Can ‘Parasite’ Be the First Foreign-Language Movie to Win Best Picture?

[Originally posted on 11.11.19]

Variety is reporting that the South Korean Palme d’Or winner “Parasite” is now the highest-grossing international film of the year, it passed the $12 million milestone at the domestic box office as of today.

Not just that, but Forbes is additionally reporting that the film’s box office per-theater average is actually now higher than what “Avengers: Endgame” had. All of this, despite the film being shown in just 461 theaters (an additional 142 locations is expected next weekend) Of course, the film isn’t grossing billions of dollars as ‘Endgame’ has, but it is very positive news for those of us who wanted a spark to happen at the box-office, something that would shake the ground and wake some studio execs up from their franchise-obsessed mindset. “Parasite” may do the trick.

You see, not only is Bong Joon-ho’s film the most critically-acclaimed movie of the year, but it is now in a position that absolutely no one thought it would be when it premiered at the Debussy theater in Cannes this past May. I was there, the press applauded loudly when the credits rolled (an unusual thing for Cannes). What I’m trying to say is that, after much deliberative thought, I believe “Parasite” will not only get nominated for Best Picture at next year’s Academy Awards but that it can actually win the top prize.

The current crop of Best Picture contenders, and I have to be careful here since Sam Mendes’ “1917” and Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” still haven’t screened for press, all have significant obstacles they have to push through if they want to win the top prize. There is no unanimous frontrunner at this very moment and this could easily give “Parasite” room ti wiggle to the top.

Many claim that Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” is the picture to beat, but I defy these people to admit that a majority of Academy voters will 1) have the patience to watch a 209 minute movie and 2) be willing to vote for a Netflix movie as their Best Picture of the year, despite the streaming giant’s vast unpopularity within the industry.

“Parasite” is not just a phenomenon because it won at Cannes, it’s much more than that, Bong Joon-ho's film has carried on and increased its momentum at various film festivals these last 7 months since its Croisette premiere. The lineups for screenings of the film at the Telluride Film Festival were said to be unlike any seen before at the popular fest— the final screening during the final day of Telluride had hundreds of lined-up festgoers shut out of a screening. Then, only a few weeks later, the film continued on its dominant path by selling out every single one of its galas at the Toronto International Film Festival, in record time no less, and then, much to surprise of many, managed to get the runner-up prize for the coveted People’s Choice Award, despite the film not being a World, North American or International premiere at the fest.

The film’s dominance anywhere and everywhere it has screened is a sure-fire sign that this isn’t your average critically-acclaimed foreign contender. Bong Joon-ho’s film is exceeding expectations because it’s just such an accessible film for non-arthouse moviegoers. Compared to last year’s Oscar nominee “Roma,” “Parasite” moves at a breakneck pace, with twists and turns at every direction, most of which you don’t see coming.

Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who has followed the career trajectory of the talented Bong. The South-Korean writer-director has always had an affinity for western culture. His movies are incredibly influenced by American thought and idealism. His films are prestige fanboy pictures.

And so, might I ask, what must happen for us to legitimately think of “Parasite” as legitimate Best Picture contender? After all, no foreign-language movie has ever managed to win the top prize in the Oscars’ 90-year history.

As far as I’m concerned, its nomination in the Best Picture category is practically sealed, but what “Parasite” now needs to do is, as it expands throughout the country in the coming weeks, continue to perform miracles at the box-office. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had people who would normally never talk about a foreign language movie, come up to me and ask about “Parasite.” Bong’s movie is building the kind of word-of-mouth that money can’t buy. No expertly orchestrated Oscar ad campaign can be as effective as raw word-of-mouth from movie audiences and “Parasite” is currently the king of that domain.