The Best Movies Made By Bong Joon-ho

Bong Joon-ho has slowly been receiving his well-earned flowers in recent years. Following the groundbreaking achievements that his 2019 film Parasite received following its release, the South Korean filmmaker is certainly on the rise to be one of the most prolific directors of our generation.

Starting out with working in short films, the director has slowly released seven full-feature-length films throughout the years, with another on the way, starring Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17. Each of his films dives into social inequities, environmental concerns, and is highly critical of capitalism and greed. Here are just some of his best works so far.

8

Barking Dogs Never Bite

2000

This black comedy was Joon-ho’s directorial debut and quickly gained him a cult following. Being his first film, it’s a little weaker out of the bunch and it doesn’t have the heavy themes that he likes to dive into now, but there are some hints of how that will slowly come up later in later releases.

The movie opens with Yunju, a restless part-time college lecturer who’s constantly overlooked for tenure at the university, practically brimming with anxiety over his future and insecurity over his pregnant girlfriend being the provider between the two. Suddenly, everything comes to a head when he decides to take drastic action against the yapping dog next door. The movie clearly states no animals were harmed in the making of this film, but if you can’t stomach animal abuse, we recommend skipping this one on the list.

7

Influenza

2004

One of the short films on the list, Influenza is a startling look into the social hierarchy that South Korea has, which is a common theme that the director loves to explore in his films. Similarly to a found-footage film, the entire movie is shot from the perspective of CCTV cameras set up throughout Seoul that follow a man’s descent into madness.

The film was commissioned as part of the ‘Jeonju Digital Project’, a set of three digitally-shot short subjects compiled for the 2004 Jeonju International Film Festival. For a while, the movie was only available via streaming sites years after its release in Korea, but it finally saw a DVD release in North America in 2020 through Grasshopper Film.

6

White Man

1994

Another short film that Joon-ho made, White Man follows an interesting story of a lowly office worker who stumbles upon a severed index finger on his way to work and ultimately decides to keep it, taking it home to play strange games with it. The film has a runtime of about twenty minutes.

Each of the filmmaker’s movies are certainly unique, but this film takes the top spot for one of the strangest films on his list. It blends the darker implications of a class struggle with an interesting black comedy aspect that makes for an enjoyable watch.

5

Mother

2009

There are no limits to what a mother will do for her child, and this film certainly showcases that. The plot follows a mother, who conducts unlicensed acupuncture treatments to help bad dreams in a small South Korean town, forced to play detective as she tries to clear her disabled son’s name after he’s framed for the murder of a young girl.

The ending, like all the other films on this list, is explosive and certainly leaves you in shock. The film explores what lengths a mother will go to protect her son, whether good or bad, and is highly critical of the South Korean justice system.

4

Okja

2017

In Okja, a young girl named Mija has been a caretaker and constant companion to Okja, a large pig-like animal, at her home in the mountains of South Korea. But everything changes when the conglomerate Mirando Corporation steals Okja away and takes her to New York. With no particular plan but the hope that she’ll get Okja back, Mija sets out on a rescue mission to bring her friend home.

Okja focuses on animal rights and the disastrous consequences that capitalism can have on our environment. From the vast contrasts of the idyllic mountains of South Korea to the smog-ridden New York City, it’s hard to miss the themes that Joon-ho showcases in this film.

3

The Host

2006

While Joon-ho likes to stay within the drama realm of films, The Host is straight up a horror film. Specifically, a monster movie. After years of Americans dumping random chemicals into South Korea’s Han river, a creature finally emerges from the depths to cause chaos in a town. After the creature kidnaps a street vendor’s daughter, he must join forces with his family to go save her.

The film’s titular main character is played by Song Kang-ho, who has appeared in multiple Joon-ho movies. Similarly to Okja, the film dives into themes of environmentalism and the wrath that we can face when nature decides to fight back against humans.

2

Snowpiercer

2013

Snowpiercer is a 2013 post-apocalyptic thriller with a star-studded cast and is Joon-ho’s first English-language debut. Based on the French graphic novel, Le Transperceneige, the film follows a group of survivors forced to survive on a train that circles the world after Earth is plunged into uninhabitable freezing temperatures. This happened due to a failed attempt at climate engineering to stop global warming.

Like all of Joon-ho’s films, the central theme of this one is class struggle. The train is divided by the lower class, who are forced to survive like animals in cramped back quarters while the rich run the front portions of the train, subjecting the lower class to cruel punishments when order is disrupted. Since the film’s release, there have been multiple graphic novels that continue the film’s story, and the franchise also received a TV series in 2020.

1

Parasite

2019

Parasite is the film that brought Joon-ho into the spotlight. This black comedy thriller received multiple awards and praise, even becoming one of South Korea’s highest-grossing films in the country’s history. The film brings back Song Kang-ho as the titular main character and has a decently stacked cast of well-known South Korean actors and actresses.

In case you haven’t seen the film, Parasite focuses on the class divide between the rich and poor. This is shown through the lowly Kim family as they infiltrate the wealthy Park family, using schemes and plots in order to get what they want from the others. The film is arguably one of Joon-ho’s best works and is well-deserved for the praise it gets years after its initial release.