roma – Smaller Pictures

Parasite (2019)

The most original film to come out of this year’s award season, Bong Joon-ho’s Korean masterpiece Parasite which can only be described as brilliantly bizarre. Since its premiere at Cannes Film Festival, the film world has been abuzz for this film. It subsequently took home the prestigious Palme d’Or beating out Quentin Tarantino’s mainstream favourite Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (you can read my review here) and has become a huge favourite this awards season, breaking the mold by being the first Korean film nominated for major awards. Particularly for non-English language films, Parasite has managed to achieve the impossible but it has done so for a reason. Joon-ho’s flawless mix of genres means that you cannot really place Parasite within a particular set. It is a perfect mix of drama, comedy, horror and thriller while also discussing a variety of topics including classism and gender. Parasite refuses to conform and because of this, it stands out as one of the most original pieces of the 21st century.

The film follows the Kim family made up of father Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), mother Chung-sook (Chang Hyae-jin), son Kim Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and daughter Kim Ki-jeong (Park So-dam) as they struggle to make ends meet by working temporary jobs that pay little and are living in a semi-basement that is constantly subject to flooding, public urination and fumigation. When Ki-woo is given the opportunity to work as an English tutor to a daughter of the affluent Park family, the Kim family concoct a plan to create jobs for themselves in the stylish household thus earning a decent wage and living the high life themselves as the Park family’s household grows evermore unstable. On the other side, there is the Park family consisting of father Park Dong-ik (Lee Sun-kyun), mother Yeon-gyo (Cho Yeo-jeong), daughter Park Da-hye (Jeong Ji-so) and son Park Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun) and their housekeeper Gook Moon-gwang (Lee Jung-eun). It is a film that presents the extreme balance of classism from either side with the housekeeper acting as the literal and figurative gatekeeper in the middle.

Joon-ho’s direction feels unique and innovative as he manipulates setting and space to create an alternative universe within a very grounded and real place. The physical placement of the Kim family’s house being below the ground and the Park’s mansion placed high up on a hill creates a physical hierarchy. The airy, spacious setting and architectural minimalism of the Park home screams luxury and relaxation which is a stark contrast to the crammed and narrow corridors of the Kim basement where the toilet sits on a higher level to the rest of the bathroom. Joon-ho’s decision to only show the two homes as primary location only exemplifies the issues of class and belonging even more. It is no surprise that it is the smell of the basement that lingers with the Kim family and creates a separation between the two families. Despite being treated as such, they can never truly be equals. Joon-ho’s script, co-written with Han Jin-won is sharp and natural. They know when the film benefits from minimal dialogue and when to create chaos as the two families clash. As mentioned before, the film is a mix of many genres and doesn’t really have a place within one category. This isn’t a bad thing at all because in a way, it has shown Joon-ho’s skill as a filmmaker.

The main cast capture the film perfectly. One particular highlight is Song Kang-ho who brings a phenomenal performance as the Kim patriarch Kim Ki-taek who finds work as the Park family driver, mainly working for the family patriarch Park Dong-ik. He doesn’t hesitate to manipulate the Park family and take advantage of the luxury lifestyle but becomes deeply affected and paranoid when the comments of the Kim family smell arise. It is these moments that ground Ki-taek and make him realise that the lifestyle they think they are living is only an illusion. Despite their hardest efforts, they cannot rid the stench of the basement. Aside from being a film that explores the differences in class, it also does a great job at showing acceptance and place of belonging. Ki-taek doesn’t wish to change anything really and eventually begins to despise Dong-ik. Choi Woo-shik also brings his A game as Ki-woo, a young man who aspires to get out of his current situation. Working as Da-Hye’s English tutor gives him an insight into the life that he wants but not all is as it seems. Ki-woo starts a web of lies as he manages to coerce his employers to hire members of his family without them realising.

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Parasite is a fantastically bonkers film bursting to the seams with originality and I hope it triumphs at the Oscars and wins the major awards. As much as I did enjoy Sam Mendes’ frontrunner 1917 (you can read my review here), Parasite is a film that brought more to the table and something different. Not only would it be an incredible moment for film history to see a Korean film sweep some major awards that are often excluded to English-language films only (insert Roma snub here). The hype that Parasite has generated is truly deserving and it’s great to see that it is connecting with a global audience.

