The directors Bong Joon-ho dreamed of emulating: “Always been inspired”
When Parasite made a giant sweep at the 2020 Oscars and became the first non-English film to beat every other title in the ‘Best Picture’ category, any questions about Bong Joon-ho’s capabilities disappeared as fast as they had materialised. It wasn’t like he wasn’t already amid the circle of greatest filmmakers, but with the Oscar-winning entry, the South Korean filmmaker dominated Hollywood. But for Joon-ho, nothing changed—neither his approach to filmmaking nor how much he wants to be like the directors he admires.
Joon-ho was already a name to be reckoned with in South Korea, owing to his nuanced and heartbreakingly real take on social themes and class in films like Barking Dogs Never Bite, The Host, Memories of Murder, and Mother. Parasite attaining international acclaim, winning some of the most prestigious honours in the industry—it bagged the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, marking the first Korean film to do so—didn’t magically elevate Joon-ho’s status or significantly alter how he approached the art of filmmaking. He said as much while talking to The Guardian: “It changes nothing.”
He did agree that it opened a few doors for him and allowed the budget of his next venture, Mickey 17, to bloom and for Robert Pattinson to join the cast. But all this fame, the perks (and pressures) of working with a bigger budget, collaborating with international stars, and being at the forefront of South Korean cinema’s rising stars in Hollywood has barely created a dent in Joon-ho’s humble heart. The down-to-earth filmmaker is an ardent fan of industry behemoths like Mike Leigh and Ken Loach but believes he can never emulate their “energy.”
“I’ve always been inspired so much by Mike Leigh,” he admitted. “I love his films—Naked, Secrets & Lies—particularly with his working-class characters and how lived-in they seemed. And I met Ken Loach in France a couple years ago, and he had so much energy,” he shared, humorously adding that he wishes to “take after them, but, y’know, I’m already just thinking about nap time.”
Though Joon-ho likes to call himself a “middle-aged filmmaker”, the gusto, heart, and dedication he pours into his films is palpable. His talent and love for cinema have always announced their presence. Whether it is through a mother desperately searching for her son’s killer in Mother, the post-apocalyptic Snowpiercer that pulled back the curtain of the truth of humanity and depicted class rage with frightening accuracy, the Kim family trying and drastically failing in their con to infiltrate a wealthy family in Parasite, or the kind space explorer Michael Barnes who is used a human guinea pig to protect the human population in Mickey 17.
But taking boastful pride in his creations has never been Joon-ho’s style, even when he was helming the massive budget of Mickey 17. For him, “the biggest thing [during production] was, as I’m getting older, I feel a bit weaker, and my stamina is not as strong, so I have to fight against my ageing body and mind.”
Well, if this is what he creates with what he claims are half his agencies, then he is good enough to join the ranks of the greatest filmmakers who excel in the cursed art of depicting the unfairness of life.
