Parasite

Every once in a while, the Academy Awards throws the world a curve ball, and sometimes they get it perfectly right. This year, the world was shocked when the Korean film Parasite won best picture. Like a good number of people out there, I knew nearly nothing about this film. And the next day, when I started reading about it, I felt that I knew even less. Having finally watched, I know why. This is one of those films that's nearly impossible to sum up in any meaningful way that conveys how remarkable it is.

Despite some of the images that you'll find, or the eerie trailers you might see, this isn't an Asian horror film, though it certainly borrows visually from that genre. This is a drama, but it's dram with dark humor the reminded me of Reservoir Dogs meets American Beauty. 

This is the story of class inequality dressed up in a brilliant plot that sees a lower class family gifting their way into the employment of an upper class family that lives in the blissful isolated ignorance of wealth. 

I really have nothing negative to say about this film. The acting, the story, the look, and the pacing of it were all fantastic. After it ended, the "shock" of the Best Picture win no longer felt like a shock. It wasn't a curve ball, it was a slam dunk.

Manchester By the Sea

Last weekend, I went to see Manchester by the Sea and have to say it was one of the more important movies that I've seen in a long time. It was the kind of movie that was made in the height of indie cinema in the late '90s, but doesn't often get made today since it's not an easy movie and not a movie that fits into a pre-defined marketing category. This is a story about sadness, about dealing with sadness, about learning to live again after sadness. I wouldn't call it a depressing movie. It's about healing. While it's definitely sad, it's ultimately uplifting by the end.

One of the things that is curious about this movie, and one of the things that makes it important, is that it is specifically about men and how men deal with sadness. Despite the advances our society has made, there is still this prevailing idea out there that men should deal with sadness in the traditional way. This movie examines that concept in a powerful way and shows how tragic that concept can be. It also shows the private side of male bonding and the healing power of that bond. 

While I enjoyed La La Land immensely, and thought it a fun love story, it's not on the same level as this film. There is a scene between Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, the scene in the poster pictured above, that is perhaps the best acted scene that I've ever watched. For that scene alone, both deserve Oscars, as does the film. This will be the first year in many that I've watched the Academy Awards with a winner to root for.

Her

Next up in my ongoing quest to make Oscar night worth watching, I went to see Her the other day and it was pretty fantastic. I've always been a fan of Spike Jonze films, going back to Being John Malkovich in 1999. Then ten years later he made one of my favorite films of all time, Where the Wild Things Are. He has such a unique way of telling stories that are both unconventional and yet, at the same time, extremely poignant to our contemporary lives.

 

Her is no exception to this quality, creating a near futuristic world that seems like a very plausible extension of our own. The characters are absorbed in their technology, lost in their private world of cell phones and social media during commutes much like people are today. But in Her it goes even further, showing people as being almost divorced from personal connections. The very nature of Joaquin Phoenix's job is the perfect metaphor for this as he spends his day writing letters to strangers, hired by their loved-ones. At one point he mentions that he's been writing letters back and forth from one couple for years, and at another, from parents to their child for nearly the child's entire life.

 

In a world where people don't even bother to communicate to their closest loved ones, but rather hire the task out to strangers, it's no wonder that someone could fall in love with computer operating system, especially one with an artificial intelligence component that allows them to grow and mature. Essentially cut off from real relationships, Theodore quickly strikes up a friendship with his new OS, opening up to her in a way that he doesn't with other individuals. Their connection quickly grows, which is easy since the OS has access to all the details of his life. Basically, the OS simply becomes someone to talk to. As the OS, who takes the name Samantha, begins to grow, her excitement towards new experiences attracts Theodore and they fall in love.

