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Bong Joon-ho is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer and Editor Sud coréen born on 14 september 1969 at Daegu (Coree du sud)

Bong Joon-ho

Bong Joon-ho
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Nationality Coree du sud
Birth 14 september 1969 (55 years) at Daegu (Coree du sud)

Bong Joon-ho (Hangul: 봉준호; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.

Bong in general is known as being a director who takes a great interest in film genres, while simultaneously trying to move beyond genre's usual boundaries. Also known for the pure craft and finished quality of his works, Korean film industry insiders have nicknamed him "Bong Tae-il," which, pronounced in Korean, sounds similar to the word "detail". Though he displays a fascination for strong subject matter, at the same time, his films are filled with (often black) humor and sudden mood shifts, making for an emotional roller coaster ride. The fact that he is able to combine all these contrasting elements into such a smooth whole is Bong's particular strength as a filmmaker.

Biography

Bong Joon-ho was born in Daegu in 1969 and decided to become a filmmaker while in middle school, perhaps influenced by an artistic family (his father was a designer and his grandfather was a noted author.) He majored in sociology in Yonsei University in the late 1980s and was a member of the film club there. He liked Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Shohei Imamura at the time. In the early 1990s, he completed a two-year program at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. While there, he made many 16mm short films and his graduation work Memory Within the Frame and Incoherence were invited to screen at the Vancouver and Hong Kong international film festivals. He also collaborated on several works of his classmates—most notably as cinematographer on the highly acclaimed short 2001 Imagine directed by his friend Jang Joon-hwan. Aside from cinematography on Hur Jae-young's short A Hat, Bong was also lighting director on an early short Sounds From Heaven and Earth by Choi Equan, and another short The Love of a Grape Seed.

After graduating, he spent the next five years contributing in various capacities to works by other directors. He received a partial screenplay credit on the 1996 omnibus film Seven Reasons Why Beer is Better Than a Lover; both screenplay and assistant director credits on Park Ki-yong's 1997 debut Motel Cactus; and is one of four writers (together with Jang Joon-hwan) credited for the screenplay of Phantom the Submarine (1999).

Shortly afterwards Bong began shooting his first feature Barking Dogs Never Bite under producer Tcha Seung-jai, who had overseen the production of both Motel Cactus and Phantom the Submarine. The film, about a low-ranking university lecturer who abducts a neighbor's dog, was shot in the same apartment complex where Bong had lived after getting married. Although now remembered fondly, at the time of its release in February 2000 it did not stir up much interest among audiences, and the response from critics was positive but slightly muted. Nonetheless, the film was invited to the competition section of Spain's prestigious San Sebastian International Film Festival, and it would go on to win awards at Slamdance and Hong Kong. Slowly building international word of mouth also helped the film financially—over two years after its local release, the film reached its financial break-even point due to sales to overseas territories.

Bong's second film, Memories of Murder, a much larger-scale project, was adapted from a popular stage play centered around a real-life serial killer who terrorized a rural town in the 1980s (and was never caught). Production of the film was a long and arduous process (the film set a local record for the sheer number of locations it utilized), but with the weather providing unexpected help with some stunning skyscapes, the film wrapped without major problems and was released in April 2003. It was an immediate critical and popular sensation. Enthusiastic word of mouth drove the film to sell over 5 million tickets (rescuing Tcha Seung-jai's production company Sidus from near-bankruptcy), and a string of local honors followed, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Song Kang-ho) and Best Lighting prizes at the 2003 Grand Bell Awards. Although passed over by the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, the film eventually received its international premiere (again) at San Sebastian, where it picked up three awards including Best Director. The film also received an unusually strong critical reception on its release in foreign territories such as France and the U.S.

Following this, Bong took some time to contribute short films to two omnibus projects. Influenza is a disturbing 30-minute work acted out entirely in front of real CCTV cameras stationed throughout Seoul. The film, which charts (from a distance, quite literally) a desperate man's turn to violent crime over the space of five years, was commissioned by the Jeonju International Film Festival, together with works by Japanese director Sogo Ishii and Hong Kong-based Yu Lik-wai.

Twentidentity, meanwhile, is a 20-part omnibus film made by alumni of the Korean Academy of Film Arts, on the occasion of the school's 20th anniversary. Bong's contribution is Sink & Rise, a whimsical work set alongside the Han River that can be seen as a warmup for the director's third feature.

