Quint's Reviews and Ruminations on Film

As I ready myself to see his most recent feature in a few hours (Mickey 17) I thought it would be a good time to look over his career in pictures.

One of my favorites of the new guard, the South Korean filmmaker's work -as wiki states- is "characterized by emphasis on social and class themes, genre-mixing, dark comedy, and sudden tone shifts", or what I call, the Joon-ho swerve, and I'll speak to that as I dig into each picture.

My first, like many in the States, was The Host, and I was immediately smitten, if a little knocked off my heels (it's the swerve). After that I sought out his other productions, each a winner in their own right. His peak moment was in 2019 with Parasite, and all those awards and accolades. That year's Oscars is still one of the best I've ever watched. It was upbeat, fun, the audience was enthused and fell love with the director, who charmed everyone who watched. And he seemed to be having a grand time (playfully having his Oscar's kiss as he posed for photographers). It was also historical - Parasite was the first South Korean film to be nominated for an Oscar, the first to win, and the first international picture winner to win overall Best Picture as well.

So, in no particular order, on to Bong!

Mother
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Crime, Mystery - 129 minutes - R - 2009




Summary: When her mentally challenged son is accused of murder, a mother sets out to find the real culprit.

Mother was a movie that I originally had ranked near the bottom of the director's filmography, mostly because it made me uncomfortable when I first saw it. It’s not a graphically sick flick, so maybe it was the implied incest that popped up from time to time. Or maybe it was just something tonally that set me off-balance. Like being on a ship in a storm and feeling seasick. That was Mother.

Mysteries are rarely as strong on a second viewing—familiarity defeats surprise and allows you to untwist any twists and turns in the plot. However, like most of Joon-ho’s features, this was even better on a second go-through, based on cinematic and storytelling merits. There are layers here, things that took on a deeper meaning for me (mother's visit to the prison, for example).

As is characteristic of the director’s work, he adroitly blends comedy with tragedy and takes shots at bureaucratic bumbling and insensitivity. (You’d think he was being unfair in that area, but much like Bunuel (The Milky Way) or Gilliam (Brazil), Bong draws from real life. Ripped from the headlines -or the history books- if you will.)

The clever script (co-written with Park Eun-kyo) is filled with tension and unexpected wrinkles in the plot, and there's a fascinating role reversal in the mother/son relationship at the end.

And of course it’s unconventional. Mother dancing in the field as an acoustic guitar plays, or a lawyer speaking through a karaoke mic during a meeting with his client, are Lynchian in their weirdness, and adds an off-kilter texture to a film that plays with genre tropes but never feels stale.

Interestingly this offbeat vibe isn't reflected in the look of the picture. Cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo doesn't get too tricky with the camera, with a heavy dose of Dutch angles and the like, though there are some interesting shots—Mother feeding a soup to her son as he urinates (we see fluid go in one end, as liquid leaks out into the street at the other)—for the most part, it's pretty straightforward in this area,

Wrapping up - when I reach for something from the filmmaker, I’m more inclined to go for Memories of Murder, Parasite, or the Host. But this unsettling ode to a mother’s unconditional love is nonetheless a top-notch showcase for Joon-Ho and his talented crew.

Personal Awards: Best Actress: Kim Hye-ja - it was also among the nominees for Best Picture.

Memories of Murder
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Crime, Mystery, Thriller - 131 minutes - 2003




Based on a true case of the first recorded serial killer in Korea’s history. The film opens with some black humor, as we follow two cops who brutalize suspects and bumble around looking for a scapegoat. A detective from Seoul joins the team, he’s whip-smart and starts to piece together important clues. What’s interesting with these characters is watching how the murders transform our primary protagonists: The bad cop starts to wise up and do his job, while the good cop becomes hardened and bitter.

Bong builds drama and psychological suspense with each frame and weaves in political turmoil present at the time. The film looks great – the director and cinematographer’s eye for composition is without peer. And the dynamic Song Kang-ho is wonderful as ever - his final scene is haunting / chilling.

