Will “Parasite” walk away with an Oscar?

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For a winner prediction at the 2020 Oscars, I would name the Korean film “Parasite”, written and directed by Bong Joon-ho. In my opinion, it stands a good chance of winning the Best Screenplay Award and the Foreign Language Film Award. 

One reason for my prediction is that “Parasite” has a well-crafted screenplay. It is a black comedy set in Seoul and, with the use of irony and satire, it sheds light on the wide gap between the rich and the poor. The film’s name itself invites reflection on the reality that the poor, just like a tree plundering parasite, often depend on the rich for their survival.

The story delivers the message that the Korean society is stratified, with the poor condemned to the lower stratum, hopeless of ever climbing up the social ladder. The Kims, living in a shabby basement apartment, have to sneak into a Wi-Fi signal for internet access and put up with men urinating outside their home. Conversely, the wealthy Park family enjoy bountiful space and luxury in their well-designed modernistic house. There is also Park Myung-hoon, who has secretly been living in the bunker beneath the big house for long years. In fact, the audience are deeply impressed by the stark contrasts portrayed so vividly in the film. 

The emphasis on the peculiar smell the Kims cannot do away with is a sarcastic touch. The smell, assumedly from the underground train, is an indelible mark of poverty enabling the Park family to tell them apart. And, finally, it is that smell that triggers an unplanned murder, thus implying that social divisions, if not bridged in time, will lead to unamendable conflicts.

Another attempt at sarcasm is the philosophical humor used in the dialogue. Song Kang Ho, the father, often remarks on money’s ability to iron out all problems. When Chang Hyae Jin, his wife, says, “If I were rich, I would also be kind”, the audience smile approvingly at the sarcasm well used. The mind behind the film also intends to mock the Koreans’ blind adoration of Western products; the Park couple have confidence in the tent’s durability in the thunderstorm because “it is American made”. 

Instead of being a medium for slapstick humour, “Parasite” provokes much compassionate thinking, with no laughs getting in the way. The most bitter sarcasm of all is the reference to the fact that it is useless making plans, as is mentioned more than once by Song Kang Ho. And there is rigorous evidence throughout the entire film. The planned camping birthday celebration, for example, has to be put off because of the thunderstorm. What materializes instead is a spontaneous garden party. While the audience are gleefully engaged in the festivity, the film takes a dramatic turn; what is meant to be a war game ends up being real violence. Above all, Ki-woo, Song Kang Ho’s son, is the one intent on having everything well planned. He tries in vain to seek wealth and status first through his success in university education and later through his intended marriage with the rich girl who is the daughter of the Park couple. And towards the end of the movie, his voice-over narration is about another grand plan of rescuing his father trapped in the bunker, leaving an unanswered question about its success. This gives the story an impressive wind-up. 

All in all, Parasite” has an award-worthy screenplay. However, in view of the severe competition from the other nominees, I have more confidence in its chance of walking away with the Best Foreign Film Award.

Movie Review: Little Women

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“Little Women” is a film adaptation based on a novel of the same name authored by Louisa May Alcott. Having read the original book decades ago, I was, while watching the movie, intent on identifying details of which I still treasured vague memories. 


Understandably, to squeeze the substantial content into a two-hour film would mean the exclusion of some details. Nevertheless, quite a few reminiscences of the original story are recognizable. Jo’s remark “Christmas won’t be Christmas without presents” is actually the very sentence the novel begins with. There is then the touching scene of the four girls offering their breakfast to a poor family on Christmas Day. Another recallable detail is the sisterly rivalry developed between Jo and Amy; one related incident is Amy’s falling into the half-frozen pond because Jo has intentionally hidden from her the existence of the lurking danger. Of course, one won’t forget the old man seeking consolation from Beth’s playing on his late granddaughter’s piano. We remember also how Jo sells her hair, her only pride, for the sake of her father lying sick in the army hospital. The film is thus high on adherence to the original story. 


On the other hand, the director has updated the story and offered it to the audience in increments. There are some details new to the readers. I cannot, for example, quite remember Mag quarrelling with her husband about spending 50 dollars on a garment. My memory is only limited to the four sisters’ youthful struggles. Their marriages are probably described mainly in “Good Wives”, part 2 of “Little Women”. And definitely, Jo was not the author of “Little Women”, contrary to what is described at the end of the movie. 


