When “Parasite” debuted back at Cannes 2019, no one thought the film would become the massive hit that it turned into. Sure, it won the Palme d’Or and was dubbed an instant classic by many critics after its premiere, but the idea of a South Korean movie winning major Oscars and turning into a crossover event film? That’s crazy talk! But yet, “Parasite” was that movie, and now, director Bong Joon Ho has added another feather in his cap, as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
One of the benefits of being named a very influential person by one of the most respected publications in media is having a colleague write an essay about your achievements. And for Bong Joon Ho, actress Tilda Swinton stepped up and delivered a tribute that says what so many cinephiles have been saying for years now— Bong Joon Ho is truly a master at the craft and is ultimately great for cinema.
“This is the filmmaker who, this year, has risen into the 2020 vision of the entire cinepassionate planet like a new sun,” Swinton wrote. “Whip-smart, highly skilled, supremely cineliterate, exuberant, irreverent, self-determining, deeply romantic, with a voracious delight in the absurd, highly principled, precision-tuned, compassionate to the last: his films have always been all this. It just seems to be time for the world to catch up.”
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She added, “He is the ultimate sophisticate cinematic fanboy whilst harboring not a drop of either snobbery or cynicism: he is good for cinema from start to finish.”
Of course, the filmmaker and the actress have teamed up previously in features such as “Snowpiercer” and “Okja,” both allowing for Swinton to disappear into the crazy characters she was cast to play.
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You can read the entirety of Swinton’s essay on Bong over at Time.
