FILM: Parasite has set itself apart from other foreign films released in the U.S.
By Esther Wang, Staff Writer
Parasite has received three Golden Globe nominations and won Best Foreign Language Film, won the Palme d’Ors, the highest prize awarded in the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, and recently received six Oscar nominations. The film has been accumulating buzz for a while. A couple months ago, I grew curious and watched it in theaters and left amazed. The flawless acting and gut-wrenching plot twist — which I never saw coming — left me speechless. I now understand why this movie received so much praise and love, and I wanted to know more. With that said, I dug into the life of Parasite’s writer and director, Bong Joon Ho.
Bong Joon Ho has made numerous movies. Although most of his films are in Korean, he has directed a couple American films you may recognize: Snowpiercer and Okja, both of which starred prominent American actors. Snowpiercer starred Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer, and Okja starred Jake Gyllenhaal and Lily Collins. His movies are described as thrilling, perplexing, and meaningful.
So far, Parasite has grossed roughly $133.5 million worldwide. In an interview at the Golden Globes, Bong described Parasite’s success as “inevitable because this film is about the rich and poor… the U.S. is about the heart of capitalism, so I thought it was natural to gain such an explosive response.” The director didn’t expect such a strong response from America; however, he could comprehend the reason why it became so popular.
HBO announced plans to adapt Parasite into a series with director Bong Joon Ho and Adam McKay, HBO’s executive director and producer for their show Succession. Amongst worries that the series would only become a remake of the movie, Bong clarified, “my goal is to create a high quality expanded version of Parasite.” I think expanding Parasite instead of remaking it is exactly what should be done, as there are too many remakes (Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Mulan, The Lion King, etc.) being released.
Hopefully, we will see more of Bong Joon Ho’s work in the future, whether it is through the upcoming HBO series or another thriller like Parasite. The world is excited to see what he comes up with next.