Study Buddy (Challenger): Bong Joon-ho on the message of his new film ‘Mickey 17’
This page is for students who want to take their reading comprehension to the next level with difficult vocabulary and questions to test their inference skills.
Robert Pattinson in a still from ‘Mickey 17’. Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.Content provided by British Council
Read the following text, and answer questions 1-9 below:
[1] Acclaimed Korean director Bong Joon-ho said his latest film, Mickey 17 – starring British actor Robert Pattinson – hopes to convey that human nature persists despite extreme adversity. Adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, the sci-fi film revolves around Mickey (Pattinson), a disposable clone sent on perilous missions who is regenerated after each death.
[2] The narrative intensifies when Mickey’s 18th version is mistakenly created while Mickey 17 is still alive, leading to unexpected events. The movie also stars Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun and Naomi Ackie in prominent roles.
[3] In an interview, Bong said that people in the film assign all dangerous, potentially fatal tasks to a single Mickey without any guilt. “In Korea, people have died in accidents on industrial sites. I’m not sure how much working conditions have improved, but someone still does those jobs,” he said. “In the movie, they say that to one Mickey. There’s a sadness that comes from that. If I had to summarise this situation in one word, it would be ‘expendable’. Mickey faces harsh conditions and contempt but remains unbroken at the film’s end. That’s the message I wanted to convey. I hope it offers a small consolation to those who watch.”
[4] The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival last month. The most common question he received was about the dictator character played by Ruffalo, which reminded many of current political figures. “I want to emphasise once again that I completed writing the screenplay for this film in September 2021,” he said with a laugh, adding that he did not try to match the character to any current politician.
[5] “European journalists asked many questions about Mark Ruffalo’s character. It seems the world is quite similar. People seem to have projected their own negative political experiences onto this film. This is part of what makes movies interesting.”
[6] Bong said he was fortunate to meet Pattinson. “While filming, Rob [Pattinson] improvised many unexpected lines as Mickey 18. I was very grateful for that,” the director said. “Mickey 18 has an aggressive personality, but gradually, he grows to want to protect Mickey 17. Rob did an excellent job portraying this internal change in the character.”
[7] Despite Mickey 17 being Bong’s first film in six years since Parasite (2019) – which won awards including the Palme d’Or at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival and Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards – the director said he felt no pressure.
[8] “This year’s Berlin International Film Festival also requested Mickey 17 for the competition section, but I did not want anything more in terms of awards. We wanted to give other works a chance in the competition section, so we said we’d like to screen this film in the non-competitive gala,” he said. Bong is already working on two new projects.
Source: The Korea Times, February 23
Questions
1. What do paragraphs 1 and 2 describe?
2. The word “disposable” in paragraph 1 implies that Mickey is not seen as an individual with …
A. intrinsic value.
B. a complex personality.
C. hopes and aspirations.
D. a sense of self.
3. Based on your understanding of paragraph 3, who is the intended audience of the “small consolation” Bong hopes to offer?
4. How does Mickey’s predicament reflect real life, according to paragraph 3?
5. Why did Bong clarify the timeline of the screenplay’s writing in paragraph 4?
6. According to paragraph 5, what helps make films interesting?
7. Find a word in paragraph 6 that means to “create and perform spontaneously or without preparation”.
8. Based on your understanding of paragraph 7, Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 are …
A. rivals.
B. identical in every way, including personality.
C. completely unaware of each other’s existence.
D. none of the above
9. In paragraph 8, why did Bong decline the Berlin International Film Festival’s offer for Mickey 17 to compete?
Answers
1. The film’s plot. (accept all similar answers)
2. A
3. Those who have experienced hardship or who feel marginalised and undervalued. (accept all reasonable answers)
4. In the film, Mickey is repeatedly sent on dangerous missions without anyone caring about his well-being, mirroring real-world problems in South Korea, where people have died in accidents on industrial sites. (accept all similar answers)
5. To make it clear that Mark Ruffalo’s character is not based on any current politicians.
6. How people project their own experiences onto the film – including their negative political experiences.
7. improvise
8. D
9. He wanted to give other films the chance to win awards.