The 57th New York Film Festival has ended, but not so regarding the euphoria that attendees guaranteed to experience throughout 17 days. Look no further than the thoughts of our member Mark Schumann in this four-part series as proof, some of which will also feature reviews of this year’s cinematic heavyweights such as The Irishman, Pain and Glory and Parasite!
ICYMI: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 are here.
What’s Cooking at the New York Film Festival? (Parasite)
At times, we may wonder how the family we live with might translate to the big screen. Are we as entertaining as we think we are? Would the antics we share be unique enough for mass audiences to embrace? Do we reveal enough of our eccentricities to keep people interested? And would others find the humor in the moments we might consider quite serious?
Actually, I’d love to chat with Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho about his own immediate family because, as we cherish in Parasite, it’s the absurd things that siblings and parents may do that really make us care. This fabulous look at the sense of devotion these people share may not paint a conventional portrait of family life but certainly celebrates the many layers of bonds inside a home.
For this family, that home is a semi-basement apartment in a rundown part of a city where telephone signals are difficult to secure, wi-fi networks are less than reliable, and clean water and air are rarely within reach. Inside we discover a mother who pushes, a father who withdraws, a daughter who imagines and a son who dreams. Within those fantasies he pictures a different life for everyone, so much so that, instead of waiting for conventional opportunity, he seizes the chance to befriend a wealthy family by pretending to be qualified as a tutor for their daughter. Shortly he finds a way to continue exaggerating the truth so he can land a role for his sister as an art instructor, his father as a driver, and his mother as head of the house. Within what seems no time at all, the family is suddenly flush with financial success, none of which they legitimately earn.
As fun as this family may be, Joon-ho has more on his mind than taking a family joy ride. As quickly as he lets us begin to enjoy the success this family shares – at the expense of their clueless customers – Joon-ho begins to ask if such riches are deserved. As the moviemaker begins to test how his characters handle outrageous challenges, he reveals how this family, so poorly prepared for lives they pretend to lead, discovers how savoring success can be more complicated than pulling off the con.
Throughout it all, Joon-ho brilliantly lets us into the joke, giving us vantage points his characters cannot see. As a result, we see what loose ends this morality tale must connect before his characters can embrace the impossibilities. And we learn, ultimately, that what creates laughs in the short term can generate true sadness that only a delicate filmmaker can creatively balance. The genius of Parasite is not how it tells its story, it’s how Joon-ho lets us decide how we want that story to end.
And that’s what’s cooking at the New York Film Festival.
Mark Schumann is The Reel Dad for Hearst Connecticut Media. Since 1999 his film reviews have helped families across New England and Metro New York City choose the movies to share together.