The Host marked a newly ambitious gamble in Bong's career, and indeed for the Korean film industry as a whole. The big-budget ($12 million) work centered around a fictional monster that rises up out of the Han River and wreaks havoc on the people of Seoul—and on one family in particular. Featuring many of the actors who had appeared in his previous films, the film was the focus of strong audience interest even before it started shooting, but many doubts were raised about whether a Korean production could rise to the challenge of creating a full-fledged, believable digital monster. After initially contacting New Zealand's Weta Digital—the company responsible for the CGI in The Lord of the Rings—schedule conflicts led Bong to San Francisco-based The Orphanage, who took on the majority of the effects work. After rushing to meet deadlines, the film received a rapturous premiere in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Although local audiences were slightly more critical of The Host than attendees at Cannes, the film was nonetheless a must-see event during its summer release. With theater owners calling for more and more prints, the film enjoyed the widest release ever (on over a third of the nation's 1800 screens) and set a new box-office record with 13 million tickets sold. The film was quickly sold around the world, and US studio Universal even snapped up remake rights to the picture.

In 2008, Bong along with Michel Gondry and Leos Carax each directed a segment of Tokyo!, a triptych feature telling three separate tales of the city. Bong's segment is about a man who has lived for 10 years as a "hikikomori"—the term used in Japan for people unable to adjust to society and so never leave their homes—and what happens when he falls in love one day with a pizza delivery girl.

His fourth feature film Mother is the story of a doting mother who struggles to save her disabled son from a murder accusation. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at 2009 Cannes Film Festival to much acclaim, particularly for actress Kim Hye-ja, and repeated its critical success locally and in the international film festival circuit.

In 2011, Bong contributed to 3.11 A Sense of Home, an anthology of films, all 3 minutes 11 seconds in duration, addressing the theme of home, made by 21 filmmakers in response to the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit the Tohoku region of Japan on March 11, 2011. The film screened on the first year anniversary of the disaster. In Bong's short film Iki, a teenage girl finds a toddler, seemingly dead, on a beach.



That same year, Bong served as a jury member for the 27th Sundance Film Festival. He was also the head of the jury for the Caméra d'Or section of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, and the 2013 Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Bong is currently working on post-production for Snowpiercer, his English-language film adaptation of Jean-Marc Rochette and Jacques Lob's graphic novel Le Transperceneige.

Best films

Parasite (2019)
(Director)
Snowpiercer (2013)
(Director)

Usually with

Yoon Je-moon
Yoon Je-moon
(6 films)
Song Kang-ho
Song Kang-ho
(5 films)
Shim Sung-bo
Shim Sung-bo
(2 films)
Byun Hee-bong
Byun Hee-bong
(4 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Bong Joon-ho (16 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Doomsday Book, 1h53
Directed by Kim Jee-woon, Yim Pil-sung
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy
Themes Medical-themed films, Films about religion, Films set in the future, Zombie films, Films about viral outbreaks, Political films, Films about Buddhism, Dystopian films, Impact events in fiction, Robot films, Disaster films
Actors Kang Dong-won, Ryoo Seung-bum, Kim Kang-woo, Kim Yoon-seok, Park Hae-il, Im Soo-jeong
Roles Lee Joon-ho
Rating58% 2.905942.905942.905942.905942.90594
(Hangul: 멋진 신세계; RR: Mutjin Sinsegye) Left alone after his parents go abroad on a holiday with his sister, geeky research scientist Yoon Seok-woo (Ryoo Seung-bum) disposes of the accumulated rubbish in the family flat, which includes a rotten apple. Via the waste disposal system, the apple enters the food chain via recycled feed for cows. Seok-woo and his date, Kim Yoo-min (Go Joon-hee), end up eating the toxic beef during a barbecue one evening, and soon they and the rest of the population become flesh-eating zombies.
Kurosawa's Way, 52minutes
Genres Documentary
Themes Documentary films about business, Documentary films about the film industry, Documentaire sur une personnalité
Actors Clint Eastwood, Hayao Miyazaki, Bernardo Bertolucci, Martin Scorsese, Bong Joon-ho, Abbas Kiarostami
Roles Self
Rating69% 3.474953.474953.474953.474953.47495
Onze grands cinéastes d’Europe, d’Amérique et d’Asie parlent de Akira Kurosawa et découvrent de surprenantes influences sur leur propre œuvre.
Crush and Blush, 1h41
Directed by Lee Kyoung-mi
Genres Drama, Comedy, Romantic comedy
Themes Films about education, Films about sexuality, Erotic films
Actors Gong Hyo-jin, Seo Woo, Lee Jong-hyuk, Bang Eun-jin, Hwang Woo-seul-hye, Bong Joon-ho
Roles English teacher
Rating62% 3.1004753.1004753.1004753.1004753.100475
Yang Mi-sook is an unpopular and frumpy high school Russian teacher, who has a habit of going red in the face. For ten years she has been harbouring a crush on Seo Jong-cheol, her former teacher and now married colleague, though he is more interested in pretty new teacher Lee Yoo-ri. Mi-sook tries to put a halt to this blossoming romance, forming an unlikely alliance with Jong-cheol's daughter, Jong-hee.
My Wife Is a Gangster 3, 1h55
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Action, Adventure
Themes Gangster films
Actors Shu Qi, Lee Beom-soo, Hyun Young, Oh Ji-ho, Ti Lung, Jo Hee-bong
Roles Cho Hee-Bong
Rating62% 3.14383.14383.14383.14383.1438
Korean gangster Han Ki-Chul (Lee Beom-soo) is put in charge by his Big Boss of looking after Lim Aryong (Shu Qi) who comes from Hong Kong. They expect Lim Aryong to be some big male gangster but she turns out to be a woman and acts very cold toward him and his associates. Moreover none of them speak her language and she doesn't understand Korean. A translator called Yeon-Hee (Hyun Young) arrives. She is immature and very scared of the gangsters so at the beginning, instead of translating Aryong's rather rude answers, she changes them to nice ones. Quickly, Aryong shows her fighting skills beating other bosses to save her companions. Ki-Chul and his associates who are rather unskilled, are impressed and become afraid of her while, upon finding that they are actually nice, she's trying to be more friendly. Her efforts are ruined by Yeon-Hee who, taking advantage of Aryoung's aura, 'translates' very threatening sentences.
No Blood No Tears, 1h56
Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Crime
Themes Heist films
Actors Jeon Do-yeon, Jung Jae-young, Lee Hye-young, Ryoo Seung-bum, Jeong Doo-hong, Baek Il-seob
Roles Officer (cameo)
Rating60% 3.048363.048363.048363.048363.04836
The ill-treated mistress of a gang boss becomes friendly with an older woman who drives a taxi. Eventually the two hatch a plan to steal a bagful of money, taking some revenge in the process.

