Even before the Oscars, the Korean film “Parasite” already made history. It was the first Asian movie to ever win the top prize of Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards and the first Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
It went on to take home top prize at the Academy Awards — the first time any foreign language film ever won Best Picture. Bong Joon Ho also won for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film. “Parasite” was the first Korean film to ever be nominated for Oscar.
“Parasite” tells the tale of two families, the wealthy Parks and the poor but enterprising Kims. When the Kims’ college-aged son becomes a tutor for the Parks, he cons the Parks into hiring his other family members. He doesn’t actually reveal that they’re related to him.
The movie contrasts the cramped basement home of the Kims with the enormous, ultramodern home of the Parks. The Parks’ seemingly immaculate and airy house holds some dark secrets.
When Bong Joon Ho joined us in the studio with his interpreter Sharon Choi, he told us about his face-off with Harvey Weinstein over cuts to his 2013 film “Snowpiercer.” And he explained why that experience led him to make “Okja” for Netflix, even though he prefers to watch films in theaters. Plus, he’s planning to release a book version of his “Parasite” storyboards to the U.S. soon.
“Parasite” is now available to stream on Hulu.