Why you should watch Bong Joon-ho’s movies on Netflix

Now that Parasite has won Best Picture, taking a deeper dive into director Bong Joon-ho’s filmography on Netflix is well worthwhile.

Earlier this week, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite was the big winner at the 92nd annual Academy Awards. The film took home Best International Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and most notably of all, Best Picture. It was a huge step taken for a non-English film to win Best Picture, and it wouldn’t have been done without Director Bong’s complete mastery of the movie.

For general audiences, Parasite was the introduction to Director Bong. But for cinephiles, he’s been putting out solid work for two decades now. The Host and Mother are both well-regarded amongst movie lovers as excellent genre films that have a lot to say, much like Parasite. More recently though, he released Snowpiercer and Okja, both of which are available now to stream on Netflix!

With Parasite coming soon to Hulu, now is the perfect time to begin to familiarize yourself with Director Bong’s work, and it just so happens that these two films are his most easily accessible in more ways than one.

Up until Snowpiercer, Director Bong’s movies were not in English. But with this movie, there is an obvious attempt by him to make his movies more widely accessible. Putting a movie star like Chris Evans front and center didn’t hurt, either. This movie deals with class divisions but in a totally unique way. With all of humanity living on a train that circles the globe, people still struggle to work together, even in dire circumstances.

Snowpiercer is as inventive and original as it is entertaining and thought-provoking. You’ll leave this movie in awe as you recognize the multi-layered genius that goes into making such an incredible film.

Director Bong followed Snowpiercer up with something completely different with Okja. It is a film about a young girl’s bond with a genetically engineered animal that is bred simply to be the best and produce the best meat for the richest people. This movie will tug at your heartstrings in an impressive effort to get you to see the problems with animal cruelty in today’s world. Okja is an alternate reality, but it isn’t so far off from the real world that it is unimaginable.

If you’re like most people and were floored by what Bong Joon-ho accomplished this past year, then giving his other movies a shot is wholly worth your time. Let them be a gateway into a vast world of cinema, or a continuation of your complete and total love of the craft of moviemaking. Subtitles and diverse voices are not a hindrance, but rather a valuable addition to any person’s cinematic knowledge. Just ask Director Bong himself!