It’s notoriously difficult for a foreign language film to become a box office hit in the United States, which makes the crossover success of Parasite such a pleasant surprise. The genre-defying black comedy has grossed over $130 million at the worldwide box office, including a strong $23 million run in The United States and Canada. Parasite’s themes of class disparity and desperation in the face of insurmountable poverty seem to have struck a chord with audiences all over the world, and the film is widely considered to be one of 2019’s greatest movies.
Directed by Bong Joon-ho (Mother, The Host), Parasite follows a working class family and their wealthy counterparts, with the less fortunate family devising a scheme to steal from the rich, who always seem to benefit at the direct expense of the poor. To say any more would be to spoil Parasite’s myriad surprises and shocking plot twists; needless to say, Parasite must be seen to be believed.
Screen Rant recently spoke to editor Jinmo Yang about his work on Parasite, which marks his third collaboration with Director Bong, following Okja and Snowpiercer. He discusses the challenges of Parasite, from how he was first introduced to the project to how closely he collaborates with the director in the editing suite. He also talks about first meeting Bong Joon-ho at a wrap party for The Host, as well the joy he experiences seeing his work in theaters with a live audience.
Parasite is in theaters now.
First of all, I want to say how much I loved Parasite. I went in completely blind, knowing nothing about it, and was totally blown away. So thanks for making such a great movie that I can’t wait to show to all my friends!
Were you particularly surprised at how much of an impact the movie has made, especially in the United States, where foreign films of any nature have a tendency to bounce off of general audiences?
Thank you, I’m very happy that it’s been received very well.
I bet! So, you’ve worked with Bong Joon-ho several times before. How long have you known each other? When did you first meet?
I was very surprised. And even today, whenever I come upon news, I’m astounded. I’m taken aback.
At this point, what’s your creative relationship like? What’s your rapport? Can you tell what he’s thinking before he says it, or is it a fresh start with every new project?
I met him for the very first time when they were having a wrap party for The Host. I was introduced to Director Bong by another director, and we had dinner together. Working collaboratively, creatively, we worked together for the very first time on Snowpiercer. But actually, the director of photography, Hong Kyung-pyo, who shot Parasite, I have been really close with him for a long time, so that’s how I got to know Director Bong.
For Parasite, when did you first learn about the project? When did you learn about the initial idea and when did you get involved?
To be honest, nowadays, I think our thoughts and sensibilities align to a pretty similar mindset. So even with his nuance, even if he doesn’t completely say it out loud, I have a sense of where he’s going, what he’s getting at. We wouldn’t exactly talk a lot, but we would share the same thoughts. But whenever I go to a new project with him, I feel like both of us, he and I, are learning something new every time we go to a new project. I sense, even with him, he’s coming with a different method, a different idea, that we’ve never had before. So both of us are picking up from each other.
How hands-on is Director Bong with the editing process? Is he always over your shoulder, or are you ever like, “Hey man, go get some coffee, I’ve got it from here.” What’s you collaboration like in post-production?
I think it was around the time we were finished with Okja, and I was editing a Korean feature called 1987. And actually, one of the Line Producers for that project was onboard for Parasite, so he came to me and asked about my schedule. Director Bong called me and he said… At the time, I didn’t know it was about Parasite. I thought he was calling me to ask about Okja. He gave me a call and we got together, and he showed me a sketch-up of the rich family, a 3D model, a 3D sketch of their house, when we were getting together at the meeting.
Very cool. For you, since you know the movie so well by now, you would get more excited watching other people’s reactions to the movie, watching their faces to see how they handle the various twists and turns. Have you seen the movie in a crowded theater yet? What was that like?
Let’s put it this way, Director Bong and I work together when we’re in the editing suite. Of course, I would already have the assembly ready after the movie has wrapped, and then we start from there. I would say, Director Bong is not the type to go out for some coffee and then comes back; he stays in the editing suite the entire time throughout the process. I can say that, for Parasite especially, I don’t remember him even going out for lunch or dinner when we were working together. Right from the moment that he got into the suite, he would be, like, “Let’s work on this portion of the film,” and then he would not go out. He would be inside with me, while I would working on the portion, and he would be in the back of the suite, observing the process. It was never a separate process. We were inside together, the whole time.
Was there anything in particular that surprised you about what the audiences have taken from the film?
All the projects that I work on, I do go to the theater and pay with my own money to see, to observe the reaction from the audience. So, for this one, I also did that. But it’s not really to look around and see specific reactions. That would be too, uh, I don’t know, awkward! But it’s amazing to see how audiences react to the part that I wanted them to react, to observe them laughing to the part that I worked on expecting them to laugh. But also, it’s amazing, it’s amusing, to see different reactions from what I had expected.
I think one of the reasons the movie comes together so well is that it has a truly palpable tension, even before everything goes nuts when they reveal the basement shelter. It feels like a thriller already, but then when things truly get out of control, it’s that much more effective. Was there ever a drastically different tone or pacing, or had those major beats been established at the screenwriting level?
I’ve been surprised that “Jessica’s Song” has become a hit! That’s sort of a surprise for me.
I know that Director Bong likes to use a lot of storyboards during pre-production. I was wondering if you’re in the room for those, do you work on those? Do you get the chance to guide the movie, even during that early stage of the process?
To be honest, the structure of the movie was already established from the very beginning, on the page. So that was something that I didn’t really get to work on. But it was actually the pacing, that’s what I focused on. That’s where my effort went. So, even though I didn’t really go about altering the general structure of the movie, I did get to really fine tune and work on the scenes themselves.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t try to get some dirt on the upcoming Train to Busan sequel. Is there anything you can share about it, or is it all top secret, still?
No, especially for Parasite. Generally, Director Bong works on his storyboards by himself, for the most part. For the most part, the storyboards are already done before shooting begins. For some parts, however, he adjusts and changes part of the pages according to the shooting conditions on the set. But generally, he prepares the storyboards far in advance. But on Snowpiercer, I got to talk about certain parts of the storyboards, having to edit and then modify. But for Parasite, it was done entirely, solely, by Director Bong.
More: 10 Korean Films to See If You Loved Parasite
I don’t know how much I can spoil. The edit is done, but there are a lot of VFX for this one, compared to the first one. To be honest, I think 90% of the movie has VFX. There’s a car chase and the scale is even bigger than the first one.
