Parasite is Bong Joon Ho’s latest masterpiece. This magnificent film earned a total of six Academy Award nominations, which include: Best Picture, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design, and Best Film Editing.
I had previously reviewed this movie, which you can check out at the bottom of this article, and I predicted some of the Oscar nominations that it ended up receiving. I have now seen the movie twice, and it was an even better experience the second time. I was afraid that it wouldn’t hold up and that I wouldn’t be surprised again, but I was. It’s definitely one of those movies that you can watch many times and find something new each time.
The film follows the Kim family as they struggle to stay afloat and make ends meet in South Korea. An opportunity arises for them to be able to better their lives and they take it, but dark twists will follow them that could make them regret taking that chance in the first place.
What can I say about this movie that hasn’t already been said? It’s an absolute masterpiece! There aren’t enough words to describe how unique this is, and it should be a work of art that everyone should experience. I understand that some people might be hesitant to watch it because they’re afraid that it won’t live up to the hype, but it does, it really does. It is a movie that is filled with social commentary about today’s society and done in a way that I personally had not seen before, and it makes sure that there are no heroes or villains. Every character is grey and it’s up to you to decide, although if you really want to know what Bong Joon Ho wanted to say, you wouldn’t side with anyone and just see both sides and understand each circumstance. It’s very complex and fascinating.
A hill that I am willing to die on is that it deserves the Oscar for Production Design. How the houses were built and represented with practical techniques instead of animated ones, the attention to detail and everything that went into it sustains my belief that it’s had the best production design of 2019 and deserves to be recognized. While it won Original Screenplay at the Writer’s Guild Awards, it’s still a heavy competitor in that category as well. It is definitely one of the favorites within numerous categories, but the competition is still fierce. Hopefully, we will come out victorious.
Parasite became the first South Korean movie to ever make it to the Oscars and will become the first one to win because it is winning Foreign Language Film, that is a fact. It deserves to win the rest of the Oscars it was nominated for, and I can’t help but hope that Parasite will finish what Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma, started. In the 2019 Oscars, the Mexican film Roma became the first-ever foreign-language film to be nominated in the Best Picture category and everyone was convinced that it would win and become the first film to ever win Foreign Language and Best Picture, but alas, it didn’t.
Maybe Parasite will be the one, after all, it won the Palm d’Or at the Cannes International Film Festival and just recently it became the first Foreign film to win the SAG for Ensemble, which is an equivalent of Best Picture. That win was huge and it basically gave us hope, because out of all the Best Picture nominees, it is the best and strongest one. The Oscars have been losing credibility because many have realized that they don’t award the best movies; they award what’s convenient and what fits their beliefs. By awarding Parasite, it could incite the much-needed change.
Parasite is one of the best movies of the decade, worthy of every accolade and like Bong Joon Ho said in his Golden Globes acceptance speech: “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films”.
For a more in-depth review of this film, read “Movie Monday: Parasite” and let me know what you think!