Movie Parasite That Won Academy Award (spoilers)

[Murph]

The Academy’s desire to virtue-signal by choosing a foreign film reached a tipping point last year. “Parasite” was just the handiest example.

This year is guaranteed to be a Spike Lee movie...

 

[Murph]

So you thought Parasite was an excellent movie? Not me! I guess we are all different...

I haven't seen many really good movies come out of Hollywood in years. Plots seem to be contrived sh*t, or they're loaded with CGI and too fantastical to enjoy unless you're a kid. The mid- to late-80's and the 90's appear to have been Hollywood's golden years.

 

[rayvt]

It had an interesting and VERY different story line than most conventional movies. By the time the 3rd family member was going to get brought into the employment we both knew where it was going. An absurd setup, like most caper movies. Fun to watch but you know it would never happen in real life.

We thought the ending was bad. There was no need for all the killings, and they were useless for the story line.

As far as spending the time to watch it.... What are your other alternatives? Yeah, it's 2 hours of your life that you will never get back. But alternatively watching 2 hours of youtube videos is also 2 hours of your life that you will never get back.

 

[rayvt]

I gave up on award winning movies in 2015. I grabbed every Academy winner to watch them. Every single one was a pile of dreck. My wife bailed on several of them in the first 10 minutes.

We watched Whiplash all the way through, and at the end decided that eating a pound of rotten hamburger would have been a better experience. And I like J.K. Simmons. All the others, even I bailed out halfway.

 

[tenant13]

A reaction to a movie (or any creative expression) says just as much about the viewer as it does about the the movie itself. Yes, there's the physical movie as projected on screen and then there's a reaction to it as it it happens during that projection. It can be purely visceral (in case of a horror or an erotic flic), intellectual (if you're a fan of Godard, Alain Resnais or Raul Ruiz for example) or both (I'd say "Parasite fits in this category). So the movie does not really fully "exist" without a viewer. Those are two halves of an experience which is always slightly different for each individual recipient. If there's no-one to see it, the movie might as well have never been made.

I read the entire thread and I found it really interesting: most of the posters somewhat disliked 'Parasite' for variety of reasons - in a lot of cases because 'Parasite' made them uncomfortable. Which I think was the goal of this particular film. It's pretty clear that it was designed to be "feel bad" and provocative.

Whether you accept the premise that a work of art (I'm going to categorize this film as such - in contrast to something like Netflix Kissing Booth movies which I consider an entertainment) might stir negative emotions and disturbing thoughts in the recipient, while being worth of the praise at the same time, is a whole different discussion but reducing it to "I liked it" or "I didn't" is a bit of a waste of time.

 

[Sberrios77]

Parasite was fantastic!

"Maybe I am just out of touch."

You may be right. The plot was original (I don't think I have ever seen a movie with such a premise, twist and turns), well-acted and well-paced. It seems to me that you just didn't get it.

 

[Sberrios77]

To each their own

Movies are like ice cream, you like what you like.

What I find interesting is that when the movie that wins is american with an all-white cast you don't hear anything about "virtue-signaling".

 

[braumeister]

 

[harllee]

It had an interesting and VERY different story line than most conventional movies. By the time the 3rd family member was going to get brought into the employment we both knew where it was going. An absurd setup, like most caper movies. Fun to watch but you know it would never happen in real life.

We thought the ending was bad. There was no need for all the killings, and they were useless for the story line.

As far as spending the time to watch it.... What are your other alternatives? Yeah, it's 2 hours of your life that you will never get back. But alternatively watching 2 hours of youtube videos is also 2 hours of your life that you will never get back.

I could have taken a nap!!!

 

[harllee]

"Maybe I am just out of touch."

You may be right. The plot was original (I don't think I have ever seen a movie with such a premise, twist and turns), well-acted and well-paced. It seems to me that you just didn't get it.

You are probably right--I just did not get it. The movie was so unbelievable to me I just could not relate.

 

[Koolau]

I haven't seen a movie in a typical theater for years. I feel ripped off if I have to pay more than $4 (as I do at a little local movie house with 20 seats - mostly showing 2nd run.)

The Academy "seal of approval" is more like a warning label to me. An inbred industry patting itself on the back reminds me of the "Emperor Has No Clothes."

