Klaus wrote:
If anyone else liked Parasite I'd recommend you watch Shoplifters too. It came out in Japan last year but was only released in the west a couple of months ago. It's a very different film but they're somewhat thematically connected. It's probably the best thing I've seen this year.
Saw both in the last fortnight, PARASITE at the cinema and SHOPLIFTERS at home. My girlfriend had recommended the latter, it's her favourite film of the past twelve months. Very intriguing.
PARASITE I really liked, it's got themes and ideas in common with Jordan Peele's US, but it's probably a bit better, even though the final act is pretty wobbly. I haven't seen a bad Korean film in years to be honest, I've started to expect almost any Korean film to be brilliant. Looking forward to watching BURNING again soon which is being re-screened here at the outdoor cinema.
Last week I watched a frankly amazing, four hours long Taiwanese classic called A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY that was made in 1991. Just a jaw-dropping epic story about kids growing up in nationalist Taiwan in the 1960s. It's got gang warfare, young romance, and so much great shooting on location in Taipei. During the start of the film I was thinking quite often of the French New Wave and Truffaut, but honestly it goes beyond that. Total masterpiece and a history lesson.