Director

Parasite
Parasite (2019)
, 2h11
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Bong Joon-ho, Uwe Boll
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy
Actors Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Jang Hye-jin, Park So-dam
Rating85% 4.251124.251124.251124.251124.25112
Toute la famille de Ki-taek est au chômage. Un jour, leur fils réussit à se faire recommander pour donner des cours particuliers d’anglais chez les Park, une famille richissime dont le mode de vie est en tous points opposé au leur. C’est le début d’un engrenage incontrôlable.
Okja
Okja (2017)
, 2h
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Films about animals, Films about magic and magicians, Films about pigs, Giant monster films, Mise en scène d'un mammifère, Eco-terrorism in fiction
Actors Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Byun Hee-bong, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Yoon Je-moon
Rating73% 3.6514353.6514353.6514353.6514353.651435
La société agro-alimentaire Mirando Corporation a mis au point une race de cochons génétiquement modifiés géants, ressemblant à des hippopotames et se comportant comme des chiens. Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) qui dirige l’entreprise, s'étend surtout, lors d'une conférence de presse, sur les 26 premiers spécimens qui seront élevés dans la nature selon les traditions locales des différentes régions du monde où ils seront envoyés. Et dans dix ans, annonce-t-elle, une élection du plus beau cochon sera organisée.
Snowpiercer, 2h6
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Action, Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Themes Environmental films, Post-apocalyptic films, Films about religion, Transport films, Rail transport films, Films set in the future, Political films, Dystopian films, Disaster films, Film se déroulant dans un train
Actors Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Song Kang-ho, Alison Pill, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton
Rating70% 3.547643.547643.547643.547643.54764
In 2014, an attempt to counteract global warming through climate engineering results in an ice age that extinguishes all life except the inhabitants of the Snowpiercer, a massive train powered by a perpetual motion engine that travels a globe-spanning track, created by the transportation magnate Wilford. By 2031, elites inhabit the extravagant front cars and the "scum" inhabit the tail in squalid and brutal conditions. Under watch by Wilford's guards, they are brought only gelatinous protein bars to eat and kept in their place in the social order by Minister Mason, while sometimes small children are taken away.
Mother
Mother (2009)
, 2h8
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Themes L'adolescence, Films about education, Films about children, L'enfance marginalisée, Films about school violence
Actors Won Bin, Kim Hye-ja, Jin Goo, Yoon Je-moon, Jeon Mi-seon, Song Sae-byeok
Rating76% 3.8497853.8497853.8497853.8497853.849785
An unnamed widow lives alone with her only son, selling medicinal herbs in a small town in southern South Korea while doing unlicensed acupuncture to the town's women on the side. Her son Do-joon is shy, but prone to attack anyone who mocks his intellectual disability. She dotes on him and scolds him for hanging out with Jin-tae, a local ne'er-do-well.
Tokyo!
Tokyo! (2008)
, 1h52
Directed by Michel Gondry, Bong Joon-ho, Leos Carax
Origin France
Genres Drama, Fantastic, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Fantasy, Anthology film, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Prison films, Transport films, Films about capital punishment
Actors Ayako Fujitani, Ryō Kase, Denis Lavant, Jean-François Balmer, Ayumi Itō, Teruyuki Kagawa
Rating69% 3.4983953.4983953.4983953.4983953.498395
Directed by Michel Gondry. It is an adaptation of the short story comic "Cecil and Jordan in New York" by Gabrielle Bell.
The Host
The Host (2006)
, 1h59
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Fantastic, Horror
