Bong Joon-ho (Ongoing Filmmaker Archive)

 Introduction to Bong Joon-ho:

Minor spoilers in this one - if you are worried about that, wait until after you watch your film

 

Film Options:

Memories of Murder (South Korea, 2003)
Film Description: "In his breakthrough second feature, Bong Joon Ho explodes the conventions of the policier with thrillingly subversive, genre-defying results. Based on the true story of a string of serial killings that rocked a rural community in the 1980s, Memories of Murder stars New Korean Cinema icon Song Kang Ho as the local officer who reluctantly joins forces with a seasoned Seoul detective (Kim Sang Kyung) to investigate the crimes—leading each man on a wrenching, yearslong odyssey of failure and frustration that will drive him to the existential edge. Combining a gripping procedural with a vivid social portrait of the everyday absurdity of life under military rule, Bong fashions a haunting journey into ever-deepening darkness that begins as a black-comic satire and ends as a soul-shattering encounter with the abyss." - Criterion Collection
"Memories of Murder (2003) is based on what director Bong Joon Ho has described as “the first real case of serial murder in Korea”: between 1986 and 1991, the rural area of Hwaseong was terrorized by the killings of ten women. As he explained to critic Tony Rayns in 2004, Bong wanted his second feature film to be a crime picture because “there’s an old tradition of crime movies in Korean cinema which are rather different from plot-oriented Hollywood thrillers, and I wanted to make something of that sort. The old-style Korean movies are essentially humane and emotional—that’s what I like about them . . . I like seeing how people behave when they’re caught up in crime.” - Curtis Tsuis (in the resource file)
Resources for after you watch the film

The Host (South Korea, 2006)
Film Description: "Bong Joon-ho's The Host is a giddy revelation - an inspired and unexpectedly moving contribution to the monster movie genre. Several years ago, a crooked government official from the United States ordered the dumping of toxic substances into Seoul's River. Years later, the hapless Gang-du is working at his father's food stand along the river, caring for his bright daughter Hyun-seo. But one day, a monstrous creature emerges from the water and embarks on a murderous rampage throughout the community, swallowing Hyun-seo whole. Gang-du's bullish younger brother Park Nam-Il and sister Nam-joo condemn him for being such a failure, while their father angrily chastises them for being so cruel. But when Gang-du receives a phone call from Hyun-seo, the family must band together to reclaim her. Unfortunately, at this stage, the government has announced that the monster is the host of a dangerous virus, and anyone who has come into contact with it - namely Gang-du - must be isolated. As the monster continues to wreak havoc on Seoul, Gang-du, his father and his siblings must work together to bring Hyun-seo home."
Resources for after you watch the film

Mother (2009)

Snowpiercer (2013)

Okja (2017)

Parasite (2019)