South Korean film auteur Bong Joon Ho shot to international fame after the success of his multiple Oscar award winning film Parasite, but he has been consistently delivering solid films for years before with movies like Okja, Mother, Snowpiercer and the Host. I actually became a fan of his about 15 years before Parasite came along after watching his most impressive crime thriller Memories Of Murder, which is based on a slew of shocking rape/murder cases that rocked the otherwise quite town of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi in South Korea.

This hardcover book, part of the same filmmaker series as David Fincher : Mind Games published by Abrams is a comprehensive study of Bong’s filmography right up till Parasite ( 2019 ), including some of his short films. It is less of a glossy coffee-table book splashed with beautiful pictures but more of a scholarly volume that discusses the work of Bong’s films and his creative influences, although the accompanying movies stills are aplenty.

Book synopsis – Brilliantly illustrated and designed by the London-based film magazine Little White Lies, Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema 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. But it was 2006’s The Host that proved to be a huge breakout moment both for Bong and the Korean film industry. The 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. Bong’s first English-language film, Snowpiercer (2013)—set on a postapocalyptic train where class divisions erupt into class warfare—followed on its heels, bringing his work outside of the South Korean and film festival markets and onto the stage of global commercial cinema. With 2017’s Okja , Bong became even more of an internationally known name, with the New York Times’ A. O. Scott calling the film “a miracle of imagination and technique.” Bong’s next film, the 2019 black comedy/thriller Parasite, simultaneously scaled back—the film is mostly set in just two locations, with two Korean families taking center stage—and took his career to new heights, winning the Palme d’Or with a unanimous vote, as well as history-making 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 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 and music videos, 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.

(image above) Some storyboards and concept art from Okja (2015). I recommend checking out the art/making of book for more concept art and creature designs from the movie.

I think the best way to learn about the intricate film craft of Bong Joon Ho is still to watch all his movies and the interviews on his criterion releases, but this book is a great additional resource for more background information and insights that you can read at a leisurely pace. Recommended.

“Bong Joon Ho – Dissident Cinema” details :

– Dimensions – 9 x 1.15 x 10.88 inches
– Hard cover, 272 pages
– Full color, in English

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