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Throughout April, the BFI will be hosting a retrospective of the films of Bong Joon Ho including both his Korean and international features and the black and white versions of Mother and Parasite. Subtitler and Korean film expert Darcy Paquet will also be in attendance to discuss his work on Bong’s The Host on 24th April.
Barking Dogs Never Bite
Bong’s darkly comic debut follows an unemployed university professor who takes drastic action to silence a barking dog in his apartment block while a young woman investigates its disappearance.
Memories of Murder
Seminal serial killer thriller rooted in a very real and at the time still unsolved crime set amid the backdrop of a declining authoritarian regime. Review.
The Host
Classic monster movie drama inspired by the real life case of the dumping of formaldehyde in the Han River by US military. When a young girl is abducted, her family must come together to rescue her.
Mother
A mother goes to great lengths to defend her son who has learning difficulties believing that he has been falsely accused of a crime.
Also screening in black and white version.
Snowpiercer
A reluctant revolutionary seeks redemption through wrecking the system in Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi inflected class war drama. Review.
Okja
A little girl goes on an epic journey to rescue her pet superpig when it’s taken away by an evil conglomerate.
Parasite
The Parks have everything and the Kims nothing, but there are really no winners in a system as essentially corrupt as this in Bong’s searing class war melodrama. Review.
Also screening in black and white version.
Bong Joon Ho: Power and Paradox runs at the BFI Southbank throughout April 2025.
Windows on Worlds 