Changing Cinema: How Bong Joon-Ho transcended the subtitle barrier and put international films in the American mainstream

Film columnist Peter Dien CM ’25 compares two other Bong Joon-Ho films hoping to uncover the winning formula of “Parasite” and the differences between films for American and Korean viewers.

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Scene one, hot take one: Lost love and lost Oscars — A review of ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’

Ben Hafetz PZ ’20 discusses “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”‘s artful and aching portrayal of first love and why it warranted an Oscar nod.

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Scene one, hot take one: Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece ‘Parasite’ spotlights rise of lower class

Film columnist Ben Hafetz PZ ’20 reviews “Parasite,” the winner of the 2019 Sundance Palme d’Or and the film that has put director Bong Joon-ho in the limelight. “‘Parasite’ will be looked upon as a decade-defining film. Whether it be the camera, set design, themes, details, story, characters or gut-punch of an ending, it succeeds on every level,” he writes.

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