Song Kang-ho names his four favourite movies of all time
While the world at large was perhaps introduced to the brilliance of the inimitable South Korean actor Song Kang-ho after he appeared in Bong Joon-ho‘s Academy Award-winning drama film Parasite, fans of Asian cinema will have had an awareness of his genius long before it was released.
Having given countless phenomenal performances in the likes of Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Memories of Murder, The Host and Snowpiercer, Song has established himself as one of the greatest actors of his generation. He has forged a collaboration with Bong and also worked with another of Korea’s best directors, Park Chan-wook.
Invariably, then, Song has given so many cinema fans their favourite movie moments of the 21st century with countless mesmerising performances. The actor is no stranger to cinematic admiration from a viewer’s perspective either, though, and he once named his four favourite movies of all time in a feature with Letterboxd.
The South Korean film icon begins with Papillon, the 1973 Franklin J. Schaffner historical prison drama starring Steve McQueen, based on the 1969 autobiography by French convict Henri Charriere. “I am a massive fan of Steve McQueen,” Song admitted. “Although he’s not really the typical, handsome Western man, his charm and the small, subtle gestures he makes and his unique aura – I can never forget that.”
Up next is Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2004 drama Nobody Knows, which is based on the 1988 Sugamo child abandonment case. It follows four children who are left on their own in an apartment and forced to survive of their own accord. “The way it faces the reality,” Song said, “I found it very, very impressive.”
Song continues with the 1960 Yu Hyun-mok South Korean tragedy film Obaltan, based on the novella of the same name by Yi Beomseon. Often called the best Korean movie ever made, Song called it a “masterpiece”, citing the fact that it was made so early in the 1960s and yet is so “incredible to find”.
Finally, the legendary Korean actor rounds off his list of favourite movies with the 2015 Hungarian historical drama Son of Saul, directed by Laszlo Nemes, in his feature directorial debut. Taking place in Auschwitz during World War II, the film focuses on a member of a Hungarian workforce over the course of a day and a half. “It was the saddest film I’ve ever seen,” Song admitted, “and the most beautiful film I’ve ever seen.”
Song Kang-ho’s four favourite movies:
- Papillon (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1973)
- Nobody Knows (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2004)
- Obaltan (Yu Hyun-mok, 1960)
- Son of Saul (Laszlo Nemes, 2015)
