There are plenty of good foreign films out there. How does this one, essentially out of nowhere (maybe I'm wrong that's why I'm asking) foreign movie end up nominated for a bunch of awards, in theaters an extended period of time and hitting greatest movies of all time lists?
shareThis happens with a lot of films. People just seem to be in the mood for something at a certain point in time and it takes off. But I think Parasite is highly overrated and in a couple years people will wonder why it got so much recognition.
shareUsually if theres a lot of hype about a certain foreign film being absolutely incredible and nearly flawless and groundbreaking, it’ll get a large amount of publicity. Old Boy had similar hype around it, as did Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
shareThey've essentially bought it. The Korean government and coorperate world have been trying for years to spread "Korean culture". They've finally achieved some success with this movie and the boyband BTS.
shareThere have been some excellent Korean films over the past twenty years, many of which deserve international recognition. So I discount your theory, which sounds biased and petty.
shareAnd you sound like a melting snowflake. Yes, there are other Korean movies that DESERVE international recognition, but most don't get it, at least not to this extent.
Nothing biased and petty about what I said, it's a self-admitted policy. If you want to know who bought this Oscar, then look up Parasite producer Miky Lee. Educate yourself before talking about stuff you clearly don't know anything about. Good luck!🤞
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/korea-not-just-psy
HAHAHAHAH, snowflake? Wrong generation.
shareI didn't call you a millennial. The term snowflake transcends generations. It's basically just an oversensitive whiner.
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Seriously, mods? Our posts get deleted, but not Keelai's racist rant???
shareAs far as I know, "snowflake" has been widely linked to the recent millennial generation. No idea what the related term is for gen-X.......
As much as I love Korean films of the last 20 years, I haven't seen this yet. Think it was the topic that initially kept me away. But this feels like a convergence of recognition for both the Korean film industry and the director. And regardless of who is responsible, am glad for the divergence from the "same ol'" every year. (this is coming from a self avowed indie snob, and radio host, who has near zero interest in the Grammy's or most award shows).
Snowflake has nothing to do with any generation anymore. For example, in politics the term is used by either side when the opponent is considered to be oversensitive or easily offended.
Anyway, it's your perogative to have that opinion. I just happen to think there's an ulterior motive behind that recognition.
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Parasite has also been promoted in other overseas markets, more than the movies you mentioned, in my opinion. That also costs a lot of money. Don't forget Scorsese had trouble finding financial backers. Parasite producer Miky Lee is from one of the richest companies and families in Korea and she has put a lot of money and effort in spreading "Korean culture". But politics also plays a role of course, and they played it smart the way they promoted the movie.
sharei deleted my comment, because i got confused & forgot the discussion is more about the commercial success of parasite, not about the academy awards.
re: irishman - it's true that scorcese had trouble finding a studio, but when he found a home for it, it received all the money. netflix put a lot of money into its production, and a lot into awards promotion for it.
regardless, i am sure it's the case there's a lot of money behind promotion of parasite. it didn't just magically, organically become everyone's favourite movie of 2019.
but i also think its success says something about the film. you can buy opening weekends, you can buy campaigns, and that absolutely can colour people's impressions of a film.
but parasite has consistently made a lot of money, week after week, in america. it has the highest user rating of any film on letterboxd. it's won a lot of awards. a shit-ton of awards, if you like.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_Parasite
i know you don't rate it yourself, but it's clearly a film that's touched a chord with a lot of people, and i think it deserves credit for that.
It's interesting you say that the class-based message doesn't quite work, even though that's the aspect that seems to be applauded by many. So what exactly is it that supposedly strikes a chord with so many? I personally don't see anything that speaks to the masses.
I think the premise of the movie is very interesting, especially as a K-pop fan who has been following the scandals surrounding the rich elite in Korea a bit. But I find the superficial execution of the poor vs. rich clash of the movie quite uninteresting. I think it would've worked better not as a revenge story, but as a cautionary tale for overprivileged rich folks like nut rage lady (if you remember who she is). Most people aren't marxists who hate the rich, they just hate entitled rich folks who get away with their behavior. That's why people enjoyed Ricky Gervais at the Globes so much.
i'm off to work...so i can't get too deep into this.
but yeah, the class messaging in the film is something that did not work for me. or at least some aspects of it. it seems like the message, at least as i understood it, was a sort of 'the world is zero sum, and these people are poor because others are rich.' certainly, that seems to be what bong is saying in some interviews if i followed him properly.
and that's just wrong. we've never had so many rich people in the world, so many billionaires and millionaires, and at the same time, world poverty has collapsed. the economy of korea and the world is not zero sum. someone being successful and rich and having a great life does not mean that he's depriving someone else of success and happiness.
but i think the film still worked because some of the class messaging did work - the elements about smell, how we automatically deflate the value of a person if they don't smell clean, things like that.
and i honestly just think it's a corker of a story, just a great con-family story gone sideways, that surprised me and shocked me and really resonated with me in its tragic conclusion.
aside from the marxist messaging, not a small thing, but put that aside, i think it's just about a perfect film.
I agree, it's an outdated idea of class struggle.
The smell thing didn't really work for me. Obviously it was not imagined, so why is it so bad for anyone to be bothered by it, especially in your own home? I thought it was a rather silly metaphor. It might have worked if the movie had been a totally over-the-top ridiculous farce where the ultra-rich, like some sort of aliens, have developed an oversensitive sense of smell of poor people.
There are more problems, I just really dislike the movie after the twist reveal.
Yeah there have been much better foreign films over the years. It didn’t deserve Best Picture, just more political correctness.
sharePolitical correctness? Seriously? This film wasn't about politics, it was about people. Humans creating relationships with each other based on perceived status. If you didn't watch the film you probably shouldn't be commenting.
sharei think the main answer is the simplest one - for all of it's acclaim, cannes award, all the praise for its class-based messaging (the one aspect of the film that didn't quite work for me), the main reason it's done business rare for a foreign film is that it's a true crowd-pleaser. it's funny & exciting & thrilling at the right times & tragic at the end.
i think it's instructive to look at parasite's u.s. gross pattern. it made about $4m the first week it expanded, about $4m the next week, and $2.6 the following...and since then, it's continued to pull in at least a million a week.
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1258849793/weekly/?ref_=bo_rl_tab#tabs
it's back up to $2.2m for this past week, and it's safe to say it will make a lot more this coming week as it gets expanded to more theatres.
you can buy big opening weekends with promotion & grift, but if people keep consistently going to a movie, with small declines & in fact significant improvements recently week over week, that suggest more than anything that people really like it and are saying so to others.
the fact that it has the highest user rating ever recorded on letterboxd would support that as well.
https://letterboxd.com/visdave34/list/official-top-250-narrative-feature-films/
So no one should comment on anything that is class-based? Why not? Seems like some fear this kind of thing?
sharenot at all! i don't think that's what i said, and it's certainly not what i meant. i'm all for films taking that issue on, and i think in some ways parasite did it brilliantly, but there were a few things that i did not go along with, if i understood it properly.
but i don't want to get bogged down in that discussion. it's not what the thread's about.
but i'm definitely not against that.
You said the class-based messaging did not quite work for you, so I wasn't sure if you thought bringing up class in movies is something you like or dislike. Some people are put off by directors and writers commenting on controversial topics. It is almost like they fear that any discussion of such topics will dissent in our society or that movies aren't a place for that(some think that movies should just be for entertainment).
sharequentin tarantino adores bong joon ho. since 2009 he always mentioned bong's films in his top 10 favorite lists. i say Bong really deserved the recognition. you should watch memories of murder (2003) and the host (2006). Quentin can really foresee a talent.
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