What do you think of Parasite? Let me know in the comments below!

Finally got around to watching this one and boy, was it worth the wait. Noah Baumbach’s tale of a couple coping with the struggles and heartbreak of divorce had received a lot attention and more than deserving of the hype. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver play New York based married couple Nicole and Charlie Barber who are pitted against one another by their lawyers when going through their divorce. Directed and written by Baumbach and containing many signature improvised scenes in true Baumbach fashion, he truly has outdone himself with this flick and created a film that is deeply human and resonating on many levels. He does not want the audience to pick sides as each side is justified and wrong in their own ways. Both characters lay out the others’ strengths and weaknesses in the opening monologues, setting the tone for the rest of the film. The film seems more stripped back in direction than Baumbach’s previous endeavours but then this feels like his most personal project and in many respects, the most heartfelt.

Johansson and Driver bring the best performances of their careers to date and both will receive nominations for sure and stand a very good chance at bringing home Oscars. Johansson takes a break from the Marvel franchise and it seems that she revels in being Nicole, an actress who longs to return to her native Los Angeles to make TV shows and films. Nicole is deeply passionate about being an active member of the family unit, particularly when it comes to being a mum to their son, Henry. She plays with him for hours on end and constantly rewards him for completing simple and menial tasks. Driver’s Charlie on the other hand resents rewarding his son for going to the toilet and instead wants to instill maturity and push his son to do his homework and work on his skills. What both parents share is an undying love for their child and the mutual understanding that the divorce outcome must be beneficial to Henry’s needs most of all.

As Nicole’s lawyer Nora, Laura Dern is glamorous, unstoppable and manipulative. She swoops in with compliments for Nicole on their first meeting, decked out in a beautiful outfit and sky high heels that become a signature throughout. She is a hugely intimidating character who begins to create a narrative on behalf of Nicole. In the courtroom scene, Nora refuses to back down and the articulation and intelligence that Dern brings to the role is surely going to bring that overdue Oscar. Dern has always been a reliable actress, wowing time and time again but with Marriage Story, she is able command the control of the scenes that she is in. She is truly mesmerising in her speeches and empowering in her confidence.

There are many scenes in this film that caused me to pause and take in the perfection but the big one has to be Nicole and Charlie’s huge argument as they cannot agree. It’s brutal, real and incredibly improvised. What starts as neutral smalltalk soon turns into a hurtful explosion full of abuse hurled at both sides and Nicole and Charlie both rip into each other for their weaknesses and expose the problems in the marriage that had been bubbling the surface and kept from the audience until this point. This honesty soon makes way for the ridiculous as they begin to insult each other for points and it soon ends with Charlie’s meltdown in which he curse Nicole and hopes she is smited with illness before being run over and wishing she was dead. Immediately, he falls to his knees in defeat as he instantly regrets his words and the two apologise. The exhaustion of the scene radiates off the screen. Before this scene, the tension is clearly brewing but both parties delude themselves and pretend everything is ok and can be relatively normal given the circumstance but here we are presented the reason and the breaking of the foundation.

This film subverts the usual divorce storyline in that the characters do not get back together at the end. This isn’t to say it isn’t a happy ending. In fact, both characters are much happier for it and we see the positive outcome and newfound respect that the protagonists have for each other. The end scene being a breath of fresh air in the aftermath of their court session. It’s a film that you cannot help but feel affected. The realism and authentic approach makes it seem like you are watching a real marriage fall apart. The genius of Baumbach’s writing is that he makes you sympathise with one party then the other and then you end up feeling sorry for both and wanting the best for them. Nicole and Charlie have done bad things during the course of their marriage but that does not make them bad people.

I think that Marriage Story will be a film discussed for many years and has revolutionised filmmaking for streaming culture. The film does not make any attempts to blend in nor does it want to be trendy. Baumbach is simply delivering quality cinema and making it accessible for everyone. There is an audience for it and I think a simple film like Marriage Story is a perfect way to break the ice further in the same way Roma did. I would give this film some major awards, particularly for its writing and acting. It’s a well-rounded film that is truly captivating from start to end. You feel that you truly get to know Charlie and Nicole equally throughout.

What do you think of Marriage Story? Let me know in the comments below!