5. "aw yeah, I go to all of his stuff sight unseen...." In response to Reply # 0
ever since seeing 'The Host' in theaters back when, I automatically go to all of Bong Joon-Ho's stuff....lookin forward to this new one too. heard its getting good reviews....
Went to see it off the strength of other people I know saying how good it was. Had no clue what it was about, hell I thought it was a horror movie before it started.
8. "I really want to see it" In response to Reply # 7
My plan is to see it toward the end of the week, but movies are in and out of the theater so quickly that I don't even know if it'll still be playing by Thursday. Fingers crossed.
I love all of Bong Joon-ho's films prior to this one, and Song Kang-ho is one of my favorite actors. Really excited to see it.
17. "Amazing movie. My movie of the year. Just one question though (spoiler):" In response to Reply # 0
Why didn’t they just move once they started making collectively a lot of money?
I understand it is probably easier said than done since their four jobs kept them busy but moving would have avoided the flood (which I know they couldn’t have known about beforehand), and if they had gotten new clothes they wouldn’t have dealt with having to hear they smelled bad.
not a lot of time had passed. Considering dude was locked in the basement most of the time. The camping trip seemed to be the first time they were not busy working and actually had a moment to stop and relax.
_________________________________________ "Too weird to live.... too rare to die..."
Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86672 posts
Tue Oct-29-19 12:50 PM
24. "well, the part of him buying the house is *definitely* fantasy." In response to Reply # 22
We see that through the image at the end. That the desire to free his father keeps our lead character hoping to climb the economic ladder, but we know it'll never happen. He'll never get rich enough. He's stuck, as are the overwhelming majority of us.
As for the stuff with the father, if that's fantasy? I don't think there's any cinematic language in the movie suggesting that the father's survival and Morse Code letter is fantasy. In fact, that'd definitely make the movie worse, as the Sisyphean task that the ending suggests the lead boy will attempt is far sadder and far more in line with the themes of the film than just "he's fucked up, it's all in his head."
I think internet people come up with "it's all in his head" fan theories far too often. There has to be something in the film conveying that it's all in his head, otherwise what's the point?
25. "i wish more american films had this visual style." In response to Reply # 0
im not up on the technical terminology but these korean/japanese/indo flicks have a look that really draws you in and makes you feel like you are in the film.
theres a 'closeness' achieved that the sterile super hd look over here cant match imo.
it really stood out in the horror genre with the string of american remakes a few years ago.
42. "Some of it is also the style of acting/how the dialogue is translated" In response to Reply # 25
Obviously I don't know the language, and I'm sure the translations are pretty on point in terms of what the characters mean, but I often feel like the subs get pumped up to match the style of acting. I've been playing more Japanese video games than I have in a while and I'm starting to notice just how graphic and earnest and emphatic Southeast Asia's languages get translated into English compared to a lot of the stuff I saw from the 50s, 60s and 70s when I was an action nerd and taking film classes.
None of this is bad and again I might be totally wrong and the translations are pretty 1:1 these days, but anytime I read about translating stuff, particularly in the old days when all (good) video games were Japanese and text-based, there is a lot of interpretation and smearing things around to make them make sense in English that just feels vulnerable when you read it, and when its tied to this acting style that's SUPER unafraid to look silly and bombastic it just resonates different.
31. "The ending is pretty brilliant *spoilers*" In response to Reply # 0
I love how it ends on the son's pipe dream. It somehow manages to be both ultra depressing but inspiring at the same time. There's zero chance this kid will ever make enough money to buy the house, yet he has this undying motivation to make something of himself.
I hesitate to say I LOVED the film though. Technically it's pretty flawless, but I think the completely jarring, surreal/far-fetched narrative elements are a double-edged sword. Makes the film more entertaining, but also tends to weaken the emotional impact for me personally.
32. "It's capitalism in a nutshell. " In response to Reply # 31
>I love how it ends on the son's pipe dream. It somehow >manages to be both ultra depressing but inspiring at the same >time. There's zero chance this kid will ever make enough >money to buy the house, yet he has this undying motivation to >make something of himself.
I think that's the perfect metaphor for late stage capitalism.
> >I hesitate to say I LOVED the film though. Technically it's >pretty flawless, but I think the completely jarring, >surreal/far-fetched narrative elements are a double-edged >sword. Makes the film more entertaining, but also tends to >weaken the emotional impact for me personally.
I just didn't find it all that far fetch. I thought it was a dystopian flick that just happens to not be in the future but able to happen right now. Being in NYC and seeing the disparities in wealth, it's easy to imagine a situation where a family is better off living rich folks leftovers than trying to live on their own.
********** "Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
I hope this is the movie where the Oscars finally show South Korea some love.
Perfect blend of comedy and intense drama.
Song Kang-ho is amazing as usual (as an aside it's really annoying that critics are pronouncing his name SONG KAY-NG HO, and not SONG KAH-NG HO. But that's a personal gripe that has nothing to do with the movie itself). I would even like to see him get an Oscar nom, but that is asking waaaaay too much. If this at the very least gets a Best Foreign Film nom, I'll be happy.
35. "RE: Parasite (Bong Joon-Ho, 2019)" In response to Reply # 0
Saw it twice. Dunno, maybe my favorite - in terms of a "I know I'm gonna watch this 5+ more times in the next 10 years" sense - fictional film of the 2010s. Takashi Miike's First Love was another one I'd put in there.
39. "Damn this was terrific." In response to Reply # 0 Sat Mar-14-20 10:32 PM by Brew
I love Bong Joon-Ho in what little I've seen of him (his Grammy speech and some other stray recent clips) so I'm glad he's getting all this shine. This movie lived up to the hype and then some.
Someone above mentioned how great the camerawork was and how it made the viewers feel like we were part of the movie - I felt the same way.
I've personally watched several movies w/subtitles and have never had an issue or been annoyed with having to follow along that way (and, in fact, have mostly appreciated the feeling of authenticity vs. watching movies based in foreign countries where clearly non-english speaking people were speaking english) and IMO Joon-Ho and his team did an incredible job of making the act of reading dialogue via subtitles almost unnoticeable. I never felt like I was missing any of the visual action due to reading. That can't be easy to pull off. Major props to Joon-Ho and all the writers/producers/etc. for that.
41. "Bong is always memorable." In response to Reply # 0
a great film that features all of Bong's unique style and characterization at its peak. very cool that it's being recognized as such -- often a director like Bong will finally get broad acclaim for a latter, more flawed work, but this one is actually his best.
43. "this one keeps getting better" In response to Reply # 0
rewatched last week and man, is this a masterclass in framing and overall cinematography -- every shot and cut is intricate without being overbearing. that part really grabbed me this time, already knowing how fucking good the script and performances were.
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