Four Films Every Marist Student Should See
Parasite
Bong Joon-ho’s latest film, Parasite, explores the depths of class struggles within Korean society. The rollercoaster of a ride he takes us on makes for one of the best films of the year.
The story follows two families, the Kim family, who lives on the bottom rung of society. They make ends meet by doing odd jobs like folding pizza boxes for nearby establishments. We also follow the Park family, who are members of the upper class and live with all of the benefits that wealth brings.
The two families intertwine when Ki-woo of the Kim family, poses as an english tutor for Da-hye, the daughter of the Park family. Ki-woo gains the entire family's trust and eventually gets his sister, Ki-jeong a job as an art tutor for the Park’s son, Da-song. Eventually, all four members of the Kim family have jobs in the Park household, but the Park’s do not know that they are all related or what they come from. From this point, the film absolutely flies off the handle with an absolutely masterful and unique script produced by Bong Joon-ho.
Parasite is an important movie for anyone to see, but I think it would be a very impactful film for Marist students to see. Many of us are the same and do not often get to look into the lives of others in different situations. Parasite creates an incredibly unique world that paints a stunning picture of the dichotomy of the lower and upper classes.
There is a reason why Parasite could very well be the first foreign film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards this March: the same issues are relevant in each and every nation across the globe. Parasite isn’t unique to South Korea. The same relationship between the upper and lower class exists everywhere and no one has done a better job at exploring that idea than Bong Joon-ho here.
Jojo Rabbit
Director Taika Waititi said in an episode of the Director’s Cut podcast that this movie shouldn’t
Need to exist. While I agree with him, I am sure glad that it does. With all the whimsy of Wes Anderson, Waititi weaves comedy out of untouchable subjects with an impact not felt since Chaplin’s The Great Dictator.
Misguided nationalism and ‘blind fanaticism’ plague the film’s titular character, a 10-year-old member of the Hitler youth. In the absence of a father, he turns to an imaginary version of the Fürher (played by Waititi) for a role model as he confronts the Jewish girl hiding in his attic.
Jojo Rabbit tells of the importance of true ‘Heroes’ (using a German-language version of the Bowie song in the soundtrack) and the inevitable victory of love over hate in obvious and unexpected ways. Playfully-fun and scathing in its satire, Waititi’s film is the absolute
zenith of what the half-Jewish half-Moari director could produce in the wake of Nazi-obsessed neo-fascism and white supremacy.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Joe Talbot’s poetic world features soothsayers, Greek choruses, mutated fish, Victorian homes of mythic proportions and the best longboarding scenes put to film. A24-produced and Talbot-directed, the folktale reality of The Last Black Man in San Francisco depicts the effects of gentrification in fresh ways.
The writer and star of the film Jimmie Fails plays a fictional version of himself, determined to reclaim his childhood home. His friend Mont (Jonathan Majors) struggles with rectifying his identity; at once both a part of the invading art community that forms around gentrified areas and belonging to the same minority group that is pushed out.
Last Black Man shows a parallel world to a place like Williamsburgh or Beacon, and a potential future Poughkeepsie. A place can never turn on the people that developed its culture and stuck through the hard times in favor of new investors. “If you’re going to San Francisco,
you are going to meet some gentle people there,” sings Michael Marshall of “I Got 5 On It” fame. This film on an emotional level communicates the experiences of the people we might be betraying.
Currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
The Lighthouse
In your roommate-having experience, have you experienced any of the following?
- Witnessed your roommate beat a small animal/seabird to death, therefore causing a blight of bad luck?
- Found him/her standing nude atop a building, as an enchanting light hypnotizes them?
- Found/heard him/her conspicuously masturbating to the concept of a sensual mermaid?
- Had your roommate tear into you for wanting a steak over his/her less-than-delectable lobster and chum dinners?
- And the cherry on top: told you that you smelled of “rotten foreskin,” among other horrid stenches?
Well, you’re not alone.
Roommates are bound to spar, and apparently, no one knows this better than Robert Eggers, one of the 21st century’s most imaginative horror auteurs and the mind behind one of 2019’s best horror shows, The Lighthouse. Starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as lighthouse caretakers at the mercy of the aforementioned light, the elements, and the inevitability of their own insanity. There are mermaids, as I mentioned. There’s constant drinking, frequent hangovers, and early mornings. It’s the best film about roommates ever made, making it the perfect film for a college student’s night in.
Think about it: when was the last time you’ve seen a film that aptly/engagingly depicted the role your nutso roommate plays in your life? They drive you mad, sending you into a tailspin where not even the calming ease of a mother’s phone call can soothe you. Perhaps you’ve even been lucky enough to have been kept lying awake because they didn’t stop farting. The Lighthouse is a bit more extreme than your experience, I’m sure, as the flatulence is much more prevalent than a mild spell. But it’s certainly relatable, in the most shocking ways.
Yes, this film takes place in a time where lighthouse keepers couldn’t make a call home, let alone light a flare to signal for help. But it’s important for you to see it in 2019, especially you freshman readers out there. Yes, films like Parasite, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and Jojo Rabbit will teach you about class wars and gentrification and acceptance. But none will teach you what to do when your roommate charges you with a shovel. The Lighthouse might be even more valuable than that calculus textbook in your backpack.