I do watch some movies that make it to free (well, "included") cable TV. YMMV

 

[Dtail]

I haven't seen a movie in a typical theater for years. I feel ripped off if I have to pay more than $4 (as I do at a little local movie house with 20 seats - mostly showing 2nd run.)

The Academy "seal of approval" is more like a warning label to me. An inbred industry patting itself on the back reminds me of the "Emperor Has No Clothes."

I do watch some movies that make it to free (well, "included") cable TV. YMMV

We used to see first run movies at AMC on Tuesday's for $5. We do miss it.

 

[rayvt]

You are probably right--I just did not get it. The movie was so unbelievable to me I just could not relate.

More unbelievable than Spiderman, Deadpool, or any of the Marvel movies?

 

[harllee]

More unbelievable than Spiderman, Deadpool, or any of the Marvel movies?

I did not realize that Parasite was a comic book super hero movie. When I go to super hero movies I don't expect them to be realistic (I loved Spiderman by the way). The reviews I read of Parasite said it was about class struggles in S. Korea and about a family who had to live in a basement so I thought it would be realistic.

 

[JoeWras]

More unbelievable than Spiderman, Deadpool, or any of the Marvel movies?

Or, let's try "Fast and Furious" series.

I'm not sure These Kids Today could appreciate a movie with actual car stunts. Say what you will about the trashy "Smokey and the Bandit," but the stunts were real, including the long jump over the river.

 

[Amethyst]

As I said at the start, it would be good to hear from actual Koreans on the plot's plausibility.

I did not realize that Parasite was a comic book super hero movie. When I go to super hero movies I don't expect them to be realistic (I loved Spiderman by the way). The reviews I read of Parasite said it was about class struggles in S. Korea and about a family who had to live in a basement so I thought it would be realistic.

 

[strobot]

My wife and I currently live in Korea, where I work. She is Korean. This movie is 100% plausible. The economic divide is so great in some areas that the only way to make ends meet is to cater to the wealthy in some form or fashion. Also, with all the rain right now during monsoon season (45 days of rain and counting) many basement apartments in Seoul are flooding - severely. Korea is the best place to live in the world...if you have money. The movie was heartbreaking and hit all too close to home for many Koreans. A+ movie and it definitely deserved some awards. We haven't talked to a person yet who didn't like it, but we are of the "millennial age" and our friend circles are individuals of the same ilk. So, it makes sense that a lot of people on this forum wouldn't like it - AND THAT'S OKAY.

 

[harllee]

My wife and I currently live in Korea, where I work. She is Korean. This movie is 100% plausible. The economic divide is so great in some areas that the only way to make ends meet is to cater to the wealthy in some form or fashion. Also, with all the rain right now during monsoon season (45 days of rain and counting) many basement apartments in Seoul are flooding - severely. Korea is the best place to live in the world...if you have money. The movie was heartbreaking and hit all too close to home for many Koreans. A+ movie and it definitely deserved some awards. We haven't talked to a person yet who didn't like it, but we are of the "millennial age" and our friend circles are individuals of the same ilk. So, it makes sense that a lot of people on this forum wouldn't like it - AND THAT'S OKAY.

Thanks for this info--it helps me understand the movie better. I did not realize that Korea had such an economic divide--I though they were better on this than the U.S. I also did not realize that Korea had so much rain--but I thought the flooding part of the movie was pretty realistic and interesting.

I still did not like the violence in the movie, the vulgar language or how mean everyone was to each other, but I am an old geezer so I guess I am out of touch.

Thanks so your input strobot. I would be interested in learning more about Korea. I hope you will start a separate thread about your experiences there. I would especially like more info on how Korea has handled Covid-19 and more info on how the economic divide came to be..

 

[strobot]

Thanks for this info--it helps me understand the movie better. I did not realize that Korea had such an economic divide--I though they were better on this than the U.S. I also did not realize that Korea had so much rain--but I thought the flooding part of the movie was pretty realistic and interesting.

I still did not like the violence in the movie, the vulgar language or how mean everyone was to each other, but I am an old geezer so I guess I am out of touch.

Thanks so your input strobot. I would be interested in learning more about Korea. I hope you will start a separate thread about your experiences there. I would especially like more info on how Korea has handled Covid-19 and more info on how the economic divide came to be..

Yes, the economic divide is pretty large. You have some of the biggest companies in the world here (Samsung, LG, Hyundai, etc.) but such a few amount of people controlling all that wealth.

