Bong Joon-ho’s favourite Hollywood movies of the last 25 years
Cinephiles are among some of the nosiest people on the planet, with public platforms like Letterboxd and the Criterion Closet videos indulging our desires to understand the watching habits of everyone in the film industry. Your own cinematic taste is a truly intimate matter, and while some people love to profess their love for their top five favourites, others like to keep it a secret, an act that feels almost impossible in this day and age.
But luckily for all the nosy parkers, snooping has just become a lot easier, with the New York Times compiling a list of favourite films from all the most prominent people in cinema, with actors like Mikey Madison and directors like Sofia Coppola adding their cultivated choices to the ultimate film ranking list. Also given this honour was beloved director Bong Joon-ho, who threw his own two cents by sharing his top nine favourite films of the 21st century.
After directing a masterpiece like Parasite, which has consistently been cited as the greatest film of the last 25 years, humility is certainly a quality that Joon-ho cultivates, with the director describing many other modern classics as his ultimate influences and inspirations. First up, the director included Asako I & II on his list, an early film from Ryūsuke Hamaguchi that came before Drive My Car and Evil Does Not Exist. It’s a mysterious love story that does not adhere to the conventions of the romance genre in any way, with a melancholic undertone that highlights the cruelty of love—a theme that has crept into many of his later films.
Another film about the cruelty of humankind that was included on his list was Happy as Lazarro, the devastating 2018 fable from Alice Rohrwacher about a heartbreakingly kind man who is exploited by everyone around him, but he never loses his spirit despite this.
Mad Max: Fury Road is a similarly harsh story on Joon-ho’s list, with the apocalyptic George Miller film being almost as tough to watch as it was to make, with countless stories about the strained desert production that have led it to be considered as one of the most legendary and challenging films from Miller’s filmography.
Challenge is not unfamiliar to the Coen brothers, with their 2007 film No Country for Old Men also being described by Joon-ho as a favourite, which doesn’t come as a surprise given that it was one of the most disturbingly unique stories the pair had created at the time of its release.
While many of these directors are widely known, Alain Guiraudie is lesser-known compared to the likes of the Coen brothers, with his 2013 film Stranger by the Lake being a thoughtful addition to Joon-ho’s list, revealing an introspective and perhaps surprising edge to his taste. The same can be said for The Day He Arrives, a deeply melancholic story from legendary director Hong Sang-soo that follows a film director as he wanders around a city, aimlessly trying to connect with people.
And lastly, the director included three blockbusters on his list, adding The Social Network and Zodiac and demonstrating his clear love for David Fincher. War of the Worlds was another commercial classic, with Steven Spielberg being a consistent inspiration for most people and proving that his genius never fails to fade.
Boon Joon-ho’s favourite Hollywood films of the past 25 years
- Asako I & II (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2018)
- Happy as Lazarro (Alice Rohrwacher, 2018)
- Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)
- No Country for Old Men (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, 2007)
- Stranger by the Lake (Alain Guiraudie, 2013)
- The Day He Arrives (Hong Sang-soo, 2011)
- The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)
- Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
- War of the Worlds (Steven Spielberg, 2005)