In analyzing Joon-ho's themes and motifs, critic Adam Nayman called his work ruthless but not mean spirited and noted (with SPOILERS on the Host and Parasite)

The interesting thing here, is that eventually, in real life, they solved the case. They caught the guy (I'm curious but never heard if there was a correlating character in the movie). I wonder if Bong would have made the movie had it been solved? Was the unknown, the failure, part of what drew him to the project?

Personal Awards? There's no way in hades anything or anyone is bumping my treasured Lost in Translation, or Bill Murray (Best Actor) off their pedestals, but Memories was nominated (along with another South Korean picture, Oldboy) as was actor Song Kang-ho.

Note: The film was given no rating in US showings, in its country of origin, it received a 15 (for audiences 15-years or older)

The Host
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi - 120 minutes - R - 2006




My first from the director, and I have to admit I wasn't fully prepared. The film generated a lot of buzz, but I think I was expecting a straightforward monster movie, and not the work from a unique and unpredictable cinematic mastermind. Once I got familiar with Joon-ho and came to appreciate his skill at putting a fresh, unexpected spin on familiar genres. I gave the picture another try... and was enthralled.

It's an intelligent creature feature, that offered great scares, laughter and some genuinely tearful moments. It also bitch slaps the political landscape (and doesn't cast the US government in a good light). It packs a lot into its story but doesn't come off unwieldy or unfocused.

There's always a great sense of space and place in a Joon-ho picture, of precise movement not only on the primary action, but in the peripherals - he's a master of misdirection, world building, and creating fully fleshed out losers, who toil and fight on and maybe, just maybe manage to get it right at the end (but at a cost). In addition, within this whirlwind of bureaucratic idiocies and creature attacks and kidnappings, there's a portrait of family, illustrated so memorably in a sequence where a ghost, a memory is fed and cared for during a meal.

This was a film I liked on a first viewing, but with each watch, it grew and grew in my estimation, I now consider it one of the best of the genre, and some of the director's finest work overall. (a personal Best Picture nominee to boot).

Trivia: Another example of Bong drawing from real life: From IMDB -

I was always luke warm in regards to The Host. For me, it’s always goinnf to be Parasite as his crowning achievement so far.

Barking Dogs Never Bite
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Crime, Comedy - 110 minutes - Not rated - 2000




The main plot point concerns a guy who is at the end of his rope over an incessantly yapping pooch that lives somewhere in his apartment complex. He gets rid of the offender, only to discover he got the wrong dog.

I remember Blockbuster’s review page being crammed with people outraged over this movie (and yet they remain silent when humans are graphically slaughtered by the boatloads in other flicks?) Yeah, dogs die, but that’s not all there is to the story (and the death count is small and not overly bloody). BDNB is a wicked black comedy -Lord did I laugh my arse off- but it’s also deeply humanistic. We witness the consequence of the man’s actions; the anguish on the pet owner's faces was genuinely heartbreaking. There’s also a dash of social/political satire thrown in as well.

This is the first big-screen feature from Joon-ho and the piece bears his strengths from the get-go. including the well-rounded characters and winning performances (actress Doo-na Bae, in particular, is endearing). It's not as polished, and more small scale... think of it as lo-fi Bong. And sure, the movie should probably come with a trigger warning - I'm not completely insensitive to this, as a cat lover I hate the idea of seeing them hurt - I get it, but judging the movie as a movie, I thought it worked and set the table nicely for greater things to come.

Snowpiercer
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Drama, Sci-Fi, Action - 127 minutes - R - 2013




I saw this in our little art-house theater, and it was freaking amazing. Bong Joon-ho makes his English language début and it's another feather in his cap. The story is set at a time when mankind screwed up trying to reverse global warming and instead turned the world into a frozen wasteland. The only survivors are stuck aboard a train going nowhere.

A Bong trademark is to expose the absurdity of bureaucracies, those in authority. Metaphors are prevalent throughout the picture: The train is the world, the engine is God, the passenger’s society. Everyone has a role, a place on the train that goes in circles for perpetuity. In the back are the poor, who are staging a revolt and are trying to make their way to the engine... the seat of power.

It’s a weird, wild journey: Surreal, funny, scary, heartbreaking… maybe hopeful (though that will come with further hardship). It takes some surprising turns, which given the nature of this train world/society, aren’t really surprising at all.

