by Phyllis Chesler
“Parasite”? No way. I sat through this film, growing more and more uncomfortable with its over-the-top grisly plot which then turned so bloody violent, that I really wanted to leave. If this kind of horror film/video game about class warfare is what Hollywood thinks deserves four awards, then God help us. While Same Mendes’s film “1917,” won for visual effects (!), the film was dramatically compelling, even brilliant; it is a movie that manages to be both anti-war and yet also about heroic soldiering. It is a great movie. “Judy,” yes, Zellweger was amazing, she did not just imitate Garland, she became her. I stayed away from “Joker” because I knew it would be violent, cruelly so—but of course, Hollywood, perhaps the entire world, not counting myself, seem to love violence that horrifies. Six awards went to films or to actors in films with great violence.
I loved Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women,” it had beloved female characters, very good acting, beautiful historical costumes and settings, a loving family, some very “feel good” moments, and a relatively happy ending. I guess Hollywood does not value historical family dramas (even without Alcott’s religious morality) as much as it does male dominated violence.
One Response
I was able to enjoy the movie despite being bludgeoned by its over-the-top class warfare preaching. I liked how one of the characters ridiculed North Korea’s Kim’s speech. The film really had a great sense of black humor.