I literally just finished watching this film, and my mind is reeling.
Over the last few weeks, there’s been some serious hype about Parasite winning BP. Yet I confess, I didn’t go into my viewing of it with high expectations. Boy, was I wrong. This indeed could be the year that a foreign language film–I mean, an international feature film–wins the Academy’s whole shebang. Some people were a bit miffed when Mexico’s Roma didn’t win BP last year, but South Korea’s Parasite blows Roma right out of the water.
A combination of a little bit of horror, a smidge of comedy, a double-portion of suspense, and a massive amount of socio-economic commentary, Parasite keeps its viewers guessing right until the end as the protagonist Kim family, poor and unbelievably conniving, worms its way into the household of the wealthy and privileged Park family. The economic disparity between the two families spawns a host of profound ideas that the film explores: the power of money, the futility of humanity’s scheming, the value of family, and the tragedy of–and social question about–“all the people who live in basements.” Other than a super awkward and unnecessary sexually explicit scene, as well as some profanity (which the English subtitles happily translate from Korean) and a surprising bit of violence, Parasite is a rather brilliant movie.
Why This Film Might Win BP:
It’s definitely memorable and thought-provoking. And, yes, it’s brilliant. Somehow, Parasite combines the dramatic irony and social class conflict of 1950’s All About Eve with Get Out‘s (2017) creepy, knock-your-socks-off plot twists. It is superbly written (except for the sex scene and the profanity, of course) and well shot. Plus, a few weeks back, the cast of Parasite took home the SAG Award for Cast in a Motion Picture, that show’s highest honor. “If not now, when?” has suddenly been popping up all over Twitter, a hint of the popularity and momentum that might make Parasite the first non-English-language film to ever win Best Picture.
Why This Film Might Not Win BP:
It’s not in English. Foreign films, with a few exceptions, don’t usually fare well when it comes to the later awards on Oscar night. For American viewers, Parasite‘s cast members are unfamiliar; and to me, although they got stronger as the film went on, the first 30 minutes or so of the film were anything but an acting clinic. Parasite is very clever, for the most part, about having the characters be silent at suspenseful or action-packed moments of the movie–this allows non-Korean-speaking viewers to be able to focus on the visuals instead of trying to keep up with the subtitles. However, that struggle to find a balance between reading lines and watching the action does take something away from the film (at least upon one’s initial viewing). But then again, perhaps Academy voters will come back for another helping of the brilliance of this movie. Parasite is definitely worth a second glance and more than a second thought for BP on Sunday.