{"id":67670,"date":"2020-03-04T21:42:33","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T02:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=67670"},"modified":"2020-03-04T21:49:14","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T02:49:14","slug":"korean-film-maker-bong-joon-hos-parasite-makes-oscar-history-%f0%9f%87%b0%f0%9f%87%b7%f0%9f%8e%ac%f0%9f%8c%8f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=67670","title":{"rendered":"Korean Film Maker Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” Makes Oscar History \ud83c\uddf0\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\udfac\ud83c\udf0f"},"content":{"rendered":"

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cinematic history was made on 9 February at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles where the 92nd awards ceremony of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was held. For the first time in its \u2018nonagenarian\u2019 lifetime, the Academy award known as Oscar was presented to a non-English film in the prestigious Best Picture category.<\/p>\n

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Bong Joon Ho, Best Picture, Best Directing, Best International Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay for “Parasite” \ud83d\udcfd\ufe0f Pic via: Facebook\/TheAcademy<\/p><\/div>\n

The recipient of this singular honour was the TheKorean film \u2018Gisaengchung\u2019 known to the world at large in English as \u2018Parasite\u2019. In addition to the Best Picture award, \u2018Parasite\u2019 also won Oscars in the Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film categories. \u201cParasite\u201d was directed by South Korean Film maker Bong Joon -ho who also co-authored the film\u2019s screenplay.
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\nThe Oscar for the Best Picture has been in existence from the time the academy awards event commenced in 1929. Initially it was known as the Best Outstanding Production. The change to Best Picture came in 1962. Although the nominations for Best Picture have been preponderantly from English language films, there have been 11 non-English language film nominations so far. Among such films nominated were \u2018Grand Illusion,\u2019 \u2018Z,\u2019 \u2018Cries and Whispers,\u2019 \u2018Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,\u2019 \u2018Babel\u2019 and \u2018Roma\u2019. They were directed by Jean Renoir, Costa-Gavras, Ingmar Bergman, Ang Lee, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu and Alfonso Cuaron respectively.<\/p>\n

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Walt Disney<\/p><\/div>\n

However none of these films made by eminent directors ever won the Best Film award until \u2018Parasite\u2019 came along. By winning the award for 2019, the South Korean film \u2018Parasite\u2019 and its director Bong Joon-ho have finally shattered the formidable glass ceiling.<\/p>\n

A Personal Triumph<\/strong><\/p>\n

The success of \u2018Parasite\u2019 at the Oscars was a personal triumph for South Korean film maker Bong Joon-ho. The film was nominated in six \u2018Best\u2019 categories at this year\u2019s Oscar awards. They were for Film Editing, Production Design, Original Screenplay, Director, International Feature and Picture. The film which won in four out of six nominated categories lost in only the categories of Editing and Production design.<\/p>\n

Bong Joon-ho who won the Best Director award also won the Best Original Screenplay award along with Han Jin-won. Bong who wrote the story of \u2018Parasite\u2019 co-authored the screenplay with Han Jin-won. With \u2018Parasite,\u2019 of which he was co-producer, winning Best International Feature film and Best Film awards, Bong Joon-ho\u2019s tally was initially hailed as four Oscars on one night. Only the legendary Walt Disney had achieved this in 1953. However it was clarified later that the tally was only three.<\/p>\n

According to new Oscar award rules the International Feature film award though accepted by the director was credited to the country and not to an individual. Incidentally the name of the award category was changed from Best Foreign Film to Best International Feature film only from this year.<\/p>\n

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Martin Scorsese
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Winning three Oscar statuettes on one night places Bong Joon-ho in the same league with nine other illustrious film makers. The nine others who have won three Oscars for one film in one night and their films are James L. Brooks (\u2018Terms of Endearment\u2019), James Cameron (\u2018Titanic\u2019), the Coen brothers (\u2018No Country for Old Men\u2019), Francis Ford Coppola (\u2018The Godfather Part II\u2019), Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu (\u2018Birdman\u2019), Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (\u2018The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King\u2019) and Billy Wilder (\u2018The Apartment\u2019).<\/p>\n

Bong Joon-ho\u2019s Beginnings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bong Joon-ho was born in 1969 as the youngest of four children in South Korea\u2019s Daegu city. His father was a professor and mother a housewife. The family later re-located to South Korea\u2019s capital city \u2013 Seoul. Bong graduated from Yonsei university with a degree in Sociology. While an undergraduate he had completed two years of mandatory service in the Army as required by Korean law. Thereafter he joined the Korean academy of film arts and completed a two-year course in film making.<\/p>\n

Bong Joon-ho then spent five years in films working for other directors in different capacities such as actor, writer, cinematographer and assistant director. He also made several short films. His first directorial venture in feature films was in 2000 when he made \u2018Barking Dogs Seldom Bite\u2019. Bong followed this up by directing more films like \u2018Memories of Murder,\u2019 \u2018The Host,\u2019 \u2018Mother,\u2019 \u2018Snowpiercer,\u2019 \u2018Okja\u2019 and now \u2018Parasite\u2019. The director mainly films stories written by him personally and very often writes or collaborates in scripting the screenplay. Interestingly enough the films \u2018Snowpiercer\u2019 and \u2018Okja\u2019 are classified as English language films.<\/p>\n

