Bong Joon-ho

- Blurb -

The first illustrated critical monograph of Academy Award-winning writer/director Bong Joon-ho, the visionary behind films such as Parasite, Snowpiercer, Okja, and The HostBrilliantly illustrated and designed by the London-based film magazine Little White Lies, Bong Joon-ho examines the career of the South Korean writer/director, who has been making critically acclaimed feature films for more than two decades. First breaking out into the international scene with festival-favorite Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), Bong then set his sights on the story of a real-life serial killer in 2003' s Memories of Murder and once again won strong international critical attention, winning Best Director at San Sebastian Film Festival. But it was 2006' s The Host that proved to be a huge breakout moment both for Bong and the Korean film industry. The big-budget monster movie, set in Seoul, premiered at Cannes and became an instant hit-South Korea' s widest release ever, setting new box office records and selling remake rights in the US to Universal. Bong' s next feature, Mother (2009) also premiered at Cannes, once again earning critical acclaim and appearing on many "best-of" lists for 2009/2010. But it was Bong' s first English-language film, Snowpiercer (2013)-set on a post-apocalyptic train where class divisions erupt into class warfare-that brought his work outside of the South Korean and film festival markets and onto the stage of global commercial cinema. After a short sidestep with 2017' s Okja, which became a center of controversy due to its being produced and released by Netflix, despite A. O. Scott calling it "a miracle of imagination and technique," it was Bong' s 2019 black comedy/thriller Parasite that took his career to new heights, winning the Palme d' Or, with a unanimous vote, as well as Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. Parasite' s jarring shifts in tone-encompassing darkness, drama, slapstick, and black humor-and its unsubtle critiques of late capitalism and American imperialism are in conversation with Bong' s entire body of work, and this mid-career monograph will survey the entirety of that work, including his short films, to flesh out the stories behind the films with supporting analytical text and interviews with Bong' s key collaborators. The book also explores Bong' s rise in the cultural eye of the West, catching up readers with his career before his next masterpiece arrives.