I actually watched this Best Picture winner not long after it won the award back in February of 2020, but the next month the world seemed to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were all strongly encouraged to shelter-in-place; "distance learning" commenced, and my hubby and I decided to homeschool our children the next year. It literally felt like we were surrounded by the living representation of the title of this movie - our own parasitic creations. Our beloved offspring seemed to suck every moment of "spare" time and patience right out of me, not to mention every bit of food out of our pantry.
That said, I'm a year behind in posting this review, but better late than never, right? I'm holding myself accountable to comment on every Best Picture winner, and this one is special. "Parasite" is the first non-English language film to win Best Picture. (It was the first nomination for a South Korean film in the Academy's history). The film is a combo satire/suspense/psychological thriller. I mentioned to a good friend of mine that Hubby and I were going to watch it one night and she said, "Oh, I loved that movie!" I asked her if there was a lot of blood or if it was scary, because I'm not really a fan of either. She said, "Uh.. no. Not that I can remember." Dear reader, let me warn you now, if you haven't watched it, that my friend had amnesia. 😑 We only got through half of the film the first night and we thought it was extremely clever, even laugh-out-loud funny at times, and I questioned its R rating. Right at the halfway point, where we stopped it, I thought, this could take a very different turn. And it did.
The Kims, a working-class family who live beneath a shop, take odd jobs and end up weaseling their way into working for the affluent Park family as they each pose as different skilled workers that the Park family suddenly (and conveniently) find themselves needing to hire. The thrilling twist comes when the Kim family discovers what is already residing in the Park household when they find themselves housesitting one weekend. Without giving away the psychological pieces of the story, prepare yourself for bloodshed at the end if you're opposed to that. (I turned my head at a few very gruesome moments).
Overall, I am so glad I saw this film (after I yelled at my friend) because it was through this sardonic experiment of human behavior that my mind continued reeling for days afterward. I kept thinking about class discrimination, ignorance, the lengths one goes to when driven by greed, the sacrifices one makes for one's family, and the holes one can dig themselves into if not careful. And even now, almost a year and a half later, I'm realizing that writer/director Bong Joon-ho was likely calling us all to action or at least responsibility within our stations/classes or we will continue to feed off each other in a continual cycle of stubbornness and/or greed. The goal is to find our shared humanity. Although I didn't see all the nominated films this year, I believe this one deserved Best Picture and I am so pleased that an international film won the distinguished award.
"Parasite" was up against "Ford v Ferrari", "The Irishman", "Jojo Rabbit", "Joker", "Little Women", "Marriage Story", "1917", and "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood". This was the first year that four films had double-digit nominations (10 or 11); "Parasite" only had six. It took away four of those wins with Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. Interestingly, many of the nominated films had dark or gloomy plotlines. "Little Women", however, was a remake of a beloved classic. I thought it was truly lovely. I enjoyed the interactions between the four sisters (although I thought the woman who played Amy actually looked older than Beth). However, I'm still partial to the 1995 version with Susan Sarandon, Claire Danes, and Winona Ryder. I was also incredibly impressed with Adam Driver's performance in "Marriage Story".
FAVORITE SCENE(S):
I'm not sure that I had a specific favorite scene but I especially enjoyed the second quarter of the film, which detailed how each member of the Kim family came to be employed by the Park family. I thought it was creatively done.
"You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. You know why? Because life cannot be planned." Mr. Kim says this to his son after a flash flood destroys their home under the shop and they are forced to sleep in a gym. While I understand the sentiment - life can throw you curveballs that you can't control or are unprepared for - this is not an excuse to not have a rough plan or dream for your life. Successful people become that by dreaming and putting a plan into action. Will everything always go according to plan? No, but having options and avenues to pivot to are valuable when there is a diversion.
LESSONS LEARNED:
Envy can make us blind. Thinking that finally having what someone else has will make us happy is a fantasy. It's a temporary fix to a deeper problem. Focusing on what's missing in our lives only makes us blind to what we have. There's a reason it's one of the "seven deadly sins" - it can be destructive and all-consuming.
Wealth doesn't make one immune to misery.
Do a background check or at least ask for more than one reference when hiring people to work in your home. Yikes.
Don't rely on friends to remember everything about a movie and give good recommendations. 😉
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