'Parasite' wins best foreign film award at Golden Globes

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho gives an acceptance speech after winning the award for best foreign language film for “Parasite” at the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (local time). / AP-Yonhap

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Bong Joon-ho's satirical thriller “Parasite” won the best foreign film award at the Golden Globes 2020, Monday (KST) ― the first Korean film to win the prize in the event's 77-year history.

In a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, Bong's “Parasite” beat director LuLu Wang's “The Farewell,” Ladj Ly's “Les Miserables,” Pedro Almodovar's “Pain and Glory” and Celine Sciamma's “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.”.

“Wow... Amazing. Once you overcome the one inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films,” Bong said through a translator, accepting the prize.

“Just being nominated along with fellow amazing international filmmakers was a huge honor. I think we use only one language: the cinema.”

“Parasite” actors Song Kang-ho, Cho Yeo-jeong and Lee Jeong-eun also attended the ceremony.

The realistic yet cleverly knitted story of two economically polarized families was also nominated for best director and best screenplay, but failed to win either.

The directorial prize went to Sam Mendes for his film “1917,” and the best screenplay went to Quentin Tarantino's “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

“Parasite” has earned enormous praise across the world since May, when the film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film became the highest-grossing international film in the U.S. last year, grossing $23 million ― a benchmark only few foreign-language films have achieved. It also crossed the $128 million mark worldwide as of Monday.

The film has won numerous awards so far, apart from winning Cannes' highest award, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay at the National Society of Film Critics, Best Picture at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts, the Sydney Film Prize at the Sydney Film Festival and Best Foreign Language Film at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

“Parasite” is now eyeing a trophy at the upcoming Academy Awards. The film has been shortlisted for the best international feature film and the best original song category. The final five nominees for the awards will be announced Jan. 13.

For the 92nd Academy Awards slated for Feb. 9 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, “Parasite” is widely considered to be the strongest challenger for best international feature film.

The other short-listed films in the category are “The Painted Bird” by Vaclav Marhoul from the Czech Republic, “Truth and Justice” by Tanel Toom from Estonia, “Les Miserables” by Ladj Ly from France, “Those Who Remained” by Barnabas Toth from Hungary, “Honeyland” co-directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov from North Macedonia, “Corpus Christi” by Jan Komasa from Poland, “Beanpole” by Kantemir Balagov from Russia, “Atlantics” by Mati Diop from Senegal and “Pain and Glory” by Pedro Almodovar from Spain.

“A Glass of Soju” from “Parasite” will also vie for the best original song, being nominated with 14 other songs including “Speechless” from “Aladdin,” “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen II,” “Never Too Late” from “The Lion King” and “I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4.”