There are specific movies that, in the case of auteur administrators, double as entry factors for newcomers. Most often, they are typically the flicks which acted as breakout movies for his or her administrators, those that introduced to American standard tradition at giant that they seem to be a power to be reckoned with. For South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, that movie is unequivocally “Parasite,” which took the USA by storm upon its launch in Could of 2019. The film rode a wave of optimistic word-of-mouth all the best way to the 92nd Academy Awards, whereupon it was nominated for six Oscars and gained 4, together with Greatest Image, making it the primary ever non-English language film to acquire that honor. Throughout the house of a yr, Director Bong went from being somebody identified principally inside cinephile circles to a family title.
On account of the runaway success of “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho was given what most filmmakers who win each Greatest Image and Greatest Director obtain, which is successfully the power to make a clean verify film as their subsequent venture. That movie seems to be this month’s “Mickey 17,” and to those that have solely lately grow to be conversant in Director Bong by means of “Parasite,” it could seem to be a very weird follow-up. On a visible and narrative degree, “Mickey 17” is a fully unwavering science-fiction movie stuffed with spaceships, future expertise (full with technobabble exposition), and outrageous creatures. As such, for many who’ve solely seen “Parasite,” the curve of relatability in “Mickey 17” could also be fairly steep, sufficient that it may rattle you. Nevertheless, the movie bears a ton of Director Bong’s signature touches, appearing as nearly a end result of his complete filmography to date. So for many who determine to make the leap straight from “Parasite” to “Mickey 17,” the expertise may find yourself that rather more rewarding and illuminating.
‘Mickey 17’ continues and expands discussions of sophistication and capitalism begun in ‘Parasite’
I used to be fortunate sufficient to see an early screening of “Mickey 17” in Los Angeles, and the phrase I heard probably the most amongst my fellow attendees afterward was “bizarre.” Sure, “Mickey 17” is not the best premise to swallow, even if you happen to’re already a sci-fi fan. Based mostly on the 2022 novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton, the story issues Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), a down on his luck man who’s being chased by a mortgage shark on an Earth which is rising more and more uninhabitable. Seeking to be part of a colonizing expedition as shortly as doable, Mickey blindly indicators up for obligation as an “Expendable,” which signifies that he’ll be donating his physique to science … in perpetuity, for each time he dies, he is instantly reprinted on the age he perished with all his recollections intact. Along with this already wacky premise, Director Bong provides in a thinly veiled amalgam analogue for a few of our previous (and, sadly, present) unscrupulous political figures within the character of Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), a sociological and ecological disaster that develops as soon as the human colonists land on their new house of Nilfheim and uncover an indeginous species there that they dub Creepers, and the issues of Mickey discovering himself current in two locations directly after he is left for lifeless however fails to really die.
That is admittedly loads to soak up, and for these not already genre-pilled, it could possibly be too bizarre (there’s that phrase once more). Whereas “Mickey 17” has all these sci-fi trappings which may repel those that extra simply locked into “Parasite’s” relatable class parable, it nonetheless tells simply as wealthy and compelling an allegory. The theme of sophistication disparity in an oppressive capitalist society is suffused all through “Mickey 17,” seen in all the pieces from Mickey’s Expendable plight to the embarrassing and demoralizing positions different members of the spacecraft are pressured to meet (together with one supporter of Marshall who has to spend all his time sporting a hen costume). If you happen to liked “Parasite” for its social commentary, you will discover an abundance of riches inside “Mickey 17.” You simply must be taught to like the Creepers, and thankfully, that is not an enormous ask, as a result of they’re lovable!
There’s a bit of little bit of a number of Director Bong movies in ‘Mickey 17’
If the one Director Bong movie you’ve got seen is “Parasite,” then you’ve some actually nice cinema to find forward of you, particularly if you find yourself digging “Mickey 17.” Along with the movie containing a very good quantity of the thematic DNA of “Parasite” in it, there are additionally quite a lot of parts from a number of different earlier Bong Joon Ho movies that may be discovered all through the film. Chief amongst these is materials from his two different English language options thus far, 2013’s “Snowpiercer” and 2017’s “Okja.” Within the former, Director Bong adapts a French sci-fi graphic novel, a narrative a few future the place the Earth has been so ravaged after a disastrous try to unravel local weather change that all the pieces has frozen over, leaving the final remnants of the human race to endlessly circle the globe on a perpetually shifting prepare known as Snowpiercer. Like “Mickey 17” and “Parasite,” “Snowpiercer” makes use of visible iconography to delineate its characters by their class, with the poor passengers behind the prepare actually combating their option to the entrance.
In the meantime, in “Okja,” Director Bong depicts an alternate current day the place scientists have devised a option to breed a “tremendous pig,” a creature which is meant to function a brand new, superior meals supply. Sadly, the scourge of capitalism rears its ugly head once more, with the unscrupulous Mirando Company making a degree out of mistreating these animals (together with the titular tremendous pig), resulting in an activist group trying to rescue the creatures. This idea makes a return in “Mickey 17” because of Marshall’s spouse, Ylfa (Toni Collette), turning into obsessive about slaughtering the Creepers and utilizing their tails to make varied gourmand sauces. Talking of the Creepers, there are echoes of Director Bong’s 2006 movie “The Host” in them as nicely, insofar as they’re kaiju-like creatures who maybe aren’t essentially the precise (or solely) monsters round.
Finally, although, if “Mickey 17” finally ends up rattling you, that is in all probability a very good factor. There is not any higher option to develop your creative horizons than a very good rattling, as a result of it is the sort of expertise which finally ends up sticking with you for an extended whereas. As a rule, you will discover that having your expectations upended and bounds pushed (once more, artistically) will solely deepen your pursuits and tastes, main you to new locations it’s possible you’ll not have gone to earlier than. Whether or not these locations are different dystopian sci-fi movies, the remainder of Director Bong’s work, or some mixture of the 2, then “Mickey 17” is perhaps an entire new gateway movie for you and a whole lot of others. To paraphrase John Lennon: all we’re saying is give Mickey an opportunity.