Writer-director Bong Joon Ho’s films defy categorization, but they do look closely (and with a wink) at class and power. His films include Snowpiercer, Okja, and Parasite, the latter of which won big at the 92nd annual Oscar ceremony. The 2019 film picked up statues for Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. And the acclaim continues as the filmmaker’s work is celebrated later this month with an exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Director Bong’s long-awaited Parasite follow-up is the sci-fi dark comedy Mickey 17, which stars Robert Pattison as an “expendable” crew member on a spaceship who is perpetually “re-printed” after death. Bong tells The Treatment about Pattison’s gift as a physical comedian — comparing him to Buster Keaton. He also tells us about drawing from his own life for Mickey 17, and why he hopes to make a film with a villain like Hannibal Lecter in the future.
Bong Joon Ho and Elvis Mitchell. Photo credit: Rebecca Mooney.