The film draws attention to its orderly orchestration of the tale’s segments, using well-paced flashbacks and non-linear timelines. The initial shots may appear to be a set of puzzle pieces as the many characters involved and the seemingly scattered and unrelated incidents may cause confusion of thoughts. But as the story unfolds, the audience gradually find themselves drawn to Jo’s nostalgic memories and thus get a clearer picture of what has happened to the March family as the time elapses. With the use of different genres of music, the film guides the audience back and forth between the sisters’ teenage stage and their adolescent years. The upbeat background music enhances the setting for the interaction between the noisy, chatty and playful teenage girls. Conversely, the music will suddenly switch back to an unhurried and melancholy genre, setting the mood for Jo’s obsession about the troubled present. And coloration also plays a part in the effective use of flashbacks and flashforwards. The audience won’t fail to notice the implication of maturity in the various shades of blue chosen for the costumes. In stark contrast, the teenage girls are almost always dressed in natural, fresh and vibrant colours of green and beige. 


Where flashbacks are concerned, there is, too, a skillful presentation of a lapse of time between two related incidents. At one scene Amy is blaming Laurie for treating her as the second choice after Jo and then comes the scene where Jo turns down Laurie’s proposal. Likewise, immediately following the scene of Jo happily greeting Beth, who has just recovered from her scarlet fever, she is seen again rushing down the same staircase, this time only to find her mother crying sadly over Beth’s death. The use of such switch shots produces a very strong dramatic effect: the audience will always remember the traumatic loss the family suffers from. 


 The actors and actresses are also well chosen; Joe with her vitality and rebelliousness, Amy, the jealous and selfish girl, and Mag, the clothes-conscious lady all bring to mind the characters in the novel. The only exception, I am afraid, is that the actress playing the role of Beth is too plump to give the impression of a frail, sickish looking figure.


All in all, the innovative screen adaptation would satisfy both the novel’s loyalists and the first-timers and is, therefore, a good movie well worth our time.

An Attempt to tap into Life’s Absurdity – Movie Review: A Swedish Love Story

“A Swedish love story”, directed by Roy Anderson, is a compelling film about the first love experience between two teenagers, Pär and Annika. Set in the summer of 1970 in Stockholm, the story features a strongly conveyed social climate of that time in Sweden. While the puppy love is the main focus of the chugging storyline, there are, as a continuous backdrop, details involving a world of dysfunctional adults who never seem to stop complaining about life.

The story weaves around the adolescent romance in a natural and engaging way, unfolding the two teenagers’ shy, awkward efforts to be together. On their first encounter in a garden party of a nursing home, they get attracted to each other, exchanging sidelong furtive glances, allowing the eyes to do all the talking. Though they later chance to meet again on several other occasions, it is only through peer support and encouragement that they finally become friends.

The puppy love, hitherto pure and implicit, soon gives way to their incipient sexual awakening, hence increasing intimacy as they get along. This detail comes as no surprise, considering the earlier description of the moped gang, always seen with a cigarette in the mouth, embracing and kissing in public. Teen sex, as well as smoking and fighting, is probably an indication of their eagerness to reach adulthood. This is already implied in Pär’s mimic smoking in front of the mirror at the start of the movie. However, in their attempts to venture into adulthood, they have apparently lost much of the miraculous grace in their emotional fusion – Are we not aware of the gradual lessening of the glittering charm in Annika’s blue eyes?

On the other hand, the film also draws attention to the dark corners of adulthood by giving a feeling of reality to the lives of the working class and the middle class in a subtle but critical tone. The parents, relatives and friends seem to be moaning endlessly about their lost dreams and failed opportunities. Pär’s grandfather, in the presence of his visiting relatives, declares tearfully his refusal to be discharged from the nursing home as he finds the world a place unfit for lonely people. There is also the floundering aunt of Annika, who keeps lamenting her loneliness and her being deprived of her desired job. Annika’s parents are an unhappy pair; the mother is often in tears while the father is troubled by his financial problems, angrily or even hysterically asserting more than once that “money is the only thing that matters”.

