Bong
Joon-ho made his debut film nearly 20 years ago, and since then has become one
of the most interesting directors in the world. He was certainly part of the
Korean New Wave, which made that country one of the hottest places for movies
in the mid-2000s, although he’s always been somewhat different, somewhat less
extreme than the likes of the great Park Chan-wook and the horrible Kim Ki-duk.
He works at a measured, yet consistent pace – about every three years, we get a
new film from him. Personally, I am more of a fan of some of his earlier films
than the last two – both bigger budget, international films (Snowpiercer and
Okja) – which are both still wonderful, just not quite as wonderful as Memories
of Murder, The Host or Mother. I am happy that he is back, firmly in Korea, for
his latest – Palme d’Or winning film Parasite, which is easily one of most
anticipated films of the rest of the year, so I figured now was as good a time
as any to revisit this interesting filmmaker.
Below is
a ranking of the films – not including his debut, which I had never seen, or a
short he directed in 2004 as part of a larger film, also because I had not seen
it – but I will include it in the series. Once I’ve seen watched or re-watched
all of his films – including Parasite (which I am seeing on the day it opens at
the Lightbox – October 25th), (update - I was wrong about when I could see Parasite, so I'll have a review up this week - but the schedule for this series won't change). I’ll be back with a new ranking.
Not
Ranked: Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)
and Influenza (2004) – Joon-ho
Bong’s feature debut Barking Dogs, and the short he made are two I haven’t seen
yet, so I’m looking forward to watching both.
6. Tokyo! Shaking Tokyo (2008) – It
shouldn’t be possible that Bong gets together with Michel Gondry and Leos Carax
to make an omnibus film, and the result is this forgettable. I’ve only seen
this once – when it came out – and to be honest, it’s all kind of faded away. I’m
open to being proven wrong with a re-watch, but for now it’s the one film of
his I have completely forgotten.
5. Okja (2017) – The
weakest of Bong’s features (that I’ve seen) is still wonderful – its ambitious
and touching, and wonderfully well-made, with “eccentric” performances by the
likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton and a larger international cast. I’m
not quite sure it all comes together – but it does so much else, it doesn’t
really matter.
4. Snowpiercer (2013) – Bong’s
first international film – a dystopian sci-fi action film, where all of society
is on a fast movie train, and the uprising it inspires. The whole film is
brilliantly well-made, which car adding more wonderfully weird layers. I do
think the film drops the ball in the end, which why it’s a little lower – but overall,
a great film.
3. Mother (2009) – Bong’s
follow-up to his international break-through The Host is a completely different
film – and equally brilliant. The great Kim Jye-Ha gives one of the best
performances you will ever see as a very committed mother, who will do whatever
she has to protect her son – even if he is a murderer.
2. The Host (2006) – As far as
giant monster movies go, The Host ranks right alongside the likes of Jaws as
the best the genre has ever seen. As far as monster movies go, it is stylish
and scary. It’s also a deeply felt family drama, as well as an intelligent film
about how humanity brings this all on ourselves. This is genre film done right.
1. Memories of Murder (2003) – There
were many films in the mid-2000s – like David Fincher’s Zodiac or Nuri Bilge
Ceylon’s Once Upon a Time in Anatolia or Corneliu Porumboiu’s Police Adjective
among many others, in which people examine a crime deeply, and find the answers
less and less clear. Before any of them, there was Memories of Murder – a
brilliant crime drama about cops looking for a serial killer, and cannot find
him. It’s haunting, brilliantly well-made and acted. It didn’t get the
attention it deserved when it came out – but has become a classic since. It
deserves even more.
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