The 92nd Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars held in February 2020 have been in discussion ever since. The award for Best Picture was given to the Korean film Parasite by Director Bong Joon-ho and it has generated a lot of buzz all over the world. It is such an engrossing, gripping movie that it keeps all the viewers at the edge of their seats throughout the time and also remains imprinted in your minds even after you’ve left the theatres.

With the movie now also available for online streaming in India, we are going to tell you all the reasons why you should go and watch this film if you haven’t watched it yet, or even if you have, watch it again. Yes, it is that good.

In broad terms, the movie’s plot is based on the existing greed of humans as well as a discriminatory class system, which is brilliantly yet subtly shown through a symbolic relationship between two families in the movie, the lower class, economically fragile Kim family and the well to do Park family.

1. It is an Academy Award winner

Credits — Movie Parasite

Considered to be the most iconic film of the year, Parasite not only won the Golden Globe Award and BAFTA, but also was awarded with an Oscar this year. It’s the first Korean movie to have won an Oscar for Best Film, and it is not something that happens every day. It has won millions of hearts all over the globe and it is definitely a must watch! It has not only won the Oscar for Best Picture, but 4 awards in total for Best Original Screenplay, Best Director as well as Best Foreign Language Film and was also nominated for the Best Production Design and Best Film Editing categories.

2. It is Socially Relatable

The relevance of the message brought out by the movie is not just valid in the Korean culture, but in Indian society as well. Alike the Kim family in the movie, there are thousands of family in India too, that struggle every day and can barely make ends meet. There also exist wealthy, privileged families like the Park clan who are caught up in a whirlwind of their own issues. The dynamics of social difference as well as class hierarchy is seen almost everywhere and can be more relatable than we would like to believe.

3. It won’t leave you lost in translation

Credits — Movie Parasite

Although the movie is in Korean, the director Bong Joon- ho and translator for the film, Darcy Pacquet have made sure that the subtitles don’t botch up the dialogues and the emotion behind any scene that is going on. Reading the subtitles while following the story will have you totally engrossed and it won’t be misleading or taking away the essence of the film or the scene, it will be like reading a book, while actually being able to see what is going on.   

4. It is a Piece of Art

The film does not only have a great concept and an equally great script and storyline to back it. It also has a major chunk of it depending on subtle symbolism with layers of suspense, but comedy and artistic cinematography that adds a lot of depth and volume to dark realities of greed and class hierarchy that movie also aims to highlight in front of the viewers.

5. It is greatly acclaimed by Critics

Another strong reason for anyone who has not seen it yet, Parasite is not only greatly loved by critics all over the world, but also it received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to win the Palme d’Or, even before it was awarded the Oscar. Also, it has a great cast. Song Kang Ho is extremely popular in Korea and in fact, is considered one of the best actors of the country and you should not miss this chance of seeing him deliver such a great performance on screen.

6. It has amazing Cinematography

Every scene and every shot of the movie has been given a tremendous amount of attention and effort, because of which the meaning of the movie is brought out even more beautifully. Each shot has an amazing level of precision and it is exactly why the film was also nominated for an Academy Award under the Best Production Design category.

7. It has several layers

This is an important point even for those who have already watched the movie before. Now that it is available in the theatres all over India, you must definitely experience the skill and artwork shown in the film on the big screen. The movie does not work on a flat plane, it has several layers which are unveiled throughout its course and they add more meaning to its message. There things, minute details, that you are going to realise after watching it for a second, or even a third time. It is without a doubt, a worth watching experience.

8. It is surprisingly funny in some places

There are times in the movie where you see the characters laugh at themselves or the excruciating misery they experience on a daily basis, especially in the first half of the film and you can’t help but laugh with them. Since the movie is relevant to people beyond the Korean audience, its resonance becomes all the more strong and valid among the masses.

The list can go on and on. There are so many valid reasons as to why the Oscar winning movie is a definite must watch for anyone. It is not just an award worthy movie, but according to some viewers and critics, it is considered to be a classic already, within a year of its worldwide release which says a lot about the kind of impact this film has had. It is not only about the technical aspect such as the cinematography, dialogues and translation, but also what is most important is the important message that it wants to bring about to the society.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *