Photo courtesy of Flickr
Bong Joon-ho directed “Parasite,” which won four Oscar Awards.
BY CASEY ROEPKE ’21
South Korea’s official submission to this year’s Academy Awards, “Parasite,” won four Oscars on Feb. 10. Its Best Picture win makes “Parasite” the first movie not in the English language to win Hollywood’s highest award in the Oscars’ 92-year history.
The first foreign language film nominated for Best Picture was in 1938, with “La Grande Illusion,” a French movie filmed in French, German, Russian and English. Another non-English film wasn’t nominated for Best Picture for 31 years, until a French-Algerian collaboration, “Z,” broke the streak.
Only 12 movies in non-English languages have ever been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, and no more than one was nominated in any given year. Last year, “Roma,” directed by Alfonso Cuarón and spoken in Spanish and Mixtec (an indigenous Mexican language), was widely tipped to be the first non-English Best Picture winner, but it was beaten by “Green Book.” This year, “Parasite” finally broke through the barrier to claim not only Best Picture, but also Best Director (Bong Joon-ho), Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature.
“In honoring the film, which also won best director, original screenplay and international feature, voters managed to ... embrace the future — Hollywood’s overreliance on white stories told by white filmmakers may finally be ebbing,” The New York Times reported.
Despite the fact that “Parasite” was set in South Korea, the movie appealed to American audiences. According to Variety, “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.”
South Korean political officials have responded to Joon-ho’s Oscars sweep, largely celebrating the win on behalf of the entire country.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in tweeted, “‘Parasite’ moved the minds of the world with a story that is truly Korean. The film is funny and sad. It’s also refreshing and superb as a social message. It makes us rethink about inspiration and strength — in a single film. The Korean government will support to create an environment where film professionals can freely express their imagination and produce a film without any worries.”
“I saw an interview with Bong Joon-ho and he said that ‘Parasite,’ to him, was a retelling of an age old story between the rich and poor,” Ayu Suryawan ’22 said. “It does not stop at highlighting differences between the rich and poor but the fetishization of luxury and wealth. It covers the lengths people are pushed to to climb the filthy ladder of capitalism, ultimately resorting to turning against members of your own class.”
Joon-ho delivered numerous Oscar acceptance speeches throughout the night in Korean, with the help of an interpreter, Sharon Choi. In his acceptance speech for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign-Language Film last month, he summarized his view of the reluctance of English speakers to watch non-English films.
“Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles,” Joon-ho’s interpreter translated, “you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”