Meh, Ok

Rating: 5/10 (23 February 2020)

I've watched South Korean films most of my adult life. Films such as "The Way Home", "The Handmaiden", and "Train to Busan" are indeed great within their respective genres, and are testaments to South Korea's rising acclaim in world cinema. Parasite is not on the same level as the aforementioned titles. Instead it is quite typical of mediocre SK movies - choppy, childish at moments, and the dialogue isn't highly cerebral. It wasn't great nor was it bad. I'm not sure what all the hype was about with regards to it deserving of an Oscar for Best Picture either. I think people in the United States simply haven't seen enough SK movies to truly appreciate the breadth of cinematic entertainment that SK has to offer. Perhaps with Parasite, it must be the novelty of glorifying criminality in a very conservative society that's piqued critics' and American viewers' interests. Yet, this concept is nothing new in SK films.