 

At first glance, I could see many people finding the very concept to be farfetched, but when you consider how many "friendships" we create online these days, love is a natural next step. But at the heart of this love story is the trend towards isolation that our modern lives are taking, and no matter how immersed we are in our technology, the need to connect with others is too powerful to fade. In the end however, an artificial partner cannot satisfy the same desire. Theodore learns this lesson only after the artificial intelligences created by this new OS decide to leave humans. But the seeds of his realization are born before, when confronted by his ex-wife, the one woman he ever really loved, when she criticizes him for his relationship with a computer, saying it's what he always wanted because he never wanted to deal with real arguments or problems that come with spending a life with someone. And essentially that is the real reason we currently seek out virtual friendships, because it's hard to be annoyed or frustrated with someone who isn't physically there.

 

As with Spike Jonze's previous films, Her takes unexpected turns, delving into fantasy to make the viewer think about their current lives. It's also a very beautiful love story, detailing the excitement of falling in love, and the difficulties that come as a relationship grows.

 

On another note, I saw this film at the celebrated Alamo Draft House in Austin and it's no wonder this new era theater chain is taking off. Dining on quality food, served throughout the film, along with drinks, it was a delight, and would probably make any movie that much more enjoyable.

The Wolf of Wall Street

In my continuing effort to try and catch up on some important films of 2013, mostly so that the Oscars aren't a complete waste of time, I went to see The Wolf of Wall Street the other day. A lot of the films up for Best Picture don't appeal to me for various reasons, but a Scorsese film is not one I'm about to miss.

 

The first thing I noticed about this movie was that it felt very much like previous Scorsese films, especially Goodfellas. The narrative structure was nearly identical, including a similar voice over that could have been spoken by the same character. I imagine this was intentional. By alluding to that movie, I think it attempted to make the analogy that Wall Street is no different than the mafia. It's an effective analogy, though it did leave me with the impression that I had sort of seen this movie before. That didn't really bother me however, because it felt like I movie I'd seen and loved.

 

Like other classic Scorsese movies, this one had that magic recipe of humor, tension, and debauchery. It also brought out some of the best performances in a wonderful cast. I particularly thought that Jonah Hill was brilliant. There were many laugh out loud funny lines in the film, and he delivered the lion's share of them. Leo was also fantastic, which I've come to expect from him, being one of the greatest actors of our generation.

 

I know a lot of critics and viewers have been upset by the way the movie tends to glorify greed. And though it does in a way, it's also necessary in order to capture the world in which these characters inhabit. What I really think people object to is that while watching the movie, you really want the character to get away with it. This is something that has plagued many of Scorsese's films. I felt the same way during Goodfellas. That's because the main characters are incredibly likable, and you end up rooting for them, despite their crimes. But that's another tricky aspect of moviemaking. You need to have a likable main character to pull the audience in. That doesn't bother me either, because the ultimate responsibility of the viewer is to reflect afterwards on the rights and wrongs, and even to question why you would allowed yourself to root for someone whose actions you normally despise. That's the point of a thought-provoking piece of art. I shudder to think of a day when we return all art to being morally didactic.

Oscar Grouch Alert...

Tomorrow night, I won't be watching much of the Academy Awards. It's not out of any kind of protest or hatred. I actually believe in the credibility of winning an Oscar, but this year I haven't seen many of the movies nominated. But that's mostly because not many of them interest me, and that's kind of my problem with the Oscars the last few years.

More and more it feels like these Award movies are essentially churned out by the same machine recycling blockbuster movies. The feast is being prepared the same way, just using different ingredients. Action movies are like coffee from the corner deli and Award movies are something a little more gourmet--but in the end, it's still just burnt coffee that probably costs too much.

I did see The Descendants and I thought it was a pretty good movie. But was it a 'Best Picture'...I don't know, not in my opinion. That label needs to be saved for something special and none of the nominees feel that way to me. Sure, many of them look like good movies. And yes, I'm dying to see Hugo. But we know that isn't going to win, so what's there goes that reason to watch. As for The Artist, I honestly have zero interest. It just feels so prepackaged to me and kind of gimmicky. It's one of those movies that feels like I've seen enough of it in clips to know it's not for me.

Here's to hoping next year is different...and for the record, of the few movies I did see last year, my current 'Best Picture of 2011' title still firmly belongs to Super 8.