Parasite Review

The last Tuesday afternoon weekend of the first month of the twenties saw a doldrum at the theater.

We couldn't find anything that we wanted to see so we decided to rent Parasite, take a long walk to our favorite cafe, eat lunch, walk back home and watch the "film"

Let's start with "walk back." If we still lived in Rochester we wouldn't even be considering the concept of a long walk in late December due to the fierce weather, so thank God for the walk to and from the cafe.

Let's face it, 2019 was a weird year for "film" as several of the best films including The Irishman and A Wedding Story premiered on teevee as did many of the year's worst "films" which were never even shown in a theater. So we begin the era of questioning "what's a film and what's not a film...what's a movie and what's not a movie.?

So we sat and watched Parasite on our 4d teevee in the privacy of our home. We could stop the film (pause the teevee) if we wanted to refresh. I was tired after our walk and as I began to lose interest in the film (not a fault of the film), I asked Lynn if it would be okay if we took a break so I could grab a little nap. This was at the 58 minute mark of the movie.

Lynn agreed. I took my nap and returned to the couch ready to pay attention. From that point on, wed went the distance.

As for the movie itself, we already know that it's going to be good. We know that the critics love it and the director has won prestigious awards. It's almost as if when going in we are faced with the question are we good enough for the movie rather than the movie or film or teevee show or whatever this is, is good enough for us. That's part of the reason why I needed a nap to make sure that I could pay the level of attention demanded by what might be the best movie if the 2019 batch.

The first half of the movie is sinister and as repeated a couple of times in the dialogue, it is also metaphorical. Never a good thing when action needs to describe itself as metaphorical but why quibble? As a result of a bad decision made by one of the main characters, Parasite simultaneously descends to new heights while ascending to new depths. 

The Irishman, Uncut Gems, The Joker, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood concern themselves with white male rage. Parasite flips the script into Asian family rage which presents us with a new view of life  and class struggle in Korea. Should you see it? Of course. Is it the BEST movie of 2019. It's in the running. We knew that before we sat down on the couch.

2019 was a transformative year for movies. We enjoyed many a Tuesday weekend this year. I'll get my list of top movies out this week.

Stay tuned.