The surprising, or maybe not-so-surprising, sweep by the South Korean film "Parasite" at the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night (in case you missed it, "Parasite" won four Oscars: Best Picture, Best International Film, and Bong Joon Ho won for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay) prompted me to finally get around to watching the movie last night. My pal Dan Houston said that this was a movie that, more than almost any other movie he saw, stayed with him and made him think for a long time after he saw it, and I agree. It hasn't been a full twenty-four hours since I saw it, and I most certainly am still thinking about it, and it will stay with me for some time, I'm sure.
Friend and neighbor Barbara asked me on Facebook last night "What is it about?" A question with a lot of answers. It's about a family of con artists. It's about class distinctions in South Korean society, and the vast differences between the rich and the poor, distinctions that certainly exist in these United States as well. It's about desperation and longing for a better life. It's about the cluelessness of the upper classes to the society around them.
It's about all of those things and it is told in a very interesting manner. In the beginning, it's almost a comedy as we see a family of con artists worm their way into the household and take advantage of a wealthy family. There are laughs to be had there, no doubt about it. Soon however, things take a dark turn, and then an even darker turn after that. Call it a Tarantino-esque turn of events. Director Bong Joon Ho definitely pays an homage to Quentin Tarantino, whether intentionally or not, I don't know, as "Parasite" winds to a startling conclusion.
I don't want to give away anything else, but I will tell you that this is a movie worth seeing. And don't let the subtitles scare you away. Within the first five minutes, you won't even think about the fact that you are reading them.
Do I think it was the Best Movie of the year? No, my vote still goes to "Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood", but I am not going to say that "Parasite" was an undeserving winner, either.
Three and One-Half Stars from The Grandstander.
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Some other thoughts on the Oscars......
- The Academy spread the honors around. In spite of "Parasite" winning the four big awards other movies got their beaks wet as well. "1917" won three, "Once Upon A Time ..In Hollywood", "Joker", and "Ford v Ferrari" won two each, and "Little Women" and "Jojo Rabbit" took home one each, so that was nice. The fact that "Parasite" beat out an All-Star Ballot of other really, really good movies for Best Picture is yet another tribute to it
- As always seems to happen, one heavily hyped movie gets shut out on Oscar night. This year it was "The Irishman." Ten nominations, Zero wins. One has to wonder if this was about the film's artistic merits relative to the competition, or was some anti-Netfilx backlash involved in these outcomes?
- The Oscars remain an important event, and it is the one awards show that I will always watch, but I have to admit that as a television show...Meh. Every year the Producers of the show promise that this year it will be better, different, and more entertaining, but for the most part, it never is.
- I'm glad that it opened with that Steve Martin/Chris Rock monologue. That was funny. After that, I didn't miss the absence of a nominal "Host" for the show with one exception. As I get older, more of the actors and performers on the show are unrecognizable to me. Could a voice over announcer telling us who is coming out there, or maybe puting the names on screen as they come out be too much to ask?
- Speaking of performers, what was with the Eminem bit? I read that when Marshall Mathers and his movie "8 Mile" won Oscars in 2003 for Best Music and Best Original Song, he was a no show at the ceremony. So why the make-up do-over now, in 2020? His performance of "Lose Yourself" on Sunday was certainly dynamic, and the audience, except for Martin Scorsese, seemed to love it. (The shot of the stone-faced Scorsese during this was one of the high points of the telecast!) I liked it, but, again, why was it presented on this year's telecast?
- Tom Hanks was called upon to read a bit about the Motion Picture Academy's new museum that will open to the public later this year. Did you notice how he ended his talk? As he was walking away from the mic, he said "I am Spartacus." Leave it to Tom Hanks to make an absolutely perfect tribute to Kirk Douglas, who died a few days before the ceremony.
- As for notable presenters, the only ones that stick out two days after the fact, were the bit that Maya Rudolph and Kristin Wiig did and James Cordon and Rebel Wilson 's self-deprecating one in their "Cats" costumes.
- To be sure, it was fun seeing Elton John perform, but I continue to maintain that the telecast would be improved if they didn't bother performing all five of the nominated Original Song nominees.
- Bung Jong Ho was called to the stage four times to accept the various awards that he and his film won. As he spoke through his interpreter, he came across to me, anyway, as an engaging and very sincere guy, so, good for him and his successes.
- As for prediction, I went 4-4 on Sunday. I missed on Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Adapted Screenplay. I hit on all of the Acting awards, but none of them - none! - were a surprise. All went according to chalk, which certainly contributes to a less than exciting telecast. As always, I present a tribute to the four acting winners....
Brad Pitt, Laura Dern, Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger
As they say in the movie biz, that's a wrap until next year.
