The Privilege Class crashes into the Working poor

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2020)

My Review- Parasite
My Rating 9/10
I'm so glad I got to finally see Parasite today on the day it won 2 well deserved BAFTA British Academy Awards Best Movie not in The English Language and Best Original Screenplay for its writer/ director Bong Joon Ho.
Parasite has already received numerous accolades, with six nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best International Feature Film, making it the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards, the film won the award for Best Foreign Language Film. It received four nominations at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards. It also became the first non-English film to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
The film's title "Parasite" was selected by Bong as it served a double meaning, which he had to convince the film's marketing group to use. Bong said "Because the story is about the poor family infiltrating and creeping into the rich house, it seems very obvious that Parasite refers to the poor family, and I think that's why the marketing team was a little hesitant. But if you look at it the other way, you can say that rich family, they're also parasites in terms of labor. They can't even wash dishes, they can't drive themselves, so they leech off the poor family's labor. So both are parasites."
I read Director and script writer Bong Joon
is a great admirer of Alfred Hitchcock and I'm sure Hitch would praise this movie even the music score is reminiscent of Hitchcock films . The film makes several nods to Alfred Hitchcock throughout. Stairs are used as a motif, voyeurism is used as characters watch scenes through windows 14 times, and (most obviously) there is a brief glimpse of an out of place Alfred Hitchcock collection in the Park's home.
I thought it also reminded me of Quentin Tarantino in its dark comedy and there are some very funny moments especially in the first half of this unique and original film.
Unfortunately I've only seen Parasite on DVD but I hope to see it again on a Cinema Screen soon.
It's a movie I want to watch again as it's as good as all the hype it's getting and what a journey! it takes the audience on.
Described as a Black Comedy Thriller as of 2/2/20 this film had grossed a Worldwide $163.3 million and was estimated to have cost $11 million to produce.
Of course I don't know any of the actors but they're all terrific in their roles and as an ensemble cast one of the best this year .
I still think it's odd to include this film in 2 Best Film Categories at next weeks Academy Awards it had no chance of winning Best Picture but I'm certain it will win Best International Feature Film and it probably deserves to. I'm still so fond of Pedro AlmodÃ³var's Pain & Glory..
Ps an add on comment after seeing Parasite on a Cinema screen the best way to appreciate a film like this.
After seeing Parasite on a Cinema Screen at last I appreciate the movie even more.
There's so much to absorb and think about in the layers of Pasasite. The story depicts Class divides, Climate Catastrophes, Nuclear War fear and Violence due to mental illness and resentment.
I was wrong in my first review to think Parasite had no chance of Winning Best Film of the year and I still think it's unfair that films in a Foreign Language have 2 bites of the Best Film cherry but this movie is a great film .
This is not a new review my original will do but just an observation after seeing "Emma" this week which portrayed Upper Class 19th Century snobbery and class division then the excellent HBO series "Succession "portraying an incredibly wealthy Media magnates family living a life of incredible privilege financed by greed and cunning plotting the next coup.
The common thread that Parasite, Emma and Succession have is total separation from the feelings and aspirations of anyone outside their Class it's survival at all costs and disregard anyone who smells differently speaks differently, dresses differently or anyone doesn't process a degree or wealth.
The poor family's ingenious scheme to obtain a better life regardless of the outcome shows more intelligence and hope to improve their situation than the insular, neurotic self obsessed rich Park family.
2 comments from Parasite said by Ki-taek and wife Chung-sook stay in my mind .
Ki-taek: They are rich but still nice.
Chung-sook, Ki-taek's wife: They are nice because they are rich.
Chung-sook, Ki-taek's wife: If I had all this I would be kinder.
Ki-taek: Rich people are naive. No resentments. No creases on them.
Chung-sook, Ki-taek's wife: It all gets ironed out. Money is an iron. Those creases all get smoothed out by money.
Both families end up with creases and resentments in Parasite so I guess both families fit the definition of Parasites-
parasite
Learn to pronounce
noun
1.
an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense.