Money is an iron. Those creases all get smoothed out.

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Movies of 2020...

#1 : 기생충 (Parasite)

Bong Joon-ho’s class-war masterwork has been top of most people’s lists from the moment it premiered at the Cannes film festival in 2019; it’s since won the Palme d’Or and the best picture Oscar. Release calendar differences means it won our US poll last year, and it now tops the UK list having hit UK cinemas in February 2020. Thrilling, horrible, dramatic, articulate – it covers every base.

We've made it!  Yay!  And - what's more it's two films in a row I've seen - I'm being spoiled here!  But what can I actually write about this one without spoiling it for those that haven't seen it?  Not an awful lot I suspect...

Hmmm - it's a tricky one and I think I'm just going to be annoying vague about it all.  This film obviously has a lot to say about a lot of things, but it's not always entirely clear what it is actually saying.  It also has some very clever ideas in it - some of the stuff that happens you just go "woah - I didn't expect that!".  It also, in at least one point in the proceedings (particularly the party, for me) goes completely batshit crazy - at least to my Western sensibilities.  It's very good though - honest!

I'm not familiar with any of the actors but they all do a good job - you get the feeling they were really put through their paces, so they earned all the plaudits they got.  Although, having said I'm not familiar with any of them, I've just read that Choi Woo-Shik is also in Train To Busan, which is well worth checking out if you like your zombies (on a train!).  But, as well as being put through their paces, you really feel like they were directed to provide exactly the performance that Bong Joon-Ho envisaged in his mind (even if I don't necessarily understand why!).  And so this really feels like his film - there's no danger that he just pointed the camera and went "do what you like".  So he REALLY earned all the plaudits he got - and he got a few, including the Oscars for Best Film and Best Director.

And unlike some of the recent best picture Oscar winners, I can whole-heartedly recommend you watch this.  I'm not entirely sure you're going to love all of it, but there will be bits you like a lot, I promise you.  I also guess if you hate subtitles then you're not going to get with it - but if that's the case you need to reconsider your life, I'm afraid.  Wikipedia tells me they also produced a black and white version - I imagine that gives it quite a different feel, so might try to check that out.

At the time of writing, it's available to watch on Amazon Prime - if you've not had the pleasure, then why not give it a go?  It was the best film of 2020 after all (and I'm much happier with its position on the list than a lot of the other films - but I'll go into that in my next post).

#2 - The first film I'd previously seen!
?? - So, were they the best?