Parasite
Directed by Bong Joon-ho - Comedy, Thriller, Drama - 133 minutes - R - 2019




Parasite is a devastating social parable... one that features the Joon-ho swerve in full force (often his movies zig, when I'm expecting a zag).

The South Korean maestro opens his film as a bright comedic satire about a lower-class family, who worm their way into jobs for a rich couple - then, at the halfway point, he executes a sharp pivot that plunges the viewer into darkness. The morality tale about the costs of climbing the ladder turns savage, themes of class division, capitalism, inequality, and empathy (or lack thereof) for the suffering of others, become soaked in blood and violence. And just who are the parasites? That is called into question by the end, as everybody's using someone, in some way.

Few directors could manage a tonal swerve of that magnitude, and only a madman or a genius would even attempt it. Saying that, it's important to restate that while unconventional, Bong Joon-ho is extremely focused, precise, and in command. There's not a hair out of place in this film, it all works to perfection, from the technique to characterization and story, which acts as a damning commentary on social and economic issues (and perhaps shines a light on the plight of the fallen middle-class in South Korea, as this FP.com article suggests).

Oscar and I agree, Parasite, and its maker, deserved every accolade and award it, and he received this year.

And wrapping this up...



Okja (2017) and Mickey 17 (2025)
You hear the term 'jump the shark' for TV shows that have lost their mojo, and that can apply to writers, musicians and directors, sometimes the creative spirit dries up, or the bloom comes off the rose, maybe something else comes into play - for example, I prefer Pan's Labyrinth and Devil's Backbone del Toro to the goofy, big kid del Toro of Hellboy 2 & Pacific Rim. Bong was invincible to me until Okja - I got this sinking feeling during the opening act, where it was just daffy. Thankfully it turns dark and serious half-way through, found focus and righted itself. While uneven, and not my favorite movie from Joon-ho, I eventually bought into it. It wound up a good flick overall.

Then came Parasite -phew- okay, he's still a force, some years later and I'm back to, "Uh oh"



Mickey 17 - he's done this before and he's done it better, there's a dash of Okja, a slice of Snowpiercer, and while Bong has never been subtle there's a difference between natural momentum and a hard push in the back. You can't really complain that there are broad brush strokes or cartoonish characters because he's done that before (Tilda in Snowpiercer), but he's a bit heavier handed here, a little clumsier with the telling. Pattinson is very good throughout, the big budget is all there on the screen, and it opens well, but after that it ebbs and flows, and the Joon-ho swerve is nowhere to be found, so while it's off its nut, it's somehow more conventional because he sticks to the straight line.

There's hope a second viewing could help, but for the here and now, Mickey's sitting in the cellar. I do hope that this isn't signaling a downward slide, that he's going to repeat himself with diminishing returns from here on out.

Okja -
Mickey 17 - or

Feature Film Rankings
1. Memories of Murder
2. Parasite
3. The Host
4. Mother
5. Snowpiercer
6. Barking Dogs Never Bite
7. Okja
8. Mickey 17

There's also a collection of shorts, I've seen a handful. His piece in the anthology, Tokyo! (2008) was the standout of the group, and White Man (1998) which anticipates Parasite, were the best of the 4. Incoherence (1994) is a short satire in 4-parts., Joon-ho's graduation film from the Korean Academy of Film Arts is a basic, low hanging fruit, type of thing. And Influenza (2004) is what happens when Bong does get mean spirited - the 30 min piece was too dark, too cruel, and not for me.

Nice reviews!

I'm debating on whether I should see Mickey 17 or not. From what I've read, it's generally considered to be among his weaker films.

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Thanks.

Funny to think that my most anticipated movies early last year were Nosferatu and Mickey 17, and neither lived up to expectations. I saw someone use the word 'histrionic' here or at LB to describe Nosferatu, and that fits. Near the final act I just wanted to get up and leave. Mickey never reaches that low, I was fine watching it to the finish, but there were bits and pieces that just didn't work for me. Redundancy is baked into the story, but even then, that quality became wearisome.