Stiff Competition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bong Joon-Ho had stiff competition in being crowned with the Best Director laurel. Those in the running with him were Martin Scorcese (\u2018The Irishman\u2019), Quentin Tarantino (\u2018Once Upon a Time in Hollywood\u2019), Sam Mendes (\u20181917\u2019) and Todd Philips (\u2018Joker\u2019). Bong Joon-ho seemed genuinely surprised to win the directorial award. His acceptance speech sounded very sincere and touched the gathering at the venue as well as millions of viewers on TV.<\/p>\n

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Scene in ‘Parasite’<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAfter winning Best International Feature, I thought I was done for the day and was ready to relax. Thank you so much. When I was young and studying cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart, which is that, \u2018The most personal is the most creative.\u2019 That quote is from our great Martin Scorsese,\u201d said Bong Joon-ho, pointing to Martin Scorcese in the audience. \u201cWhen I was in school, I studied Martin Scorsese\u2019s films. Just to be nominated was a huge honour. I never thought I would win.\u201d An emotional Martin Scorcese stood up amidst deafening applause and acknowledged Bong.<\/p>\n

The Korean director then went on to say: \u201cWhen people in the US were not familiar with my films, Quentin always put my films on his list. He\u2019s here, thank you so much. Quentin, I love you.\u201d Quentin Tarantino smiled and waved. Bong continued by saying: \u201cAnd Todd (Philips) and Sam (Mendes), great directors that I admire. If the Academy allows, I would like to get a Texas chainsaw, split the award into five and share it with all of you. Thank you. I will drink until next morning, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multi-award Winning Commercial Success<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apart from the Oscar bonanza, \u2018Parasite\u2019 has struck gold by winning many other international accolades too. It won the Palme d\u2019Or at the prestigious Cannes Film festival in 2019 with the Jury voting unanimously. \u2018Parasite\u2019 also received three nominations for the Golden Globe awards and became the first Korean film to win in the Best Foreign Film category. The film also got the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. \u2018Parasite\u2019 received four nominations at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) and won two awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay.<\/p>\n

While being critically acclaimed, the film was also a worldwide commercial success. The 132-minute-long film premiered at the Cannes festival on 21 May 2019. It was released nine days later in Korea on 30 May 2019. The film made on a budget of $ 11 million had as of 9 February grossed $ 175.9 million worldwide. Of this the box office earnings in South Korea was $ 72 million while the USA and Canada combined earnings topped $ 36 million. With the Oscar win the film is going to be re-released in thousands of cinemas from this weekend. This obviously would result in gaining more revenue.<\/p>\n

What Makes \u2018Parasite\u2019 Tick?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is it that makes \u2018Parasite\u2019 tick? The film starring popular Korean artistes Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik and Park So-dam is described as a dark comedy thriller about class contradictions in contemporary urban South Korea. Not wishing to be a spoiler, I will not delve into too much of detail about the story and stick only to a vague outline.<\/p>\n

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The mansion in ‘Parasite’<\/p><\/div>\n

The film is basically about two sets of families. One very rich and the other poor. There is also a third very poor family. The rich family resides in a luxurious mansion while the poor family lives in a squalid basement. The third is in a secret sub-basement.<\/p>\n

The family striving for upward mobility gets a chance to go up in the world when an employment opportunity in the form of tutor to the daughter in the rich family household offers itself to the son in the poor family. He grasps it with the aid of fraudulent university qualifications. Thereafter the family slowly infiltrates the upper class mansion through deceit and false pretences. All four members of the poor family are now ensconced in the rich household serving the elitist family in different capacities. In the process they displace another poorer family eking out a living in the same way as domestic aides.<\/p>\n

At one stage the rich family is away on vacation and the poor family enjoying full freedom act as if they are lords of the manor. The rich family returns earlier than expected and the poor family is brought down to earth. Realisation dawns that the status quo will not change. The earlier hilarious easy-going sequences of the film give way to serious, dark scenes inclusive of violence. Ultimately the son who aspired to ascend \u201cupstairs\u201d with his family from their original abode returns home and descends \u201cdownstairs\u201d to the basement.<\/p>\n

Intriguing Title<\/strong><\/p>\n

The title of the film is most intriguing. Director Bong Joon-ho in a media interview speaks about the choice of \u2018Parasite\u2019 as the film\u2019s title. Here is the relevant excerpt: \u201cIt was considered almost a little risky and dangerous. Particularly the marketing team was pretty hesitant because, in Korea, the word \u2018parasite\u2019 has a very realistic and negative connotation.\u201d Joon-ho went on to explain that the title could be perceived in a couple of different ways, as it has a metaphorical double-meaning that could refer to either of the two central families in the South Korean dark-comedy thriller.<\/p>\n