Top 5 Bong Joon Ho films: Parasite, Memories of Murder and more

The South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho got widespread recognition after his 2019 film Parasite, but the first movie to come under his name was almost two decades before that. Let’s take a look at some of his best films.

posters of Bong Joon Ho films Parasite, Memories of Murder Okja (left to right) (Source: YouTube)

New Delhi: The South Korean filmmaker Bong Hoon Ho is a name that runs synonyms with excellence. Filmmakers and critics around the world are of the opinion that anything and everything that this guy puts out is nothing short of spectacular. Hollywood legends such as Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorcese have several of his movies on their watchlist. His films are known for their emphasis on class division, social justice, and capitalistic greed. His morbid sense of humour is pretty evident in his filmographic style, mixed with sudden tone shifts that help take the edge off of the gruesome topics that are otherwise difficult to talk about. Although the Korean maestro has made only a handful of films in his career, every one of them is a masterpiece in its own right.

Bong Joon Ho’s top 5 films

Let’s take a look at 5 of his top-rated films:

1. Parasite (2019)

IMDb rating – 8.5/10

Parasite is a dark comedy thriller in which a poor family infiltrate the life of a wealthy family. The movie is based on a play by Bong Joon Ho written in 2013, which was later adapted into a film. Parasite premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it became the first Korean film to win its top prize, the Palme d’Or. Parasite created history by winning the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020 and became the first non-English-language film to win the award. The movie also won the Oscars for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. Bong tied with Walt Disney for the most Oscars awarded to a person in a single night. It has since gained the status of one of the greatest films of all time.

2. Memories of Murder (2003)

IMDb rating – 8.1/10

Set in a rural district of South Korea in 1986, Detective Park Doo-man and Cho Yong-koo are determined to solve a series of rape and murder cases. Memories of Murder is the film that put Bong Joon Ho on the radar. With this movie, he was able to blend the familiar crime genre with comedy and social satire. This movie serves as a perfect entry point if you’re looking to take a deep dive into the excellence-driven cinematic universe of Bong Joon Ho. There’s a slew of great, highly rated crime thrillers out there but what makes this film quite possibly the best crime/serial killer movie out there is the realistic and flawed portrayal of the detectives that is inherent to human nature. Which more often than not is missing from films of this genre, most filmmakers take the easy route by painting an untarnished picture of the hero. Famed Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino named this movie as one of his favourite top 20 movies to watch along with Bong Joon Ho’s 2006 film The Host.

3. Mother (2009)

IMDb rating – 7.7/10

Mother is a story of a disabled boy who gets accused of the murder of a young girl, and his single mother attempts to find the killer and free her son. This movie displays the art of genre-bending that Bong Joon Ho has mastered over the years. Mother is a slow-burn thriller that weaves suspense and drama together like no other, at times it’s a crime movie that keeps you at the edge of your seat with your mouth wide open and at the same time it also is a chilling character study. The sheer depth that this movie has makes you feel like you’re falling into an endless pit. Add on top of that the absolute unpredictability which leaves you baffled at times. This film stands as a testament to why he’s an Academy Award-winning filmmaker.

4. Okja (2017)

IMDb rating – 7.3/10

Okja is the story of a young girl from South Korea named Mija who does everything in her power to save her best friend and pet Okja, a genetically modified pig. This movie further pushes the envelope for Bong Joon Ho’s coverage of topics and genres. Dealing with environmentalist themes, this movie and a commentary on capitalistic greed. Okja features an elaborate Hollywood star cast with names such as Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Shirley Henderson, Daniel Henshall, Devon Bostick, Giancarlo Esposito, and Jake Gyllenhaal along with Ahn Seo hyun who plays Mija. Okja leverages the imaginative world of sci-fi fantasy to ask some really uncomfortable yet fundamental questions about ethics and morality.

5. Snowpiercer (2013)

IMDb rating – 7.1/10

Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic action thriller science fiction film set in the year 2031, based on the French novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob. Snowpiercer is the name of a train that circumnavigates the planet after a climate engineering experiment to control global warming goes wrong, and plunges the Earth into an ice age. Bong Joon Ho uses this fictional story to depict class inequality and all the horrors that come along with it, where the locomotive serves as a fascist kingdom on wheels. This film marks Bong Joon Ho’s debut in English filmmaking, with a star-studded cast including Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Song Kang Ho, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris and John Hurt among others. With this film, the Korean maestro delivers yet another genre-bending masterpiece that intertwines capitalism and climate change.

The word auteur refers to an artist with a distinctive approach, who has their own way of doing things. Being called an auteur is a huge accomplishment, and calling Bong Joon Ho is nothing short of appropriate. With his extraordinary approach towards filmmaking that’s unlike anybody else, he’s an auteur in its true sense.