This is a science-fiction movie by Bong Joon-ho, but do not confuse it with the Saoirse Ronan sci-fi thriller by the same name, which came out around the same time and is terrible.

What makes this insidiously good is how Lee Chang-dong plays with our perceptions: We think the rich Korean-American dude (a creepy Steven Yeun) might be a serial killer, but the movie sticks so closely to the viewpoint of its mentally ill protagonist (Yoo Ah-in) that we can’t be sure. Given the tensions between South Korea and Japan (currently at a high point because of trade), the Koreans will take some delight in having produced a better Haruki Murakami adaptation than any Japanese filmmaker. The cause of this list deserves a place high up on it. Still, the Oscar telecast in that country was punctuated by commentator Lee Dong-jin’s scream of disbelief over the Best Picture announcement, and South Korea’s political conservatives (longtime enemies of Bong) are now proposing to build a statue of him. In South Korea, Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar victories are being taken less as a national triumph and more as an “oh, you finally noticed us” moment. Director Lee Chang-dong (formerly South Korea’s Minister of Culture) views her plight in an unsentimental fashion and lead actress Jeon Do-yeon (who won the best actress prize at Cannes) delivers a crushing performance. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t mention this in my Korean cinema article, but this drama about a widowed mother who’s put through an almighty wringer is a devastating experience like few others. That gives even more sharpness to this dangerous and oh so very sexy lesbian romance. The resulting film improved on both the book and the TV serial by being set at a time when Koreans were second-class citizens in their own country. Park Chan-wook intended this film to be a straight-up adaptation of Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith set in Victorian England, but changed his mind when he found out the BBC had already done one. Even so, there is an embarrassment of riches here, especially if you like action thrillers, so kick back with a cold glass of soju and watch. Also, since Kim Sang-jin’s Attack the Gas Station! was never theatrically released in this country, I can’t consider it, either. I’m using the Academy’s rules that the film has to be at least half in the Korean language to count as a Korean film, which regrettably means that I have to axe Snowpiercer. I was wrong when I stated that I had never seen a Korean film directed by a woman Kim So-yong and Eom Yo-na are both women. I promised myself that if Parasite won the Best Picture Oscar, I’d run this listicle of the best Korean films I’ve seen since the turn of the millennium, so here’s a supplement to my beginner’s guide to the movies of that country.

Korean movies 2012