I will give it another go with a library check-out. Maybe that'll smooth out the rough patches for me, or maybe it's a 3-ish-star movie, and that's that.

So, while I was waiting for Black Bag to start, they showed a trailer for this...


Hooray!

And it's been 20 years? I saw it in the theaters back then, fell in love with it, own the disc, watched it -and the BBC miniseries version- several times. And I will be there for its return.

While I've read and enjoyed all of Austen's works, there are caveats - It would be fair to say that I'm a conflicted reader, not really a Janeite, probably more a Lizzie-ite? My love was founded on her character and her novel. I like that she's the one Austen heroine who isn't tamed or caged, etc - while she grows as a person, she's allowed to be her lively, independent (even in marriage), sharp tongued self to the very end.

All hail Elizabeth Bennet!



Ranking the Pride and Prejudice Adaptations I've Seen
1. Pride and Prejudice (1995 miniseries) - Colin Firth, arguably the best Darcy

2. Pride & Prejudice (2005) - the top two are the supremes - to say that I adore them would be an understatement - this one features my favorite Lizzie, and my favorite performance from Keira Knightley

3. Pride and Prejudice (1967) - This version oddly eliminates the middle daughter, Mary - maybe they felt she was inconsequential and wouldn't be missed... but she was indeed missed. Not my favorite P&P, but not bad.

4. Pride and Prejudice (1980) - Elizabeth Garvie is a good Elizabeth, but David Rintoul plays Darcy as if he were a Vulcan. There's zero chemistry between the two, and while I've seen this version complimented for its faithfulness, that matters little when the telling is so dry.

5. Pride and Prejudice (1940) - Hollywoodized version lacks wit and nuance, and Mr. Darcy is too damned happy. I guess that's better than Vulcan Darcy, but come on, I need my brooding Darcy.

Modern Spins & Inspirations
Lost in Austen (2008) - A highly enjoyable fantasy adaptation
Bride & Prejudice (2004) - A Bollywood updating, 'eh
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) - A reinterpretation, not my thing, though it has its fans


BTW, what the heck has happened to Fathom Events Big Screen Classics? They showed the Goonies in Jan and then.... nothing. Google searches yielded zero info - is it over and done? Sad, if so.

Happy St. Patrick's Day
Officially it's tomorrow, March 17th, but I've been movie celebrating through the weekend because I recently discovered the Irish Film Institutes website and have been watching the Oscar nominated Irish shorts they're hosting -- which includes The Shore, a piece that stars Ciarán Hinds and Kerry Condon. It won in the Best Live Action category, and while I only rated it 3-stars (a passing grade, mind you), it's got humor and heart, and heck - you can't go wrong watching the great Ciarán do his thing (a simple conversation between he and Condon, playing his daughter, was mesmerizing, and it's just them talking about the past)

You can check these out for yourself, here...

https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/oscars/#...-eda6569d-c0ed

I also caught the first Irish language sound film from 1935 - an 11 min piece with music and storytelling. It was considered lost and then found in 2013. It's called, A Night of Storytelling

A Date for Mad Mary
Directed by Darren Thornton - Romance, Comedy, Drama - 82 minutes - PG13 - 2016




So, apparently 2025 is going to be my year of Irish cinema - First I discovered the IFI archive, and all the shorts there, and now MUBI is hosting a selection of films from the Emerald Isle. This was the first I watched, and it's about a young woman who returns home after a stint in prison, just in time to be the maid of honor at her best friend's wedding. The only problem for Mary, is finding a plus one to accompany her.

Though it doesn't break any new ground, it is a winning story, with characters worth spending time with, despite the protagonist's prickly personality. And yes, it's hard to watch someone whose first instinct is to lash out - to watch her self-destructive tendencies. Along with that, we see how everyone in her circle has moved on, while Mary's stuck in the past. But I came to root for her nonetheless because deep down, there's an insecurity in her, she's not as tough as she'd like everyone to think, and she's ashamed of the act that sent her to prison. So, you feel she's not irredeemable, just an immature mess.

There are several laughs, paired with the soul-searching drama - and the romance that develops between Mary and Jess, the wedding videographer, is sweet one - they're the type of couple you come to care about, and you're on pins and needles just knowing Mary's going to find a way screw this up too. Seána Kerslake and Tara Lee in those roles are terrific here, and I'm surprised neither actress has become big name stars.

