{"id":108779,"date":"2020-11-10T07:46:46","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T04:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/25-things-we-learned-from-bong-joon-hos-parasite-commentary\/"},"modified":"2020-11-10T07:46:46","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T04:46:46","slug":"25-things-we-learned-from-bong-joon-hos-parasite-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/25-things-we-learned-from-bong-joon-hos-parasite-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#25 Things We Learned from Bong Joon-ho&#8217;s &#8216;Parasite&#8217; Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2a7ab58c9bc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2a7ab58c9bc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/25-things-we-learned-from-bong-joon-hos-parasite-commentary\/#Parasite_2019\" >Parasite (2019)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/25-things-we-learned-from-bong-joon-hos-parasite-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/25-things-we-learned-from-bong-joon-hos-parasite-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts_on_the_%E2%80%98Parasite_Commentary\" >Final Thoughts on the \u2018Parasite\u2019 Commentary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#25 Things We Learned from Bong Joon-ho&#8217;s &#8216;Parasite&#8217; Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.7--><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits the best film of 2019, Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Bong Joon-ho\u2019s Parasite.<\/i><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>This may be hard to believe, but it was only nine months ago that <strong>Bong Joon-ho<\/strong>\u2018s <strong><em>Parasite<\/em><\/strong> stormed the Academy Awards and won four Oscars including Best Picture. It\u2019s been available on Blu-ray for some of that time, but now Criterion has released the film loaded with new extra features.<\/p>\n<p>Along with the new interviews we get a commentary track featuring Bong and a British film critic. The duo recorded the <em>Parasite<\/em> commentary during the pandemic with the filmmaker in Seoul and the critic in London, and it\u2019s an informative and engaging listen. Now keep reading to see what I heard on the <em>Parasite<\/em> commentary!<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Parasite_2019\"><\/span>Parasite (2019)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Commentators: Bong Joon-ho (writer\/director), Tony Rayns (critic\/moderator)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.<\/strong> The onscreen title uses spirals in its <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a> where normally there would be circles, and Bong says it originated with the original poster design. The artist did it there, and the filmmaker loved it \u201cbecause a spiral feels like a parasite in our body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> Both families\u2019 homes were built from scratch as Bong wanted \u201cfull control\u201d of their living spaces. The street outside the opening window is all a facade constructed inside a large water tank.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> Rayns points out some similarities in scenes between this film and Bong\u2019s earlier work \u2014 the fumigation in <em>Barking Dogs Never Bite<\/em> (2000), the shaking pizza boxes in <em>Tokyo!<\/em> (2008) \u2014 and Bong replies \u201cTony, you are the man who knew too much. I am very uncomfortable with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> Asked if he himself has a scholar\u2019s stone (as seen in the film), Bong replies that he\u2019s no fan of the real ones. \u201cI hate something heavy.\u201d His father collected them, though.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> Bong storyboards everything, and that means he never has to shoot coverage shots as everything is planned out precisely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> Akira Kurosawa\u2019s <em>High and Low<\/em> (1963) is one of Bong\u2019s favorite films, and elements of it inspired this movie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> The wealthy family\u2019s home was built for the film, but only the first floor is real as the second floor of the exterior is CG. The interior of the second story, along with the basement, is a soundstage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> Asked if there\u2019s greater meaning to the Park family\u2019s appreciation (appropriation?) of Native American paraphernalia, Bong suggests that it\u2019s no deeper than someone deciding to wear a Che Guevara tee-shirt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> Rayns asks about the arrow sticking out of the little boy\u2019s behind, and Bong laughs. \u201cPlease don\u2019t misunderstand, not every Korean nine-year-old boy has something on the butt.\u201d It was a detail he just added to his storyboard of the scene even though it isn\u2019t in the script.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> Bong was never given an Americanized name like some of his fellow Koreans \u2014 and like Mr. Park in the film who goes by Nathan \u2014 but he mentions that he learned his surname, Bong, has a meaning in the US. His first distributor in the US actually sat him down and explained what a bong is \u201cand they actually gave me a real bong as a gift after the promotion of <em>The Host<\/em>.\u201d He adds that it caused him some trouble at the airport.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> Song Kang-ho, Choi Woo-sik, and Lee Jeong-eun were already in Bong\u2019s mind when writing the script as he had worked with them all previously and knew they\u2019d be perfect fits here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> He\u2019s not sure why he named the rich father\u2019s company Another Brick, but he thinks it might have been because he was a huge fan of Pink Floyd when he was in high school.