Since the movie’s debut at the Cannes Film Festival last year, Bong Joon-ho’s seminal tale of class divide, Parasite, has garnered huge awards buzz, with this buzz still going strong and now bringing home the Best Foreign Language Film award at this year’s Golden Globes.
Writer and director Joon-ho Bong took to the stage to accept his trophy, and with the help of his translator, he delivered some very wise words to both the star studded audience and the movie-going public about looking beyond the confines of Hollywood blockbusters and English-speaking movies, and into the wider world.
“Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films. Just being nominated along with fellow amazing international filmmakers was a huge honor.”
Bong Joon-ho’s Golden Globes message about not being afraid to explore and appreciate movies from around the world is one all fans should appreciate and respect, particularly when we still live in a world where many will not even consider a movie if it means having to read subtitles. Let’s face it, western, English-speaking remakes are never as good as the original. To finish his time on stage, Bong Joon-ho spoke the last line of his speech himself, in English.
“I think we use only just one language: the cinema.”
It is certainly refreshing to hear a filmmaker use the podium to talk about the importance of cinema, rather than using it as a pedestal for their political beliefs. Bong Joon-ho’s message is not encapsulated any better than by the movie he was awarded the Golden Globe for. Parasite is a socio-economic commentary, that takes a darkly satirical look at class divide and wealth disparity, and though the story may be set in South Korea there is something universal about the movie’s view on modern society that is applicable to just about every developed nation.
Cinema does not need to be in English to be understood and appreciated, as Parasite has proven, garnering rave reviews from both audiences and critics alike, with the film currently sitting at 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and sure to bring home many more awards before the season is over.
Parasite sees writer/director Bong Joon Ho bring his work home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale. Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families.
The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks. The film stars Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik and Park So-dam. This comes from The Golden Globes Youtube on NBC.
