Joker, Irishman, 1917 and Once upon a time in Hollywood – at the Oscars, South Korean film Parasite and it’s Director Bong are in elite company, or may we say, it’s the other way around.
“I’m thinking about one audience, me. I want to entertain and fascinate myself. It’s impossible to figure out the audience no matter what.” – Parasite Director Bong Joon Ho
Heads Up! Why Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite Is Destined To Win ‘Best Picture’ At The Oscars?
- How Parasite is Different from the All-American movies?
- Why Parasite is path-breaking in its approach to cinema?
- Why the film has an edge over the American movies in contention?
- Parasite’s climax trumps all others in the running
- Don’t be surprised if Director Bong’s Parasite is a runaway winner at the Oscars 2020
Parasite is a cinematic marvel which has awed millions around the world. Bong Joon Ho of ‘Snowpiercer’ and ‘Okja’ fame has defied all odds and shown the world that the Palme d’Or at Cannes last May wasn’t just a passing affair. The film is the first South Korean flick to garner six major nominations at the Oscars.
How Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite is Different from the All-American line-up for ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars?
Now at the Oscars, Parasite was an idea that arose in Director Bong’s mind when filming ‘Snowpiercer’ keeps the genius involved and exploring the scope of production that focuses on the economic disparity that plagues the world. The movie is about a con-family which befools an ultrarich one and then penetrates into their house.
It’s not just about the developed world that we are made to view with admiration. Parasite stoops deep into the crevices of progress and focus on the leftover – the population that stays in constricted spaces that smell of the gutters. It also shows the contempt of the rich who see these people belonging to the lowest strata as stemming out from the gutter itself.
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Why Parasite is path-breaking in its approach to cinema?
Asian movies have come of age in terms of how they resonate with the western audience. Parasite has an effect similar to the Japanese Shoplifters. These movies showcase actions what in the wider view of the society are criminal in nature, but they also reveal the humane side of characters and what led them to pursue such controversial careers.
Parasite makes our hearts go out for con artists emphasizing on the fact that vices are not by choice but inherit along with abject poverty and haplessness. Director Bong’s approach was to bring out the humane aspect and describe the people and why reality is sour for some of us. As per Bong, “No one’s a complete villain. They’re in this ambiguous grey zone.”
Why the film has an edge over the American movies in contention?
Be it Irishman or Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Be it Marriage Story or 1917. They are all about the emotions that come to us once we’ve overcome the harrowing fate of poverty. Joker may be one movie that isn’t overwhelmingly bourgeois in nature. But that too is set in a fictional American city, pretty well-off in comparison to the rest of the world.
Parasite is cathartic in nature.
In fact, Parasite is cathartic in nature. It helps us make peace with our inner hypocrisy. But at the same time, it makes us uncomfortable sitting in comfortable lounge chairs and having popcorn. It makes us question if we as a molecule of the larger society also shoulder the blame for creating situations where people are pushed towards anti-social acts.
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Parasite’s climax trumps all others in the running
Parasite has a climax that is simply unforgettable. So beautifully is the flood scene visualized that we even have the uncomfortable smell of sewer lingering in our noses, even with us sitting in fragrant movie theatres. From a complex design and stark visual effects, and precise cinematography, it makes our hearts go out for the con family and also for a moment justifies their actions in our heads.
The movie is South Korean, but the premise is global. It’s about the by-product of capitalistic progress and where it leaves society as a whole. And that’s what makes Parasite so unquestionably different from the rest of Oscar nominees. It’s a foreign movie that is in the running for the Best Picture of the Year at the Oscars 2020.
Don’t be surprised if Parasite is a runaway winner at the Oscars 2020
Parasite was a blockbuster in the Western Cinema and was the biggest specialized limited opening in the US in 2019. In terms of a foreign language movie, its achievements are unprecedented. Parasite is humorous and disturbing at the same time. The movie has clocked up $105 million globally which is no mean feat for a Korean film.
The movie has already done more than any other South Korean movie. It is nominated for both Best International Feature Film and the Best Picture of the year at the Academy Awards. Bong Joon Ho is also nominated for the Best Director category.
Essentially, the film is the story of the Earth and where we are as one big society. So don’t be surprised if not just the ‘Best Picture’ category, but Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite is a runaway winner across its nominations at the Oscars 2020.
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