Themes Films about magic and magicians, Giant monster films, Disaster films
Actors Song Kang-ho, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona, Byun Hee-bong, Go Ah-seong, Scott Wilson
Rating70% 3.548933.548933.548933.548933.54893
In late 2000, an American military pathologist commands a reluctant Korean assistant to violate protocol by dumping over 200 bottles of formaldehyde down a drain leading into the Han River. Over the next few years, there are sightings of a strange amphibious creature in the waterway, and the fish in the Han River are dying off because of water pollution. A suicidal businessman, just before jumping off a bridge into the river, sees something dark moving under the surface of the water.
Memories of Murder, 2h12
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Themes Films about sexuality, Films about suicide, Rape in fiction, Serial killer films, Films based on plays
Actors Song Kang-ho, Park Hae-il, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha, Byun Hee-bong, Song Jae-ho
Rating80% 4.049914.049914.049914.049914.04991
In October 1986, a young woman is found raped and murdered in a ditch near a field. Soon after, another woman is found raped and murdered in a field. Local detective Park Doo-man, not having dealt with such a serious case before, is overwhelmed; key evidence is improperly collected, the police's investigative methods are suspect, and their forensic technology is near non-existent. Detective Seo Tae-yoon is sent from Seoul to assist them; their methods clash and he is unable to convince them they are dealing with a serial killer until his predictions of another murder come true. He realizes that the killer waits until a rainy night, and only kills women wearing red. A female police officer realizes that a local radio station is always requested to play a particular song during the nights the murders are committed.
Barking Dogs Never Bite, 1h48
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Horror, Crime
Actors Bae Doona, Lee Sung-jae, Byun Hee-bong, Kim Ho-jung, Go Soo-hee, Kim Roi-ha
Rating68% 3.4483353.4483353.4483353.4483353.448335
Yun-ju était déjà dominé par sa femme et préoccupé par le financement du pot-de-vin qui lui permettra d'avancer sa carrière dans l'enseignement. Il est maintenant dérangé par un chien qui aboie dans son immeuble. Hyeon-nam, autre égarée de la vie, s'occupe de cet immeuble et notamment de diffuser les annonces de recherches de chiens perdus...

Scriptwriter

Parasite
Parasite (2019)
, 2h11
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Bong Joon-ho, Uwe Boll
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy
Actors Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Jang Hye-jin, Park So-dam
Roles Histoire
Rating85% 4.251124.251124.251124.251124.25112
Toute la famille de Ki-taek est au chômage. Un jour, leur fils réussit à se faire recommander pour donner des cours particuliers d’anglais chez les Park, une famille richissime dont le mode de vie est en tous points opposé au leur. C’est le début d’un engrenage incontrôlable.
Okja
Okja (2017)
, 2h
Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Origin Coree du sud
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Films about animals, Films about magic and magicians, Films about pigs, Giant monster films, Mise en scène d'un mammifère, Eco-terrorism in fiction
Actors Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Byun Hee-bong, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Yoon Je-moon
Roles Histoire
Rating73% 3.6514353.6514353.6514353.6514353.651435
La société agro-alimentaire Mirando Corporation a mis au point une race de cochons génétiquement modifiés géants, ressemblant à des hippopotames et se comportant comme des chiens. Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) qui dirige l’entreprise, s'étend surtout, lors d'une conférence de presse, sur les 26 premiers spécimens qui seront élevés dans la nature selon les traditions locales des différentes régions du monde où ils seront envoyés. Et dans dix ans, annonce-t-elle, une élection du plus beau cochon sera organisée.