What is behind the “love story” is perhaps an attempt to tap into life’s absurdity at this rebellious time when children without parental care spend far too much time hanging around, getting themselves into trouble. Victimized by their parents’ fecklessness and psychological volatility, the teenagers are doomed to a bleak future. The intention of the movie, therefore, is probably to cast light on the evil consequences of inadequate parental concern rather than impressing the audience with a premature romance.

A Woman who Yearns for Liberation from all her Life Roles “The Disappearance of My Mother” – Movie Review

“The Disappearance of My Mother” is a memorable documentary that presents a vivid and fascinating portrait of Benedetta Barzini, an Italian fashion model and feminist intellectual. Italian filmmaker Beniamino Barrese, her son, has been photographing and filming her since he was a teenager. Beniamino obviously uses the film as a way of storing memories of her mother, tracing her journey from her charismatic past to her waning present.

Thanks to appropriate film techniques, the documentary is well organized, informative and dramatically bewitching. Frequent close-ups of Barzini’s eyes impress the audience with her look of resentment; she disapproves of publicity, of social life and even of the entire world. Her wrinkled face magnified strongly smacks of her wisdom and sense of individuality, which accrue with her age. The close-up of the mole on the cheek of a young model instantly replaced by that on a wrinkled face is a remarkable arrangement for Barzini’s first appearance in the documentary.

Besides, stock footage, both still images as well as archival film, is inserted into the documentary to enhance the description of Barzini’s involvement in women empowerment activities when she was still in middle age, thus showing her strong personality as an outspoken feminist with hatred for gender inequality and calling for a way of co-existing that would end sexism.

Narrative montages with a series of short shots are also used to indicate changes in time and place within the film. Now a university lecturer in her mid seventies, she still harbours contempt for the world based on male philosophy. Raising doubt about what she refers to as prototypes of beauty, she suggests that women disappear from men’s imagination. She tells her students that women equal Nature while men are for thought and reason. Quite surprisingly, though, she sees the image of a mother holding a baby the highest symbol of tenderness and love, and considers that even a business woman’s role is a mother.

With the use of the filmic flashback, structuring its narrative partly through memory, the director is careful to present selected evidence to Barzini’s long cherished intention of disappearing from public life though it is not known exactly when and how the plan was initiated. On several occasions, Barzini has hinted at “vanishing”. Amidst the mid-movie flashbacks of Barzini’s captivating appearances on catwalks and magazine covers in her youth, the wrinkle-faced former supermodel, speaking to the camera, expresses her annoyance at images. She is more interested in things that cannot be seen and wishes to walk concealed within her privacy. As she puts it, her real self is “unphotographable”. In a picture taken of her at the age of 15, she looks malnourished. She thinks that refusing to eat is one thing women can do in protest against family control and is pleased to feel her body vanishing. In addition, she is intent on vanishing from society, actually from a race to which she does not feel a sense of belonging as she disagrees with their current values. More than once, Barzini has been seen swimming in the sea with the voice-over narration of her wish to escape from it all. And the shot showing her disappearing beneath the waves is particularly expressive.

Barzini makes occasional protests against being filmed though most of the time she yields to her son’s whims. The verbal communication between mother and son during the filming process adds to the realism of the story. In fact, using a hand-held camera, the director is not hesitant about showing trifling details of Benedetta’s private life and even her unglamorous habits. However, there is some doubt about the naturalness of the filming as the director has once or twice put himself in front of the camera, appearing side by side with his mother, or contrasted against her in the mirror.

It is also doubted whether certain scenes have been constructed artificially to add to the documentary’s dramatic appeal. This is particularly apparent when they are discussing how the documentary will be brought to an end. In one scene, for example, she is seen walking in the woods, and in another, she is rowing a boat in the wide open sea, both giving the impression of her final disappearance when suddenly she appears again in her messy room smoking her usual electronic cigarette.
On the whole, the gripping documentary gives a complete picture of a fascinating central figure, provoking much thinking about what beauty actually means and what is more pursuable than the glamour of limelight. “The Disappearance of My Mother” is indeed a film too good to miss.

