Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
On February 9, “Parasite,” the South Korean film about greed and class discrimination, made history in a spectacular fashion. Expected to win as the best foreign film, incredibly, it won for Best Picture at the 92nd annual awards ceremony of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, better known as the Oscars. It is the first film in a foreign language to win the academy’s highest honor.
The film won a total of four awards – including for Best Director – the most number among all nominated Hollywood and Netflix movies. Written and directed by South Korean Bong Joon-ho, it has an all-Asian cast.
“Parasite” is the rare movie that is both a critical and commercial success. It made $25 million in the U.S., attracting audiences that normally shun movies with subtitles. And now, it has the cachet of the Oscar recognition.
Extraordinary Feat
Many Asian Americans watching the show said they jumped, screamed and high-fived with each award, and who can blame them? Remarked Masashi Niwano, Festival and Exhibitions Director of Caamedia: “I was so excited to see “Parasite” win four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. This is a h-u-g-e moment for Asian Cinema. And it’s well-deserved. I hope it inspires people to see more Asian AND Asian American films.”
“’Parasite’ is about two South Korean families: one rich, the other poor. Like a true champion, it won against all odds. Consider the following:
- “Parasite” is the first film in a foreign language to win Best Picture.
- The academy has not awarded Best Picture to a film with English subtitles in its nearly 100-year history.
- The film beat big-budget Hollywood movies by top directors: The World War II epic “1917,” by Sam Mendes, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood,” by Quentin Tarantino, and “The Irishman,” by Martin Scorsese.
Truly, the film’s conquest of Hollywood that evening was unmistakable, head-spinning, and obviously well-deserved.
- “Parasite” also won for Best Director (Joon-ho). Winning for Best Picture and Best Director is like winning the grand prize and the second prize in the lottery.
- The movie won the most awards that night. Garnering six nominations, it won four major awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Film Feature. (It was also nominated for Best Editing and Best Production Design.)
3 Director Joon-ho also won for Best Original Screenplay. In interviews, he said he prefers directing movies whose story he also wrote. He quoted his idol, director Scorsese, who once said: “The most personal is the most creative.”
He is the only Oscar awardee who has won four awards for one film, according to the Wikipedia. Joon-Ho first achieved commercial success in “The Host” and the thriller “Snowpiercer.” Both films are among the highest-grossing movies in South Korea.
Recognition Overdue
DC APA Film Festival Executive Director/President Christian Oh noted: “Winning a full sweep of awards, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Film, Best Director, and Best Picture, is historic and monumental. It solidifies what audiences, and now the Academy, have come to understand: Korea makes amazing films. It is frustrating for me that it took this long.”
But he explained “there were other issues that have made it an obstacle for something like this to happen earlier.” He cited screen quotas and trade issues between Korea and US.
“Don’t get me wrong, ‘Parasite’ is a fantastic movie, but there have been movies in the past 20 years from Korea that were just as deserving,” he added. “But due to screen quotas and trade issues between Korea and US, it made it impossible for those earlier films – such as Old Boy, My Sassy Girl, Ode to Father, Taxi Driver, Train to Busan – to have the PR, marketing, and US audience receptiveness to have gotten as far as ‘Parasite’ has in the past year.”
“I think it is timing for Korea to be a powerhouse of art, creativity, and acceptance in mainstream US. This is going to allow projects from Korea to get footholds in the US,” he said.
The future looks inspiring, according to CAAM Festival and Exhibitions Director Niwano. “’Parasite’ does have the power to change parts of the industry,” he said. “It was so inspiring to see so many Asian faces on the stage. I’m hoping that it inspires Asian American talent to continue to pursue their careers.”
The future looks bright, indeed. Young Americans of Asian heritage are already boldly taking the leap and getting recognition for their talents. David Yao, an expert on Asian Americans in cinema, said there was a Chinese American nominated for an Oscar. “Siqi Song, a recent graduate from film school, made an amazing and utterly captivating stop-action animation short ‘Sister,’ he added. “I believe there is a trailer on YouTube.”
An Asian film winning the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director, and two other major awards: It doesn’t get better than this…Oh wait, yes, of course it will. “Parasite” just opened doors in Hollywood – not just a crack, but a mile wide.
