Parasite: Movie with the Most Applicable Name
Parasite gets inside you and won't leave. Its title describes its effect on one.
I saw it yesterday at a 12:30 showing. I chose to go because it is touted as the best film of 2019. I don't know if that is true since I haven't seen very many of them, but I can say it is excellent, if disturbing. It is excellent partially because it is disturbing (and very well photographed, although I am not an expert on that point).
Yet, my statement of a film being excellent is not to be taken as a recommendation to see it. You must be ready for violence, blood, and, well, sin, if you are going to see it. Not at Quentin Tarantino level (I think a lot of his violence is campy and ridiculous), but pretty rough.
Of course, after watching it, one asks, are the rich the parasites, or the poor? It's not that simple. The poor in this film are not nice people, and they are parasitic; the rich are not un-nice people, but they do seem unaware and are parasitic in their own way. The most telling scene is where the rich wife praises the rainstorm that has cleaned the air but has also destroyed the homes of the poor. That is emblematic of our existence in the industrialized world.
I am not wealthy but I fall on the side of the rich people more than the poor, and I am conscious of class and money. I spent 6 weeks living with some people much more wealthy than I, an experience that has given me pause. The wealthy "take things for granted." That's the key. This family probably pays close to $1000 on utilities every month; that's a mortgage payment for people like me. Although my house is paid off, but I have rented an apartment and my monthly expenses there are about $1000. I am privileged to be able to do so, though, I realize.
Lots to talk about with this film. Glad I went.
I saw it yesterday at a 12:30 showing. I chose to go because it is touted as the best film of 2019. I don't know if that is true since I haven't seen very many of them, but I can say it is excellent, if disturbing. It is excellent partially because it is disturbing (and very well photographed, although I am not an expert on that point).
Yet, my statement of a film being excellent is not to be taken as a recommendation to see it. You must be ready for violence, blood, and, well, sin, if you are going to see it. Not at Quentin Tarantino level (I think a lot of his violence is campy and ridiculous), but pretty rough.
Of course, after watching it, one asks, are the rich the parasites, or the poor? It's not that simple. The poor in this film are not nice people, and they are parasitic; the rich are not un-nice people, but they do seem unaware and are parasitic in their own way. The most telling scene is where the rich wife praises the rainstorm that has cleaned the air but has also destroyed the homes of the poor. That is emblematic of our existence in the industrialized world.
I am not wealthy but I fall on the side of the rich people more than the poor, and I am conscious of class and money. I spent 6 weeks living with some people much more wealthy than I, an experience that has given me pause. The wealthy "take things for granted." That's the key. This family probably pays close to $1000 on utilities every month; that's a mortgage payment for people like me. Although my house is paid off, but I have rented an apartment and my monthly expenses there are about $1000. I am privileged to be able to do so, though, I realize.
Lots to talk about with this film. Glad I went.
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