The rain has been weird this year, it definitely isn't the norm. Usually when August rolls around it stops and returns to Louisian-ish type climate.

And yeah, it was a pretty brutal movie with lots of hatred. This particular director is well-known for going where other directors are too scared to go. It's okay to be out of touch..what really even is being in touch in the first place? People like different things.

And feel free to start a new thread, I'd love to answer any questions you might have! There was a previous thread in March-ish about Covid in Korea but it was OUT OF CONTROL...lol. Way too political. It was best for me to stay out of it. Also, me being an American, I know other Americans don't like it when they are told they are idiots or doing things wrong. That would generally be what I would say on how the U.S. has handled the pandemic.

If you can find the movies "Memories of Murder" or "Mother" by this director, most people say that they are his best work. "Mother" was shockingly well done-and much less hatred from the people in it, so it might be more your style.

 

[Toocold]

For those who didn't like it, how did you guys like Joker? Outside of the supervillian theme, I found it had a similar social commentary, great acting, interesting plot, and violence that matched the theme. And of course, also got an academy award.

 

[harllee]

For those who didn't like it, how did you guys like Joker? Outside of the supervillian theme, I found it had a similar social commentary, great acting, interesting plot, and violence that matched the theme. And of course, also got an academy award.

Joker is not my kind of movie either so I did not watch it. I only watched Parasite because it won Best Picture and from the reviews I thought it was a different sort of movie.

 

[John Galt III]

For those who didn't like it, how did you guys like Joker? Outside of the supervillian theme, I found it had a similar social commentary, great acting, interesting plot, and violence that matched the theme. And of course, also got an academy award.

I liked Parasite, but I liked Joker even more. I liked the acting by the main character. And I guess I liked the violence too, since mainly 'bad' guys got killed, which is satisfying, no? I don't think violence makes any movie necessarily better or worse. Heck, I got sucked into a Hallmark Romance on TV that went on for 2 hours, and I watched the whole wholesome thing, since I liked the theme and the actors. All normal folks having normal relationships, with normal anxieties and joys. That's still interesting to me.

 

[strobot]

Also really enjoyed Joker. DW and I could have seen that winning best picture as well.

 

[gumshoe]

I liked the movie Parasite. It was fresh, original, well acted, and filmed in a very artistic manner. The unexpected and startling twists and turns kept my attention. I considered it a thought-provoking & dark social commentary on the relationship between the "haves and have-nots" with the resentment this breeds, an issue that seems to be getting worse around the world. At the end of the movie, I was left with the question as to who the actual "parasites" were - the clueless, naive ,"living in a bubble" wealthy folks OR the poor family resorting to chicanery just to survive. But that's okay because nebulous endings make for great conversations with friends afterwards.

Of course, the movie will not appeal to everyone as tastes in film, food, and anything else are highly subjective. The other Oscar worthy films of 2019 were also excellent, but I feel Parasite had that extra something that made it stand out from the rest. It was unique, a very different experience. I hope Parasite winning Best Picture will save the Academy from outdated tradition and that the film industry will continue to highlight noteworthy talent, not just from within the confines of America and other English speaking countries, but from around the world as my tastes run catholic. If you haven't seen "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - try it, you might like it. If the story doesn't move you, I think the cinematography might.

As to how "believable" the movie was, I think that is somewhat irrelevant here. First of all, like most movies, it is simply a story that is told through the director's or scriptwriter's vision. It is not a documentary or biography based on fact; it is meant to be entertaining and to stir the emotions, like a fiction book. I read an article in which Director Bong Joon-ho stated that he actually worked as a tutor for a very wealthy family in South Korea when he was young, just like the character in the movie, and I believe that was when he became much more aware of the differences between the socioeconomic classes. But, going back to "believability", I can definitely imagine that what happened in the movie could happen in real life. Much stranger and more gruesome things have happened the world over. In "Deer Hunter", were there really gambling parlors during the Vietnam War where you bet your life playing Russian Roulette? I don't know. I still liked the movie.

 

[harllee]

Thanks gumshoe for your well thought response. Strange as is may seem, as much as I disliked Parasite I remember liking Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon very much. In fact I normally like foreign films. As I reflect on it I think the things that made me dislike Parasite the most were the meanness of the characters, the violence and vulgar language--none of which were really necessary for the story of the film.