Enjoyable movie but acclaimed for the wrong reasons

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2020)

I have serious issues with this movie.
Not because it isn't incredibly well-made, acted etc. I've seen some bad reviews of it which I don't agree with, but I understand where they are coming from. Because at no point is the audience given even the slightest hint about why any of this is happening. Why are this rich family hiring an art tutor for their eight year old? They must have more money sense. Rich people are stupid. Look at this smart but poor family taking advantage, it's all good. Well no it isn't actually. Scamming is a massive issue in Korea. Voice-phishing, molka cams, car insurance scams are an absolute plague and they are, in many ways, uniquely korean issues.
But that isn't why this movie leaves a bad taste. At no point is it addressed why this family would need to be hiring tutors for their kids. This is a very Korean issue, and it isn't something that is exclusive to rich people. It is in fact the norm. It's just much easier when you're rich because no personal sacrifices need to be made. Maths tutors for 4 year olds. Piano teachers. Ballet lessons. Learning 3 or 4 languages. This actually happens. Yes at 4 years old. So an art tutor for an 8 year old really isn't anything to bat an eyelid about if you live in Korea. Which is why most young Koreans would do anything to live in Europe or the US, it's just a constant grind every single day.
This isn't a film about inequality. In fact, Korea is well down the list of most unequal societies. Elderly poverty is a big problem in Korea. Inequality is not. Seoul is just a city, like London or New York or San Francisco that has very expensive districts and houses/apartments. But unlike those other cities, schooling is a large part of the reason for that. Everything comes back to education yet here we are blaming it on 'inequality'. It's fashionable of course. There's always something with the best picture oscar these past few years.
Anyway, it's good to see a Korean movie doing so well. I would rather it have been Old Boy winning the big awards but I have no issue with this kind of entertaining fluff winning awards. Korea deserves recognition as they are producing some fantastic TV and films.