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> Rayns points out how Bong\u2019s films, Parasite in particular, never stops to deliver exposition and instead builds its story on the move. \u201cI was very inspired by George Miller\u2019s <em>Mad Max Fury Road<\/em>. That movie never stops, all physical action and movement, it just keeps going going going, but all the background information and story occurs quite naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> When it comes to scenes featuring long conversations between characters, Bong is inspired by the works of Martin Scorsese and the Coen Brothers who he views as masters of such things.<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> When the Parks leave on vacation and the Kims take over the house, the poorer family celebrates with food and drink. The alcohol opens the door to some ambiguity, though, regarding the Kim family\u2019s tight relationship as friction grows between them. \u201cAmbiguity makes audiences very nervous, and there is some tension,\u201d says Bong.<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> A throwaway line early in the film regarding how the housekeeper eats so much, almost as if she\u2019s eating for two, is one of many sly nods to the narrative surprise in the film\u2019s second half with the man in the basement. Bong thanks Rayns for being the first person to mention that to him over the entire press tour \u201cfrom Cannes to Oscar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> \u201cAs a screenwriter,\u201d says Bong, he really hates elements like CCTV recordings, mobile phones, and other technological advancements that get in the way of story.<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> The ram-don dish is popular in South Korea, but Bong added the sirloin into it for the film\u2019s wealthy characters. \u201cI never tried it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> The Park couple engage in some heavy petting and fully-clothed handy-work while on the couch, and Rayns mentions it\u2019s as explicit of a sex scene as Bong has ever filmed. \u201cI\u2019m not that perverted guy,\u201d says Bong. \u201cI\u2019m a very light and pleasant man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> The gym in the film is the same place where Bong filmed the quarantine sequence in <em>The Host<\/em> (2006). He didn\u2019t realize it and was reminded by a member of the crew. \u201cOh fuck!\u201d was his reply.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> Heads up to anyone planning a visit to South Korea \u2014 post-pandemic, obviously \u2014 as Bong points out that early September is the country\u2019s sunniest time of year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> Real trees are expensive, so half of the ones seen encircling the Park\u2019s back yard are created via CG composites.<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> Bong has shown black &amp; white versions of <em>Parasite<\/em> and <em>Mother<\/em> (2009), and Rayns asks him why. \u201cI can not suppress my desire to have my own black &amp; white movie.\u201d Criterion\u2019s new Blu-ray of <em>Parasite<\/em> features the b&amp;w version as an extra feature.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> <em>Parasite<\/em> brought Bong a level of exposure and success that he hasn\u2019t known before, but he doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s affected him. \u201cStill I don\u2019t know what happened, it\u2019s quite strange.\u201d He\u2019s writing the script for his next film and says it all feels the same as far as the process goes. He did send one of his Oscars to his mom\u2019s house, though.<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> The song over the end credits is called \u201cA Glass of Soju\u201d and features lyrics written by Bong. \u201cPlease try this song in karaoke, so I can earn some money from it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\">\u201cI love fumigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe smells it. It\u2019s very perverted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo self-incrimination on this commentary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWow, this is very violent. This is so crazy. So horrible. Who is the director?\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts_on_the_%E2%80%98Parasite_Commentary\"><\/span>Final Thoughts on the \u2018Parasite\u2019 Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><em>Parasite<\/em> remains an all-timer and a film that no one will begrudge winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Bong Joon-ho\u2019s commentary reveals him to be a talented filmmaker who shares his accolades with the cast and crew he brought along for the production. It\u2019s a good listen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/bong-joon-ho-parasite-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=bong-joon-ho-parasite-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#25 Things We Learned from Bong Joon-ho&#8217;s &#8216;Parasite&#8217; Commentary&#8221; Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter revisits the best film of 2019, Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Bong Joon-ho\u2019s Parasite. This may be hard to believe,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/parasite-header.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[66903,22447,32720],"class_list":["post-108779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-bong-joon-ho","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-parasite"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}