Parasite’ dreams

“Soon I’m going to wake up and realize this was all a dream, I’m still in the middle of shooting Parasite and all the equipment is malfunctioning. I see the catering truck on fire and I’m wailing. But right now, everything is great and I’m so happy,” Director Bong Joon-ho said at an interview after his film “Parasite” has been nominated for six categories at the Oscars. “I feel it’s like Inception.”

Many, not just bong, feel like this is a dream. Filmmakers all around the world are paying attention to the “dream-like history” that “Parasite” will write. The film has nominated for six categories at the Oscars including best picture, best director, best international feature film, best original screenplay, best production design and best film editing. It will be the first non-English film to receive an award if it wins one. It will rewrite the history of the Oscars.

“Members of the Academy Awards who have the voting right are mainly white people, which is why ‘1917’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ based on American history are effective candidates,” said film critic Jeon Chan-il. “But ‘Parasite’ also stands a chance because the Oscars is trying to pay heed to the criticism that it is a white-dominated film festival.”

Bong will complete against four other directors including Martin Scorsese of “The Irishman,” Sam Mendes of “1917,” Quentin Tarantino of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and Todd Phillips of “Joker” in the best director category.

The film is very likely to win in the best international feature film category. Academy members would vote for it as it already won the Palme d'Or, the highest honor in the Cannes and the Golden Globe for best foreign-language film. “‘Pain and Glory’ was nominated for best actor and ‘Honeyland’ was nominated in the best documentary section,” said film critic Yoon Sung-eun. “It would be strange if ‘Parasite,’ which was nominated for six categories, does not win in the best international feature film.”


Jae-Hee Kim jetti@donga.com · Seo-Hyun Lee baltika7@donga.com