NEW YORK — South Korea’s acclaimed filmmaker Bong Joon Ho could make history this awards season with his comedic, horrifying and mysterious “Parasite.”
The winner of the Palme D’Or (Golden Palm), the Cannes film festival’s top prize, “Parasite” is not just a slam-dunk best foreign language film Oscar nominee but is being touted as a best picture Oscar nominee as well.
No Korean film has ever been so honored.
A saga of two families, “Parasite” tracks the collision between the very rich Parks and the very poor Ki-taeks.
The impoverished family, one by one, insinuate themselves into the Parks’ domain, a subtle but real home invasion.
As the impersonations and scheming combusts, “Parasite” is soaked in blood and broken dreams.
Wanting to see how people live is natural, Bong, 50, said via a translator.
“Inevitably, we feel a sense of joy and excitement from just peeping into other people’s private lives. It would be called voyeurism in a negative sense.
“When I was in college, I tutored for a very rich family. Although it lasted for only two months, very naturally I ended up discovering more about that family and their private stories. It felt very eerie to sort of spy on their private lives.
“That’s where the idea for this story began, from that infiltration.”
The scenario is also inspired by real events in early 20th century France. “Two sisters who worked as housemaids suddenly murdered their master. It was a very shocking incident that has served as inspiration to a lot of artists. I actually looked up some material from the actual incident while preparing for ‘Parasite.’”
Critics see the movie tapping into the zeitgeist with so much anger between the one percent and everyone else.
Bong agrees. “Even if a story about the Haves and Have Nots doesn’t have a particularly serious message, even if it doesn’t have a political philosophy, it’s a daily issue in our lives whether we want it or not.
“Even in the subway,” he said, “we smell the person next to us. We see the bag they’re wearing, their phones, their shoes. We immediately catch whether they’re well-off or not.
“Class is something that surrounds us 24/7. Every second of the day we always feel it. We just never talk about it out in the open.
“This film shows onscreen something that we always feel but never express. It’s very straightforward depicting it and the characters just talk about it in the open as well.
“THAT’s what people are reacting to in this film as well.”
“Parasite” opens Friday.
