Parasite
Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
Staring: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, & Yeo-jeong ChoWe thought we’d start (in April 2022) with an award winner. The film had great reviews by audiences and critics alike, including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and International Film at the Academy Awards in 2020. Although some may have seen it we thought it was well worth a second view, and for those who missed it a chance to see it on the big screen.
The film centres around the struggling Kim family who exploit an opportunity when their son starts working for the wealthy Park family. Soon, all of them find a way to work within the same household and start living a parasitic life.
Western
Directed by: Valeska Grisebach
Staring: Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek and Syuleyman Alilov LetifovA group of German construction workers start a tough job at a remote site in the Bulgarian countryside. The foreign land awakens the men’s sense of adventure, but they are also confronted with their own prejudice and mistrust due to the language barrier and cultural differences. The stage is quickly set for a showdown when men begin to compete for recognition and favor from the local villagers.
Minari
Directed by: Lee Isaac Chung
Staring: Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, Alan S. KimYearning to own a small patch of land and be more than a chicken sexer, the ambitious paterfamilias, Jacob Yi, relocates his Korean-American family: sceptical wife, Monica, and their children, David and Anne, from California to 1980s rural Arkansas, to start afresh and capture the elusive American Dream. However, new beginnings are always challenging, and to find out what is best for the family, let alone start a 50-acre farm to grow and sell Korean fruits and vegetables, is easier said than done. But, amid sincere promises, cultural unease, fleeting hopes, and the ever-present threat of financial disaster, Jacob is convinced that he has found their own slice of Eden in the rich, dark soil of Arkansas. Can grandma Soonja’s humble but resilient minari help the Yi family figure out their place in the world?