"Parasite", the South Korean film that shakes up the Hollywood order

With four Oscars, the South Korean film "Parasite" wins in Hollywood and becomes the first foreign language film to win the coveted award of world cinema. Bong Joon-ho's feature film accumulates statuettes and honors: Oscars for the best international film, the best original screenplay, the best film and finally the best director. Returning once again to the scene of the Oscars in Los Angeles to accept this latest award, the filmmaker casually launched: "Thank you, I'm going to drink until morning".

The international success of this work, especially in the United States, is all the more remarkable since the English language dominates international cinema and the success of non-English-speaking films is rare. In France, "Parasite" has become the most seen Palme d'Or in cinemas for fifteen years. During the Golden Globes ceremony, Bong Joon-ho challenged the American spectators: "Once you have overcome the subtitle barrier, you will open up to so many other amazing films".

How did this social satire on the class struggle in Seoul, how could this subtitled film, with an unknown cast of the American public, be able to find a place in Hollywood? The filmmaker's talent, his humor in particular, are regularly cited, starting with his team in front of the floor of Hollywood stars, Sunday evening.

And the Oscar for Best Film is awarded to ... Parasite! #Oscars, only on CANAL + https://t.co/4TCrwWRkbx pic.twitter.com/g1zfyIwcbM

Jason Bechervaise, film critic and teacher at Korea Soongsil Cyber ​​University, confirms that the character of the filmmaker is not innocent in his ascent to the Hollywood stars. Bong Joon-ho "is charming and sociable: it was crucial to bring his film 'Parasite' so far. He has done hundreds of interviews, frequented voters (of the Academy) and the Hollywood elite".

Behind the filmmaker, there is also a South Korean war machine to showcase its national cinema. The Seoul authorities have been encouraging this industry for twenty years, with a special fund launched in 1999, a quota system in cinemas, but also aid for translation, plane tickets… and receptions on Sunset Boulevard. The newspaper Le Monde estimates the budget allocated to the promotion of the stray film by the Korean cultural center in Los Angeles to several hundred thousand dollars.

Critical social thinking, without moralizing

Relations between the Seoul government and filmmaker Bong Joon-ho have not always been virtuous, however. The coronation of Hollywood even has a taste of revenge for the director of 50 years: he had been placed on a "black list" of personalities critical of the power by the South Korean authorities at the time of the former president Park Geun-hye , dismissed in March 2017, as well as his favorite actor Song Kang-ho (he already appeared in the "Transperceneige"), the filmmaker Park Chan-wook and some 9,500 other artists.

Political and social issues have run through the filmography of Bong Joon-ho since his "Barking Dog" (2000), which denounces corruption in South Korea with, already, a good dose of black comedy. It is with "Memories of murder" in 2003 that he enters the court of directors who count: his thriller, which depicts the repressive atmosphere of the 1980s under the reign of the army, is perceived as a satire of the whole society.

"All of his films are sociology in action, with a political subtext. They are deeply imbued with critical social thought, without your moralizing. Few directors succeed," said Michael Hurt, sociologist at the University from Seoul.

In 2006, the horrifying "The Host" saw him pass his "blockbuster license" with flying colors, without neglecting the critical background by highlighting the incompetence of a government in the face of disaster: eight years later, its public a parallel between this fantastic thriller and the catastrophe of the Sewol ferry, where 304 people had perished. The government will then be thrown out for the incompetence of the helpers and Bong, deeply traumatized by this drama, will be one of the personalities who will demand an investigation.

In 2009, "Mother", a fused love story between a mother and her mentally retarded son, sees him return to a more intimate vein in a drama which aptly intertwines comedy, social and police chronicle. In a country where mental disorders remain taboo, Bong also speaks readily of the anxiety attacks from which he suffers.

"Snowpiercer - le transperceneige" (2013), with Tilda Swinton and Chris Evans, opens her doors to Hollywood. In this science fiction film, where he shows his brilliance again in his staging, a train transports the last survivors of humanity ... but by compartmentalizing them strictly according to their social status. "Okja" follows, a big Netflix production in which a humanist and ecological message is brooding under the guise of the big show.

In Seoul, the big gap between rich and poor neighborhoods, the tearing apart of society between the wealthy and the neglected, is even on the way to becoming glamorous: the journey of the actors of "Parasite" in the meanders of the city is now a tourist attraction. Seoul city officials are already advertising it on Twitter.

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