Bong Joon Ho makes unfairness funny, then makes the laughter uncomfortable. We rate him highly when his plotting is as precise as his performances; his broader comedies have the same compassion but rather less restraint.
Fi1m perspective
In Parasite (2019), Song Kang-ho and Park So-dam make a family con look workable simply by appearing certain of themselves. Their confidence gives the scheme momentum, and Bong and co-writer Han Jin-won make it a pleasure to follow. We laughed, then felt uneasy at how readily we had sided with the people doing the deceiving. That pleasure in watching people improvise under pressure is a good reason to watch him, even when his films grow untidy.
He began with the dark comedy of Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), then turned to crime in Memories of Murder (2003) and monsters in The Host (2006). He moved into English-language production with Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja (2017). The genres change, but he keeps returning to people with too little protection from the institutions around them. Parasite makes both families fallible without pretending that they have equal freedom to make mistakes.
Production designer Lee Ha-jun’s mansion and basement home show what money buys without a speech about inequality. Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo keeps those rooms clear enough for us to follow the increasingly complicated plotting. Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Yeo-jeong play people accustomed to being accommodated, which is more telling than simple villainy. The music and writing occasionally overemphasise a point, but Bong usually gives us enough to notice for ourselves.
Mickey 17 (2025) is funny and kind, but much less disciplined. Robert Pattinson makes its two versions of a disposable worker distinct through posture and manner, while Fiona Crombie’s cramped ship makes his repeated replacement look like ordinary workplace procedure. Cinematographer Darius Khondji lights those interiors greenish grey, saving the harsh white for the snowy planet outside. The canteen scene, in which Mickey politely answers another question about dying, makes the cruelty plain without a speech.
The trouble is that Bong keeps returning to jokes he has already landed. Mark Ruffalo’s bluster wears thin, and the middle stretches beyond what the story needs. Pattinson is still worth the evening. For a first encounter with Bong, we would send anyone to Parasite.
Biography
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director, screenwriter and producer. He was born on 14 September 1969 in Daegu.
He studied sociology at Yonsei University and film at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. His directorial debut was the black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000). Subsequent films include Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), Snowpiercer (2013), Okja (2017) and Parasite (2019), on which he served as director, story writer and screenwriter. Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. His later film Mickey 17 (2025) credits him as director, writer and producer.
