A train circles the frozen world at high speed, the remnants of humanity inside. A family hunt the mutated monster who kidnapped their daughter. A young woman befriends a super-pig and goes on a worldwide caper with it.
These are the worlds of Bong Joon-ho, and underneath their at times pulpy genre exteriors lies a morass of complex characters. Beginning his career with a number of box office hits in South Korea, Bong built on his success with two English-language features, Snowpiercer and Okja.
Now he’s returned to his roots with Parasite, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and is the first Korean film to be nominated for an Oscar.
In a new video essay, Will Webb takes a closer look at what makes Bong such a compelling filmmaker. Watch below and let us know your thoughts @LWLies
Published 3 Feb 2020
By Will Webb
Exploring the early work of New York filmmaking siblings Josh and Benny Safdie.
By Halim Kim
The serial killer case that inspired the South Korean director’s 2003 film finally appears to have been solved.
By Will Webb
Revisiting the acclaimed British writer/director’s first three features, Unrelated, Archipelago and Exhibition.
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
