What’s your opinion on the state of the movie business? But it’s true that it talks about our current reality. It’s still a genre film, and I consider myself a genre filmmaker as well. When was the last time you went to the theater and you were surprised?īong: You’re right. But it’s also an incredible piece of cinema. It speaks to issues in ways that relate all around the world. It’s crossing over, and not just to a stereotypical older art-house audience, but to a younger audience. You may live in Korea, I might live in the U.S., but we live in the country of capitalism. And everyone in this movie is a parasite. I think it’s a circular relationship that every character has. I think there are no evildoers in this film, and there are no innocent bystanders either. And I think it’s far more complex than that. Tom Quinn: Some people have described the film as an “Upstairs, Downstairs” story. Everything that happened from Cannes to now, I didn’t anticipate, predict or plan. To be honest, my job ended in late March when I completed the film. Why is “Parasite” resonating with audiences around the world?īong Joon Ho: I need more time to really understand.
The two took a break from the grueling demands of awards season, where Bong has been tirelessly promoting “Parasite” at major festivals and screenings, to discuss the state of cinema and their parallel and intertwining careers. Quinn and Bong’s longtime collaboration will continue: Neon recently bought the rights to “Memories of Murder,” one of Bong’s early works, and plans to re-release it in theaters and on Blu-ray.
The picture was eventually released unaltered to glowing reviews. After Bong refused, Weinstein dumped the film with Radius-TWC, the company’s boutique label, which Quinn was then overseeing. chief Harvey Weinstein demanded 20 minutes of cuts. The film’s release was imperiled when The Weinstein Co. Their careers have often intersected over the years, most fortuitously with “Snowpiercer,” an adventure story set in a dystopic future in which humanity is forced to live on a massive train. The two have worked together on five of Bong’s seven films, forming a bond with the release of the monster movie “The Host,” when Quinn was a top executive at Magnolia. The film reunites Bong with Tom Quinn, the founder and CEO of indie studio Neon, which has been the director’s longtime distributor.
“Parasite” is at once a black comedy, a searing social drama and a crackling thriller - often gliding from laughs to shocking violence in the same scene. “Parasite” has exponentially raised the profile of writer-director Bong Joon Ho, who has earned a cult following over the past two decades with the likes of “Mother,” “The Host” and “Snowpiercer.” The success of “Parasite” is introducing Bong to a new generation of viewers, many of whom are likely unfamiliar with his previous work, allowing them to discover a director who is a master of shifting moods and blurring genres. It’s not just the politically driven fall film of choice for Bernie Sanders supporters. Clearly something remarkable is going on here, and it’s partly attributable to the way the movie’s subversive portrait of class tensions resonates at a time when economic inequality has become a dominant political issue. Globally, it has sold more than $109 million in tickets. It’s also the rare Korean film to be embraced in the United States, where it has racked up $12.5 million and counting to become the highest-grossing foreign language film of the year. “ Parasite,” a twisty look at a poor family’s attempts to insinuate itself into the lives of its rich employers, is a worldwide box office phenomenon, a critical sensation and a bona fide awards contender.