British GQ - 04.2020

(avery) #1
Bong Joon-ho has established himself as the master of jet-black social satires. First there was
Snowpiercer, in which environmental catastrophe has forced remaining human society to relocate
onto a train, where ticket classes literally correspond to social classes. Then there was Okja, which saw
a giant, super-intelligent pig flee the slaughterhouse. Now there’s the double Bafta-winning Parasite,
in which a clan of scam artists trick their way into the lives of a richer family and try to make from
them as much money as possible. In a way, he’s a bit like Ken Loach, if Loach made dystopian, sci-fi-
inflected thrillers. In good news, Parasite is multiplying. The film has been so successful – cleaning up
at the Oscars and becoming the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture – it’s spawned an
HBO miniseries, in which Bong plans to explore the material he didn’t manage to fit into the original.

The Gong Artist

Bong Joon-ho
Winner Best Original Screenplay;
Best Film Not In The English Language
Film Parasite
Joon-ho wears Prada

04-20BAFTAs_3418656.indd 171 13/02/2020 11:39


APRIL 2020 GQ.CO.UK 171
Free download pdf