In the scene I was worried about, I realized that it was okay because Song Kang-ho played the role. Director Bong Joon Ho & Song Parasite" [Director's Interview Vol.49]

The film "Parasite" has swept the award races, winning the Palme d'Or, the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Its future is also drawing much attention at the Academy Awards. CINEMORE had the rare opportunity to interview director Bong Joon-ho and lead actor Song Kang-ho, who visited Japan, and we were able to talk to them.

Index

• I thought of an interesting story, and it turned out to be about the gap between rich and poor.
• Naturally, I thought he would be a wealthy character (laughs).
• No pre-rehearsal
• An unintentionally universal detail

I thought of an interesting story, and it turned out to be about the gap between rich and poor.

Q: I think a major point of this film is the personal spaces of the two families. What do you think about the significance of depicting universal issues in modern society, such as class and poverty, through the microscopic world?

Junho: I think the micro world basically means "houses," and 90% of this film takes place inside two houses, where the story unfolds. Even though it only takes place inside two houses, it doesn't feel cramped or monotonous, because all the worlds (the wealthy world and the poor world) are depicted within these two houses.

In order to depict these worlds, I was conscious of depicting in detail the "layers" that each house possesses. As the film progresses in the wealthy house, things that were unclear at first gradually become clear, and you come to understand that there are various complex "layers" within the house.

On the other hand, in the poor house, the "window" that symbolizes the semi-basement plays an important role. Looking out of the window of that house, the road is right at eye level, and you can see people walking on the street, so the window exists as a way to connect to the outside world. Furthermore, during heavy rain, water flows into the house through the window, which symbolizes the way the house is being eroded by the outside world, that is, the situation of the poor people.

Thinking about it in this way, I began to realize that I might be able to create a cinematic universe through these two houses.

Q: When making a film, how do you come up with an idea and how do you bring it to life? Tell us about that process.

Junho: Ideas are overflowing in our daily lives. The important thing is how to accurately catch and pick up on them. To do that, you need to constantly be on the lookout. Any masterpiece starts from something close to home. I think that by not just waiting for ideas to come to you, but by keeping yourself sensitive, you can capture the ideas that are overflowing in your daily life.

To that end, I try to keep myself in a delicate and sensitive state so that my senses do not dull.

Q: Why did you decide to depict themes such as the gap between rich and poor and inequality this time?

Junho: It's true that this work depicts polarization between the rich and the poor, but I didn't intend to analyze it from an academic point of view or to convey a Arrival about it.

I was thinking, as I always do, about whether there was an interesting story, something unique to tell, and then I suddenly thought of a process in which the son of a poor family enters the home of a wealthy family as a tutor, and then the poor man gradually infiltrates the homes of the wealthy, and I thought this would be very interesting.

That's how I came to this story as I wrote the script from something that I thought was odd but interesting. As a result, rich and poor people appeared in the story, but it wasn't my starting point to analyze them or to convey some kind of Arrival about them.

Naturally, I thought he would be a wealthy character (laughs).