This morning’s Academy Awards saw history be made when Bong Joon-ho’s film Parasite win the Best Picture award at the 2020 Oscars.
Parasite became the first-ever international film to win the Best Picture award, and after 92 years, it’s about time.
It’s especially surprising since all signs were pointing towards Sam Mendes’ 1917 winning the award.
It had won the Best Picture award at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAS.
Traditionally, the film that wins those two Best Picture awards often ends up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture as well.
However, it turned out to be Parasite’s night as it came away with four Oscars.
Bong Joon-ho also won the Best Director award, making him the second filmmaker to win directing prize for a foreign-language film at the Academy Awards.
The Parasite director is second to Alfonso Cuarón, who won for Roma in 2018.
Cuaón was the first-ever foreign-language director to win the Best Director award.
However, some may argue that Bong had tougher competition this year.
Bong Joon-ho’s film Parasite has made Oscar history
Bong Joon-hos Parasite could win the Best Picture Award at the Oscars – Credit: CJ Entertainment
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He saw off the likes of Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Todd Phillips (Joker) and the favourite Sam Mendes (1917).
Before Bong won both the Best Picture and Best Director awards, all the commentators and supposed ‘industry experts’ were claiming that this was 1917’s year.
They were all saying that Mendes’ film was a ‘dead cert’ to win all the awards, but that turned out not to be the case.
When it was revealed that Parasite had won the Best Picture award at this year’s Oscars, there was a huge roar from the audience.
People looked to be ecstatic that Parasite had come away with the win – even the losers looked pleased.
Bear in mind, most of the people in the room were actors, so they might have been putting on a performance.
During his acceptance speech, Parasite’s director, Bong Joon-ho, paid tribute to Scorsese in his speech.
He said that the director had “carved deep into my heart” when he was young.
He also thanked Tarantino for being a champion of his work over the years.
“Quentin, I love you,” he said with a big smile on his face.
Parasite is the perfect film
Parasite won the Best Picture Oscar – Credit: CJ Entertainment
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Parasite won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival in May 2019.
The best way to describe the film is as a satirical thriller.
It’s about a hard-up family who manage to infiltrate the lives of a much richer one.
Bong’s previous films include the sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer which takes place entirely on a train.
He also made the Netflix film Okja, which is about a giant-pig-like creature which people want to eat.
Before winning the Best Picture and Best Director awards at this year’s Oscars, Parasite had already won a string of awards, including best foreign-language film at the Baftas and Golden Globes.
Have you seen Parasite yet? If so, what did you make of it and are you happy it won the Best Picture award at this year’s Oscars?
Let us know in the comments below.
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