Director,
Screenwriter
$53.4M
2019
86%
81%
Director,
Screenwriter,
Producer
-
2017
77%
65%
Writer,
Executive Producer
-
2014
94%
72%
Director,
Screenwriter
$4.6M
2013
96%
89%
Director,
Screenwriter
$547.3K
2009
76%
72%
Director,
Screenwriter
$351.1K
2008
No Score Yet
45%
Private institute student (Character)
-
2008
93%
72%
Director,
Writer
$2.2M
2006
No Score Yet
33%
Screenwriter
-
2005
No Score Yet
No Score Yet
Director
-
2004
95%
92%
Director,
Screenwriter
$14.1K
2003
88%
76%
[2] Statistics from Bong Joon-ho profile on RottenTomatoes.com
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If you’d like to learn more about this talented director’s work – check out my article on Joon-ho’s blockbuster film starring Chris Evans, Snowpiercer (2013) or wait for my upcoming in depth analysis on ‘Parasite’ (2019), a film that took home four Oscars.
SEE SNOWPIERCER ARTICLE ON WDM HERE: welldonemovies.com/reviews-and-articles/snowpiercer-review-and-analysis
“Parasite won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. It became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition, as well as the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture.”
That’s right – four.
Maybe I should’ve just said he swept the Oscars.
Is four Academy Awards – “sweeping the Oscars”?
Yeah. I think it is.
That’s a lot of little golden men.
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Sources:
[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barking_Dogs_Never_Bite
https://www.mk.co.kr/news/home/view/2000/02/17826/
REQUIRES TRANSLATION FROM KOREAN TO ENGLISH
[2]https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bong_joon_ho
