Bong Joon-ho's villain in 'Mickey 17' draws inspiration from history

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's villain in "Mickey 17", a demagogic politician played by Mark Ruffalo, was based on past dictators but might seem familiar to viewers because "history always repeats itself," the Oscar winner said in Berlin.

"He has, in a comical way, all the faces of the bad politicians we've experienced," he told journalists via a translator on Saturday at the Berlin Film Festival.

Bong made history at the 2020 Oscars when "Parasite," a dark social satire about the gap between rich and poor in modern Seoul, became the first non-English language film to win the Best Picture award, the movie industry's highest honor.

His new sci-fi dark comedy starring Robert Pattinson is being shown in the festival's Special non-competition section.

"I made this character drawing my inspiration from the past, and as history always repeats itself, it might seem like I'm referring to someone in the present," Bong said.

Based on the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, the film follows Pattinson as working-class Mickey Barnes, who unknowingly signs up to make his living by repeatedly dying.

"Although it's a story of the future, it seems like a story that could happen in the present or the past," Bong said.

Director Bong Joon-ho and Robert Pattinson attend the screening of the movie "Mickey 17" at the 75th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany February 15, 2025. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen

He said that for young people in the audience, what is now science fiction could one day be a situation they experience.

The director added that "Mickey 17" is his first love story and that it was his life goal to make films of all genres, with one possible exception.

"I am a bit scared of musicals," he said.

"Mickey 17", which also stars Toni Collette, Naomi Ackie, and Steven Yeun, begins its cinema rollout on February 28 in South Korea and other countries from March 5.