Parasite of the South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, is a satirical film about the struggle of social classes, which in the 92nd installment of the Oscar Awards, took four statuettes, including one for Best Film. The South Korean film won four awards in total in the following categories: Best Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Film (formerly Best Foreign Language Film) and Best Director.
On the night of Sunday, February 9, Parasite became the first South Korean film to receive an Oscar and the first non-English film to achieve it. Also, Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won became the first Asian scriptwriters to win the original script award.
‘Regardless of the result, I think the door has been opened’, Bong said on the red carpet. ‘I believe that as long as we continue with this effort, the door will open more and more’, said the South Korean director.
On the other hand, during his speech, helped by his translator, the South Korean filmmaker recognized the work of Martin Scorsese, at which time everyone present at the Dolby Theater rose from their seats to applaud the director of films such as The Irishman, Taxi Driver, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street, among others.
‘When I was in school I studied Martin Scorsese and being nominated with him is a great honor, I never thought it would happen. When people in the United States were not familiar with my films, Quentin Tarantino always put my name on their lists and here it is, thank you very much’, he added.
‘Todd Phillips and Sam Mendes are two great directors that I admire a lot if the Academy allows me I would like to split the Oscar into five pieces and be able to share it with each of you’, Bong Joon Ho concluded.
While producer Kwak Sin-ae, said she never imagined this would happen, she said she felt grateful and also expressed her respect for all members of the Academy for making this decision. After those attending the ceremony asked to give the microphone more time, actress Lee Jeong-Eun said:
‘I especially want to thank our Korean audience, the people who went to the cinema in Korea who supported us and who have supported all our films and never hesitate to give us their opinion, which has made us never be complacent and keep pushing, without you not we would be here, ‘he said.
Parasites competed for the Best Film Award with Le Mans’66, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
What is the movie about?
The premise of the South Korean film seems to be simple: two families of opposite socioeconomic levels intersect their paths and in their interactions, the differences of social classes are indirectly reflected. As the director would say, in Parasite ‘there are no villains, only individuals who are victims of something called capitalism’.
The family lives in a basement, where they try to take advantage of what happens around them. They make a living collecting pizza box to sell to a delivery company. One summer day one of them is presented with the opportunity to be a tutor for a teenager from a fairly wealthy family. To do this, he pretends to be a student from a prestigious university. Soon, the whole family will join the farce.
Other winners
As anticipated, Joaquin Phoenix won the Academy Award for best actor for his obscure interpretation in Joker. While Renée Zellweger was awarded the best actress for her representation of the late Hollywood star Judy Garland in Judy.
For his part, Brad Pitt won his first Oscar as an actor for his double stunt role in ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ and Laura Dern the best-supporting actress for her representation of a divorce lawyer in ‘Marriage Story’.
1917 took two Oscars: one for the best photography direction and the second for the best sound. The best assembly is for Ford vs. Ferrari. While for a best-animated film, Toy Story 4 was the winning movie in that category.