After Parasite’s Oscars triumph, film fans wait on its China release; some think state censors won’t allow it in cinemas
- Korean films have fallen foul of China’s censors several times in recent years because of their controversial subject matter or depictions of sex and violence
- Chinese film fans envy South Korea’s liberal climate that allows filmmakers to thrive
Chinese film fans still don’t know if, or when, they will get to see Parasite, the South Korean film that made history this week by winning the Academy Award for best picture, along with three other Oscars.
Some expressed doubts the film would be shown in China given its unflinching criticism of social inequality and extreme poverty, and its amoral storyline.
It wouldn’t be the first Korean film to fall foul of Chinese censors. Korean directors have not been shy about depicting their country under dictatorship, and are likened to French filmmakers in their stylistic portrayal of sex and gore.
Yet Chinese censorship rules ban the explicit portrayal of sex, violence, sensitive political issues, practices that promote superstition or disturb social order, such as drug-taking and gambling, and a long list of other activities perceived to adversely affect the country’s well-being.
Among recent Korean films denied a Chinese release were 2016’s Train to Busan , a hugely popular horror film about zombies running amok on a train. The movie broke domestic box office records and grossed US$98 million globally. It was the highest-grossing Korean film ever in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
