Parasite

Parasite: It only went and bloody did it!!

And the award for Best Picture, Best Film in a Foreign Language, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay goes to a film not made in the west! 

A massive congratulations to Bong Joon Ho and all the people who worked on this fantastic motion picture, Parasite. I have to admit I did watch this a few weeks ago so I could keep up to date with the award ceremonies but, I’ve held off my review until it was released in the UK. 

I don’t know what I was expecting from this film when I first saw it. I’m not sure if I thought it was going to be a more grotesque and unsettling horror/thriller, or more of a heavy drama. What I got was both and so so so much more. This film is funny. Very funny in some places, but then again in the same instance very unfunny and quite frankly disturbing. It was a commentary on one social class exploiting another, but then again which social class is exploiting who? It was action-packed, intense and thoroughly gripping throughout, but then again, it was slow, methodical and unrelenting. As you can see here from my very unhelpful review, you leave the cinema not quite knowing how to think and feel, and what this movie was about and ... why? 

Perfect.

That one word seems to be about the only word that I can place with any sort of certainty. Bong Joon Ho is a goddam genius filmmaker and there really needs to be an academy award for Best Ensemble Cast because it would have won that as well. No single actor stood out particularly for me in any way, but as a group and a collective they were seamless, our inspiring and a joy to watch. 

I can’t go too much into the film itself as I want you all to watch it for yourselves and make your own conclusions. But when you do please get in touch and I’d love to discuss it more with you. 

I’m going to give this film my biggest rating yet, a thoroughly deserved 9.6/10. The only reason I don’t give it the full 10/10 is I believe all films can be improved in some respect and even my favourite film in the world doesn’t get top marks. You have to, HAVE TO go and see this film at the cinema! So cancel all your evening plans and go ASAP!

I’ve been Christopher Whitmore, thanks for reading.