The only iffy bits for me are with Mary and her best friend Charlene - I know Char's getting married and is wanting to start this new, adult phase in her life -and maybe 6-months is enough time to completely shift gears- but the two have so little chemistry, I had a hard time buying the tight bond they supposedly had.

But other than that, I enjoyed this look at this young person's struggles to get her life in order, her head straight, and move forward. I hope she gets there.

Rashomon
Directed by Akira Kurosawa - Crime, Drama, Mystery - 88 minutes - 1950




It’s a mystery. Who are these men seeking shelter from the storm in the ruins of a temple? Why are their brows furrowed in knots of despair? 2 of the men (a Priest and a wood cutter) were witnesses in a trial and tell the third their account hoping he can add some illumination. The story concerns a triangle of husband, wife and interloper. Within this triangle there’s a rape and a murder. During the course of the film the truth of what happened will be told from different perspectives. None of them match up. Was there a rape? Was it even murder?

Every synopsis you read will tell you that this is a film that examines the nature of truth. But for Kurosawa, he felt Rashomon was an exploration on the nature of reality. And in that light Rashomon takes on new meaning, though it never provides complete clarity. Truth? Few are intentionally lying; they all believe their side as it’s told. They’ve bent reality to fit the truth they (need to?) believe.

What I find fascinating is that these tales are being told by a character, filtered through their perceptions… but are being relayed through another character, who is filtering it through their perceptions… which is ultimately being interpreted by the director Kurosawa himself. The picture is a knot. The tangled woods themselves, the setting for this tragedy, add to this ambiguity. Our own eyes are often not allowed a clear view.

As we see their stories unfold, the actors shift from natural performance to theatrical poses and extreme over acting. It’s as if during the telling of their side of it, they (or the person relaying it) are embellishing the tale with melodramatic flourishes – the people seen in flashbacks are like puppets in a play and we become aware that we are not seeing the thing as it is, but rather are being offered a choreographed performance, pulled from the storytellers mind.

Still, kernels of... (is "truth" the word I'm searching for here?) manage to pepper the screen.

One of the witnesses (the woodcutter) seems honest - but pay attention to his expression in the background as the medium tells the dead man’s side of the story. Later, he changes his account, but there’s something fishy, something he’s not telling. How trustworthy is he? Is he a thief… or worse?

Watch Rashomon with a casual eye and you’re wasting your time. It will not have any weight or meaning. Watch only on one level and you miss just how truly magnificent it is. Over think it and perhaps you start adding things that were never intended - the very film then involves you in your own personal contemplation on reality.

In Rashomon I delighted in Kurosawa, the great editor. I marveled at cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa’s groundbreaking camera work and lighting techniques. The scene in which a casual breeze alters the course of everyone’s lives, is a small but memorable display of these gifts joined in genius. Kazuo’s shot tracking Takashi Shimura through the woods thrilled even his talented director.

The film made Kurosawa an international star, won prizes, including an Oscar. And it changed the way Japan viewed its own product. Though a hit at home, they perceived it as a purely Japanese film, the western world wouldn’t understand it. They were surprised when Italy requested it for entry into one of their film festivals – soon the world became enthralled. And filmmakers influenced by its powerful story.

I absolutely love Memories of Murder, and I got to attend a Q&A with him after a screening of it, which was super fun.

The 2005 Pride and Prejudice is so good. I really love the book, and it's up there with the 1995 miniseries in capturing the characters. I saw it in the theater, and this teenage girl was there with her mom, and when you find out about a certain character's behavior/betrayal, the teenage girl went "He WHAT?!?!". It was very cute.

A Date for Mad Mary is really really good. The fact that neither that actor or director seemed to have done anything else of note, is sad.

I’ve seen Rashomon twice and there is still so much to learn yet.

I'm pretty sure Rashomon was my first Kurosawa film. Unlike some of his other films, I've mostly fogotten about it for some reason, but I'm confident I'd still love it if I were to rewatch it.

This is pretty much exactly my experience with it too.