Humans should learn to respect Nature Movie Review: "Honeyland"

“Honeyland” is a documentary film set in a mountain village in Macedonia, one of the world’s poorest countries. The director and his team spent three years filming the life of Hatidze Muratova, a Macedonian woman believed to be the last female wild beekeeper in Europe.

The documentary is, for the main part, a factual film which is dramatic, telling about Hatidze’s life encounters while, at the same time, also providing a specific message along with the facts it presents.

The film provokes much thinking about human relationships. A considerable portion of the content is dedicated to the description of Hatidze’s daily routines, extracting and preparing honey for sale and taking care of her mother, who is sightless and bedridden. It is out of both love and necessity that she gives the old woman tender care despite her occasional fits of temper. The old woman also shows concern about Hatidze’s chance of getting married. The scene in which they exchange kisses is particularly touching. It is thus apparent that genuine love is infallible despite the challenges of ill health, poverty and hopelessness about the future.

On the other hand, what happens after the arrival of a nomadic family with their herd of cattle to reside in the neighbourhood shows the fragility of human relationships. Initially, Hatidze is very friendly, sharing ideas about breeding bees with the cattle farmer, going to market in his truck and having fun with his kids. But they end on bad terms with each other once they find themselves faced with a conflict of interest. And quarrels also occur between the cattle owner and his family. They blame one another for the loss of half of the number of cattle through their negligence. And peace is restored only when they move away, people and cattle together.

Of greater importance is the message about the relationship between humans and Nature. In harmony with Nature, human activities can yield fruitful results. Hatidze Muratova is seen extracting honey from the comb with her bare hands. She does not seem disturbed by the flying bees though there seems little protection from them except for what the head netting affords. One thing she specifies repeatedly is that she cuts only half of the honey comb, leaving the other half for the breeding of bees, a practice contributive to honeybee conservation and sustainability.

By contrast, human interferences can have a negative impact on ecosystems. Having learned about the profit Hatidze Muratova makes from the sale of honey in the market, the nomadic family also start breeding bees. But out of their greediness, they extract honey in excessive quantities, ignoring the need for conservation, thus causing damage to ecology and resulting in many deaths in Hatidze’s beehive. The scene showing the bees fiercely stinging the couple and their kids is probably intended to impress the audience with Nature’s vengeance on humans for their selfish invasion.

Added to this, due to their obsession with the honey business, they neglect their cattle, resulting in starvation, sickness and death. This is obviously another indication of the calamity humans are inflicted with as a punishment for their greed and selfishness. Furthermore, the incident about the bushes set on fire accidentally is another warning against lack of attention to environmental care. Luckily, the flames are put under control, suggesting that Hatidze and the others have finally learned the lesson.

In addition, the film is an example of direct cinema with a genre characterized by its creative treatment of actuality. Details of what is actually happening are filmed surreptitiously and are presented as they are. There are quite a number of single-shot moments captured on film: the journey by train to the market, bees stinging a crying baby, kids swinging on a tree, a boy helping a cow give birth, all emotionally engaging despite its being a non-fiction film.

Moreover, the film is also given credit for its creative visuals that reinforce storytelling. The audience is inevitably impressed by the landscape beauty of the mountain village and the gorgeous sunrise and sunset filmed with wide shot angles. Besides, precise lighting is used as an indicator of nonverbal mood and emotion in various scenes. For example, where Hatidze is taking care of her old mother, showing her worries about the latter’s gradually ebbing life, the only source of light is a candle, adding much to the scene of destitution and misery.

However, while the director is intent on delivering a positive message about environmental conservation, some doubt has been raised about the sincerity of his direct cinema approach. Could he have warned the people involved about the foreseeable problems instead of just remaining an outsider, allowing things to happen so that he could enjoy filming to his heart’s content?

In any case, I find the film very inspiring and would recommend it enthusiastically.

More than a Mere Eye Candy - Dilili in Paris: Film Review:

Dilili in Paris, an animation film by Michel Ocelot, tells a thrilling story about the attempts at tracking down the Master Men, a gang of girls’ kidnappers in Paris, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

From the very start, the audience’s curiosity is aroused about Dilili, a little girl of French and Kanak descent, becoming more and more emotionally engaged as she gets entangled in almost every incident the story twines around.

