Park Chan-wook picks the “greatest genius in the history of cinema”
When it comes to South Korean cinema, bar perhaps Bong Joon-ho, there is no bigger name on a global basis than the legendary Park Chan-wook. The former film critic has consistently wowed audiences with his uniquely impressive cinematography and ability to capture action and narrative within special framing.
It was the 2000s Joint Security Area that first brought critical and commercial success to Park before his The Vengeance Trilogy – comprised of Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance – delivered even more acclaim. Park’s The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave cemented his place as one of Korea’s all-time greats.
While many of Park’s movies comprise some of the most flavoursome moments in recent cinema history, the director also has his most cherished works, as expressed in a feature with Lettrboxd. However, the Korean cinema icon stopped short of naming his “favourite films” of all time, opting instead to choose the best films he’d seen over the previous month.
One film that stood out among Park’s selections is Jacques Tati’s Trafic, the Italian-French comedy that was the last movie to feature the director’s legendary character Monsieur Hulot but continued in the same way many of his films do by criticising and ridiculing social conventions through wit and irony.
Discussing Tati and Trafic, Park noted: “I recently watched a movie called Trafic at Seoul Art Cinema, Korea’s Cinematheque. I’ve watched Jacques Tati’s other movies, and I finally got to watch this one. If I had to pick the greatest genius in the history of the cinema, I think it would be Jacques Tati.”
He added: “I couldn’t help but pay my respect to Jacques Tati’s directing, which never fails to find an absurdly funny moment somewhere in everything, from the movement of the world to the movement of people, and tenaciously executes it on the screen.”
Tati was a French mime, screenwriter and filmmaker whose comic and romantic works were widely admired by none more so than Park, according to his above words. As well as Trafic, Tati helmed 1946’s Sylvie and the Ghost, 1947’s Devil in the Flesh, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday from 1953, PlayTime and Parade.
Check out the trailer for Jacques Tati’s Trafic below to get a taste of why Park Chan-wook thinks he is “the greatest genius in the history of the cinema”.
