What Is The Deal With 'Parasite' & Why Is There So Much Hullabaloo About It?

Instead of making this a propaganda about how absolutely brilliant Parasite is, I would like to dissect into the credentials about why was it this South-Korean film that became the one to create history and become the first-ever non-English film to win the Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards. What is it that makes this film so special and it manages to attain unanimous love and praise? Let's get on with it.

The Rhythm, Music & Subtlety

If you have ever happened to watch director Bong Joon-Ho's previous works ever, you would know that the man is obsessed and particular about adding a rhythm into a storyline. That, however, is more apparent in Parasite than ever. From breathtaking montages of storytelling to pacing his camera with the character, Joon-Ho makes sure that he doesn't let you miss even a single frame of any sequence as pretty much every frame of the film has a hidden Easter-Egg or something deep for you to notice and interpret. There is a sense of calmness even to the chaos the man has presented in Parasite where anything doesn't get too overwhelming for the viewers to soak in. With instrumental geniuses (especially in the 5-minute montage of hatching a plan to remove the housekeeper (Spietati io vi Giurai by G.F. Handel) aided to the mega moments in the film, you almost feel you are in the world with the characters and experiencing the same.

Similarities and Hidden References

if you are an absolute nerd of feature presentations like I am, you would have probably drawn some similarities between Joon-Ho's filmmaking and that of legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Just in case you were wondering that, guess what? Joon-Ho inserts him into the film in a montage just to probably confirm the same as you can see in the image above.

A similar approach to direction and cinematography can probably be seen in last year's talked-about show, Euphoria where Zendaya's character, who is also the narrator explains the big moments and several of the jaw-dropping instances take place in quick montages and frequent camera zoom-ins.

The Oscar Triumph & a Total Awards Sweep

So, what makes Parasite the film to create the history it did as opposed to many other films that may have been in contention over the years? Relatability and socio-political commentary without an iota of preaching and of course, sheer brilliance in filmmaking. 

The Singular Most Important Thing

The Oscar Triumph & a Total Awards Sweep

The one special thing about this is the fact that in spite of being an obviously and unabashedly South-Korean film; the treatment, concept, and acting of the same is as universal as it can get. For a show or film in the local language to soar globally, it is always the treatment of it that matters and that's where Parasite hits it out of the park. Of course, there have been umpteen presentations over the years that have managed to do that in several ways but Parasite does it better than any film ever. The Academy, to our relief, understood it well and thus decided that it will be this film that will break a 92-Year Old norm and hopefully pave the way for many others in future