While in middle school, Joon-ho decided to become a filmmaker. He had a highly intellectual upbringing; his father, Bong Sang Gyun, is a graphic designer and his maternal grandfather, modern South Korean writer Park Tae Won, was a noted author.
Despite Joon-ho's passion for film, he did not enroll for a theater major in university due to his parent's disagreement.
In the late 1980s, he majored in sociology in Yonsei University and was a member of the film club there.
He was then a fan of Edward Yang ('A Brighter Summer Day', 'Yi Yi'), Hou Hsiao-hsien ('The Time to Live and the Time to Die', 'A City of Sadness', 'The Puppetmaster'), and Shôhei Imamura ('The Ballad of Narayama').
In the early 1990s, Joon-ho completed a two-year program at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. While there, he made many 16mm short films.
However, it was his graduation films that were eventually invited to screen at the Vancouver and Hong Kong international film festivals. He also later collaborated on several works with his classmates.
After graduating, Joon-ho spent the next five years contributing in various capacities to works by other directors.
Bong's second film, the 2003 South Korean crime/drama mystery film 'Sarinui chueok' ('Memories of Murder'), a much larger scale project than his first film, was adapted from a popular stage play by early-modern South Korean poet Kim Kwang-rim.
Upon release, enthusiastic word of mouth drove the film to sell over five million tickets.
Although passed over by the 56th Cannes Film Festival and the 60th Venice Film Festival, 'Memories of Murder' eventually received its international premiere.
Nonetheless, 'Memories of Murder' also received an unusually strong critical reception on its release in foreign territories such as France and the United States.
Three years later, Joon-ho' co-wrote and directed the first feature of which he is best known. This was the 2006 South Korean monster horror/action film 'Gwoemul' (lit. 'Monster', or 'The Host').
It opens with careless American military personnel dumping chemicals into South Korea's Han River.
Several years later, a deformed fish with an S-shaped spine emerges from the tainted waters and sinks its ravenous jaws into local residents.
When the creature abducts their daughter Park Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung), vendor Park Gang-Doo (Kang-Ho Song) and his family decide that they are the only ones who can save her.
By the end of its run on November 8, 13 million tickets had been sold, making 'The Host' (at the time) the highest-grossing South Korean film of all time.
The following year, it won several awards at the 1st Asian Film Awards in late March 2007. These included Best Film, Best Actor (Kang-Ho Song), Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects.
Quentin Tarantino included 'The Host' in his list of top twenty films released since 1992 (the year he became a director). The film was also listed at #81 on the 100 Best Films of World Cinema list for Empire magazine.
Roger Ebert said of 'The Host': "A horror thriller, a political satire, a dysfunctional family comedy, and a touching melodrama, Bong Joon-ho's "The Host" is also one helluva monster movie."
In 2017, Metacritic ranked Bong 13th on its list of the 25 best film directors of the 21st century. That same year, they ranked Joon-ho #13 on its list of the 25 Best Film Directors of the 21st century.
In the late 2010s, Joon-ho co-wrote, co-produced and directed the second and final film of which he is best known. This was the 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller/comedy film 'Gisaengchung' ('Parasite').
The film tells of greed and class discrimination, of which threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
It follows the members of a poor family who scheme to become employed by a wealthy family by infiltrating their household and posing as unrelated, highly qualified individuals.
'Parasite' premiered at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival in May 2019, where it became the first South Korean film to win the Palme d'Or.
In the festival's closing ceremony, Alejandro González Iñárritu (‘Amors Perros’, ‘Babel’, ‘Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance’), ‘The Revenant’) serving as jury president, said that the choice had been "unanimous" for the nine-person jury.
"It's the 100th anniversary of the cinema in Korea this year. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Korean cinema, I think the Cannes Film Festival has offered me a very great gift," Bong told reporters after the ceremony.
'Parasite' is considered by many critics to be the best film of 2019 as well as one of the best films of the decade. It is also the 42nd highest rated film of all time on Metacritic.
On a budget of $11.4 million, 'Parasite' grossed $264.4 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing South Korean film.
Among its numerous accolades, 'Parasite' won a leading four Oscars. These included Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, Best Directing, and Best Writing (Original Screenplay). This occurred at the 92nd Academy Awards in early February 2020.
'Parasite' became the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and the first South Korean film to be nominated.
It was also the first non-English language film to win Best Original Screenplay since Pedro Almodóvar's 2002 Spanish romance/drama film 'Hable con ella' ('Talk to Her').
It was even also the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition, and the first film since American television and film director Delbert Mann's 1955 American black and white romance/drama film 'Marty'.
After its Best Picture win, 'Parasite' had received a black and white version. Some say it's like watching a different film.
Among his other credits, Joon-ho is also known for directing 'Mother' (2009), 'Snowpiercer' (2013), and 'Okja' (2017).
Joon-ho is a quintessential auteur with a solid grasp of film technique and narrative as it has evolved in this century. His films have always set themselves apart with a touch of characteristic satire and black humor.
Joon-ho has been active from 1994–present.
#borntodirect
@Korean_Movies
@ParasiteMovie
@festivaldecannes
@Criterion
@RogerEbert
@Metecritic
@nytimes
@collider
@theguardian
@Vulture
@empiremagazine
@indiewire
@tubi
No comments:
Post a Comment