Many so called movie experts felt the South Korean movie “Parasite” winning the Academy Award for Best Picture was an upset. It is true that plenty of prognosticators picked “1917” to take the picture prize with some others favoring Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” However I don’t see the “Parasite” victory being THAT big of a shock.
First off, do the math on what I listed as the odds on favorites to get the top movie honor, “1917” or “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Academy voters have long loved war films and they do earn their share of Oscar statues. The Academy faithful also goes for movies about Hollywood or show-biz stars. This year I think what happened is lots of the Academy votes were split between “1917” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” This gave “Parasite” an open shot at being named Best Picture.
There’s more to this story. Social media quietly but efficiently gathered buzz for “Parasite” with legions of folks claiming the movie to be the best film they’ve seen in years. I too enjoyed this feature and would list it in my top 5 of the past ten years at least. The groundswell for the subtitled South Korean movie was bigger than some anticipated. That groundswell turned into a tsunami of passion, support and in turn, Academy Award gold.
Plenty was made of how this was the first foreign language film to win Best Picture but look at the world we live in. Anyone can see how the internet, social media and instant access to touch base and talk with anyone anywhere on earth occurs so easily. Barriers of communication are almost non-existent so the approval of a movie like “Parasite” can pick up millions of ‘likes’, ‘messages’ and ‘re-tweets’ in no time at all. Forget what Donald Trump wants to do with border walls, we live in an open universe and that’s only going to continue to grow.
Away from the sociological and demographic considerations, the bottom line is “Parasite” is as finely a crafted movie as you could dream up. Two years ago “The Shape of Water”, another offbeat story, warmed folks’ hearts and won the Best Picture Oscar. I liked “The Shape of Water but loved “Parasite”, plenty of others felt and feel the same way.
Every character in “Parasite” had strong traits (both good and bad) that were endearing. The movie is an allegory for the huge gaps and differences between the very poor and the very rich. Yet, “Parasite” also shows us the similarities both the poor and rich have. They all want the best for their children and loved ones and will do whatever is necessary to get that for them. The plot twist in this movie just added to the fun. I thrive on seeing un-Hollywood formula scripts and this one was as un-Hollywood as you can get.
There’s more I could add but in time, others will look back and understand why “Parasite” won the Best Picture Oscar and why it was a well deserved honor. If you haven’t seen this movie, by all means get to the theater or check it out On Demand. “Parasite” has so far only grossed 36 million dollars but look for that money tally to grow in the coming days and weeks. Please trust me, once you watch it, you’ll get to my thinking on this Best Picture winner.
NEXT WEEK: What kids say today.