Dilili looks small and dark especially when seen with the strikingly fair-skinned French. If her physical appearance is nothing particularly noteworthy, she draws attention in more captivating ways. Probably due to her refined upbringing despite her humble background, she is very careful about her good manners. She thus easily gains the trust and friendship of the people she meets, among whom quite a few are of high social status.

Together with Orel, the delivery boy, Dilili goes on a sequence of visits to his friends, bringing the audience on a breathtaking and compelling trip of investigation. With an eagle eye, Dilili is smart enough to identify a suspect, even one that seems absolutely harmless. She can fare very well in the various social circles she is introduced to, enabling herself to seek information important for the investigation. Through eavesdropping, for example, she succeeds in hunting for useful clues. And, amusingly, her casual rope skipping also plays a part in the arrest of two jewel robbers. Above all, she displays great courage when she herself gets trapped in the horrendous situation of the kidnapped victims. This way, the film keeps the audience in suspense at one moment and then leaves them breathing a sigh of relief at another.

Moreover, the animation also casts light on a period when several historical firsts for women in France were made. It depicts some of the renowned historical figures who were often present in the city at the time, including Emma Calves, the most famous French female opera singer, and Marie Curie, the first woman of the Nobel Prize. In fact, female supremacy in society during that period had been the cause of jealousy leading to the kidnap case with the related evil acts of male suppression and abuse of women and girls.

In addition, with its beautiful animation, Dilili in Paris presents Paris as a centre of cultural history during the La Belle Epoque era, when the arts flourished and gained recognition. The 2-D characters are placed alongside beautiful photo-realistic Parisian backdrops, giving the audience the chance to feast their eyes on the authentic masterpieces of theater, music and visual art while enjoying an engaging and fascinating story.

However, despite the sumptuous visuals, Dilili in Paris is more than a mere eye candy. It is a mystery movie that would attract both adults and kids. It is also recommendable to teachers and students interested in a meaningful lesson on French cultural history.

FUNAN: a Story of Endurance and Hope

Funan is an animation based on historical facts partly collected from Director Denis Do’s mother and others who have been through similar experiences, thus enhancing its realism despite its dramatic elements as a fiction film.

The film tells a harrowing story about the miseries of a young couple, Khuon and Chuo, during the brutal Communist Regime of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 1970s. Still enjoying modern life in Phnom Penh, the capital city, they are suddenly forced to evacuate from their home to be exiled to an internment camp with the other families. On the way, Sovanh, their son, gets lost. What happens thereafter depicts the horrid situation they are thrown into.

Struggling through slave labour and severe food shortage in the communist labour camp, they still hope against hope that they will be reunited with Sovanh, believed to be in the care of their grandmother in another camp. Meanwhile, they witness one tragedy after another as the Cambodians are subjected to cruel treatment under the Angkan regime, which keeps boasting of the birth of the so-called new society and promising to “reward those who work hard”.

According to Director Do, the screen is split into two equal parts — characters and landscape. And this is done with excellent animation skills to achieve the desired effects. There are indeed quite a number of characters with heartrending experiences, which, when put together, can very well give a vivid picture of what actually happened during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror.

Understandably, it is no easy task telling the characters apart as all are dressed alike and even with the uniform hairstyle. However, the carefully drawn strokes showing certain features on each individual face, Chuo’s bristles and Lily’s freckles, for example, make them easily identifiable. The subtlest change of facial expression is also shown to convey emotion -- the communists’ cunning and meanness, Chuo’s weariness and bitterness, all attributed to the awesome digitally hand-drawn animation skills.

Presumably, the director prefers to show the violence off screen. In fact, the vastness and attractiveness of the Cambodian landscape chosen as a backdrop to the tragic story somehow serves to lessen the impact of the atrocities and bestial acts, which would, otherwise, have been more heart wrenching and devastating in a live-action film. Where the Cambodian people toil day and night are beautiful scenic paddy fields, ostensibly a very pleasant sight if not for the cruelty of the communist taskmasters, often armed goons.

On the whole, this film takes the audience on an engaging and emotional trip through love, loss, pain, fear and then hope. Though not recommendable for kids below 12, it is a family movie with a special appeal for viewers with an interest in a history lesson on the political turmoil of South-East Asia. In brief, it is a must-see.