Bong Joon Ho, a director who has mastered the art of blurring genres together, has had another breakout among the American movie market. ‘Parasite,’ a movie focused on the divide between the rich and the poor and overall social inequality, has become a smash hit. The drama has even gone as far as to secure nominations and wins among American award shows, as well as go on an entire promotion tour in the U.S., appearing on shows such as Jimmy Fallon.
The glitz and glamour of Hollywood isn’t where the 50 year-old began. Bong’s directorial debut was in 2000 with ‘Barking Dogs Never Bite’, a movie about a man driven to murder due to the loud barking dogs in his apartment complex, started his cult following. Then, 2003’s ‘Memories of Murder’, which follows the real life story of South Korea’s first documented serial killer, showed Bong’s true skills as a director. After, followed 2006’s ‘The Host,’ 2009’s ‘Mother,’ 2013’s English language film ‘Snowpiercer,’ 2017’s Netflix collaboration ‘Okja,’ and finally the Palme d’Or winner, 2019’s ‘Parasite.’
‘Parasite’ is the top grossing foreign film of last year, racking up around 12.5 million dollars in the U.S. and around 120 million worldwide and counting. This is no surprise, as the captivating movie has been the talk of the town since its release in October of last year.
The movie has been breaking records and scoring awards as of recently. This year alone, ‘Parasite’ has won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, a SAG for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in Motion Picture, and an AACTA International Award for Best Film. Though, the film as been nominated for many other things, including the upcoming Oscars. ‘Parasite’ has been nominated in six Oscar categories, including Best Picture, International Feature Film, Production Design, Writing (Original Screenplay), Directing, and Film Editing. ‘Parasite’ is also the first Korean film to be nominated for the Best Picture category. To see how Bong’s film does, watch the 92nd Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 9.
