Song Kang-ho, the South Korean actor who is readying himself for an Oscars push with the critically acclaimed film Parasite, has picked out five of his favourite cinematic pictures.

Song, who received national fame in South Korea following numerous impressive performances in films such as Joint Security Area, Memories of Murder, The Host, teamed up with director Bong Joon-ho and gained international recognition in the role of Kim Ki-taek in Parasite.

Widely considered to be arguably the most prolific actor in South Korea, Song picked out five films that have inspired him over the years. “I didn’t really have time to think about what my favourite movies are. I guess I’ve been busy,” he joked in the interview with Rotten Tomatoes. “There’s this movie called Parasite,” he continued while picking the project as his favourite. “A lot of people seem to like that movie; I think I agree with them.”

Elsewhere, Song referenced numerous different films from his native South Korean, explaining: “Oldboy, directed by Park Chan-wook. That’s one of my favourites. The movie’s narrative talks about human desires that are taboo — you’re not supposed to talk about them. You think about them, but you’re not supposed to think about them. The movie tells these forbidden stories with daring, experimentally and artistically, and it tells them very well.”

With Park Chan-wook, László Nemes and more mentioned, see Song’s full list of favourite films, below.

Song Kang-ho’s five favourite films:

Son of Saul – László Nemes, 2015.

Parasite – Bong Joon-ho, 2019.

Secret Sunshine – Lee Chang-dong, 2010.

Oldboy – Park Chan-wook, 2003.

Papillon – Franklin J. Schaffner, 1973.

While discussing Son of Saul, just one of the two films picked away from South Korea, Song said: “If you ask me about my cinematic preferences, a few years ago, there was a Hungarian film called Son of Saul. It’s a bit of a dark story, but I remember being impressed by that film. I think the filming technique expresses the message of the film very accurately and very effectively.”

[MORE] – The 25 best films of 2019

Source: Rotten Tomatoes