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Oof, this movie hit me hard. The comedy worked well to lighten things and the directing was outstanding (other than a few super on the nose symbolisms) but I don't really have the stomach to watch it again. It's essentially a depiction of our current society, the crushing burdens of capitalism and its effect on people and the lack of class consciousness that means things will never change. The structure is depicted as awful and eternal, trapped. And it's just so goddamn dark that I felt nauseated at the end. The only other movie that I felt it compared to was Requiem for a Dream in its embrace of a nihilistic ethos and how depressed I feel after it even though, or because, it's a wonderfully crafted movie. Maybe the comedy leavens it enough, but the deep dark undercurrent just hurts, reflecting all the ills I hope can someday change as so deepset. A few people have compared it to Joker and I think both share a misanthropy that is just gutting, but Parasite is much more focused and coherent and soul destroying.
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Nov 12, 2019 05:12
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Bottom Liner posted:That's because the protagonist in Joker is completely removed from the social issues the movie raises and directly says as much multiple times. Todd Phillips thinks that just bringing up issues is the same as addressing them when in reality his lack of having anything to say makes using them more offensive than leaving them out entirely. Joker is all surface level to outright offensive with it's handling of everything. Oh I absolutely hated Joker, no argument there, for the exact reasons you quoted. It's very much a "how to and how not to" depict your theme of destruction of society wrought by capitalism. Joker's transposition to 1970s New York, reshash of Scorsese, and shoehorned comic book cameos did it no favours in also just feeling removed and recycled and hollow. By contrast, Parasite's absolutely modern setting makes its nihilism hit so much better and more grounded while still, with its blatant metaphors, feeling like a timeless indictment.
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Nov 12, 2019 05:43
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I just got out of seeing Jojo Rabbit for the first time and Parasite for the second and they're really a perfect pairing. With Jojo you have your very Western liberal portrait of redemption where we just need to get together and talk and we can dig deep enough to revel in our shared humanity. It has very solid comedy beats and setup punchlines shot brightly and gorgeously, but also this surreality that you can read as fantasy. Parasite, on the other hand, is a dark condemnation of people and the wretched society we've built. Capitalism has alienated us all from our humanity, into beings incapable of understanding each other, with no hope redemption or solidarity. It also has these long setup and allisive jokes but there aren't the traditional comedic beat punchline setup like Jojo. It's this biting, throwaway lines organically part of the story. And while full of symbolism, the darkness and groundedness of the images in the subterranean gives Parasite an earthiness and reality that work with its contemporary setting, unlike Jojo's vampy period piece. Both are very well acted and directed, it just depends on how you want to view humanity: a hopeful, reassuring story we tell each other, or our fictions peeled back and tunneled into our real core. Good times!
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Jan 15, 2020 07:25
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I think it's interesting that the dad is the best at his job but the worst at playing the role the rich family expects him to. His smell and "going over the line" make them the most dissatisfied with him. It's yet another criticism of how advancement in a capitalist society is based much more on how good you are at inveigling scraps from the rich than any other sort of meritocratic climbing.
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Jan 15, 2020 15:13
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I just figured the wife was spacey since she's doped up all the time. Her introduction is her passed out on the table outside. The respectability of drugs depending on who they're consumed by (the drunk in the alley, the imaginary crack addict) is another subtle thread throughout the film. The sexual politics of the film are interesting (deceit, class, age difference) but I never got that vibe. May have to have a third go at it.
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Jan 22, 2020 15:12
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