Love Actually by Richard Curtis

In this review, I will be talking about the Christmas hit film from 2003, Love Actually written, produced and directed by Richard Curtis. This seasonal romcom is one that I put on every year to get me into the holiday mood. This film encapsulates the perfect amount of love, heartbreak, comedy and frustration for its audience to watch time and time again. It is a classic that no one can deny. 

The film centres around a group of ten seemingly random people during the run-up to Christmas. It shows their lives and how different they all seem to be, however, as the film progresses, it shows how they all are connected. They all know someone who knows someone and that is how they are connected. The film is a visual aid for the saying ‘a small world’.  It is a brilliant plot because slowly as the pieces come together you can’t help but fall in love with each character, bar one or two, and get excited when a piece of the puzzle fits to complete the bigger picture of the film. The film has also generated some iconic scenes from Hugh Grant dancing around number 10 to Andrew Lincoln’s iconic love confession to Keira Knightly with the big cards and the CD carol singers. 

The film is a culturally British film from the British cast to the humour. An American could not have written this film because it encapsulates the different yet uniting sense of humour that is found in the different generations of Brits. From the crude language and humour from Billy Mack, portrayed by Bill Nighy, to the self-deprecating and shy type of humour from Jamie, played by Colin Firth, and the childish yet comedic language used by Sam, played by Thomas Sangster. The film does not get old and is enjoyable for different generations every time. It is not only a Christmas film but also a film that is watchable throughout the year like on Valentine’s Day. 

 The cast is a start-studded one with actors ranging from well-known names at the time like Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Liam Neeson. There are a few like Keira Knightly who shot to fame during 2002-2003 due to her roles in Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and also Love Actually. She was only eighteen at the time but was landing roles that would later be remembered as iconic. There were actors also like Thomas Sangster, who went on to big roles down the line in his career, but a lot of people will remember his role as Sam in Love Actually. It is hard to believe since they do not look their age, but Thomas and Keira were only five years apart when they shot the film. It still shocks audiences when they remember that Thomas plays a ten-year-old and Keira plays a 20-plus-year-old. The cast is an iconic one and will always be remembered as one since everyone carried on their careers to do more iconic roles like Alan Rickman in Harry Potter as Severus Snape and Andrew Lincoln in The Walking Dead. 

The film has become a tradition for many that symbolise the winter season or the Christmas season but most definitely the season to be with loved ones. Whether it is family or a significant other it is held deeply in many hearts because of just how centred it is around love and life and the celebration of different types of love. To me, the most iconic scene and my favourite scene is the opening scene. The airport scene where they film the arrivals section of the airport. It summarises the whole point and sentiment of the film in one scene. The voice-over that Hugh Grant offers as well during the scene just adds to the emotional essence of the scene. It does not include any of the cast which makes it feel more real and makes the film feel more realistic since they are normal people coming together and reuniting with their friends, family and lovers. There is a scene at the end of the film that is also an airport scene that has some of the cast in it but it has a different feel to the first one since we know that not everything is okay between all the characters and that they did not get a traditional happy ending but that is okay because they got an ending that is realistic but also satisfactory.  

Parasite by Bong Joon Ho

Parasite is a South Korean dark comedy thriller film created and directed by Bong Joon Ho. The film focuses on the dirt-poor Kim family who manages to con their way into the rich Park family’s home. It starts when the Kim’s oldest son gets given the opportunity to work in the house as the daughter’s tutor, soon he brings in his sister to be the art tutor for the son and with their parents they plot to get rid of the Park’s driver and replace him with the Kim’s father and get rid of the housekeeper and replace her with the Kim’s mother. They end up succeeding but when they find out that the housekeeper is living under the house with her husband in secret chaos ensues when it is a fight for their places in the house. The film represents a power struggle between rich versus poor and poor versus poor. 

In order to fully grasp how impactful and astounding this film is, there needs to be an understanding of Korean culture. Context is so important for this film if the viewer is not from Korea. Basement homes are foreign to western audiences but to a Korean audience, they are normal. Basement homes, more importantly, the one belonging to the Kim family is pertinent to the plot as it is the reason the Kim’s actions in the film lead to their downfall.

Bong Joon Ho is widely known and appreciated for his work and its theoretical meaning to society. His films are almost like a mirror that is held up to society as to say, ‘look at yourself, this film is showing you who you really are.’ He has done well to do this not just in Parasite but in his other works like Okja (2017) and Snowpiercer (2013) he has made it apparent in his films to include the power imbalance of the world between the rich and the poor and Parasite is no different. The parallels between the Kim family and the Park family are uncanny but the difference is one is rich and the other is poor. Both are just as bad as the other, however, as the viewer, a side is typically chosen because you see the progression of the film through their eyes. The films are not created with the idea of the audience must choose a side, but typically the audience does because it is human nature to want to understand and ultimately side with a part in the film. 

The thriller leaves the audience with edge-of-the-seat and pillow-scrunching scenes that are shot and edited beautifully. They are intense but also sometimes broken up with comedic relief so the audience has a chance to catch their breath but don’t take too long as you will possibly miss something. That is something that is also amazing for viewers. The film is rewatchable because every time they re-watch the film, they will pick up on something that they missed last time which just adds to the experience that is Parasite. The film is always the same, but something is always different. Minuscule details that have been there from the very beginning, become more apparent as you watch which doesn’t change the outcome of the film, but it does change the journey you take to get to the outcome. It also leaves you thinking long after the film has ended ‘what if?’ What if they did not open the door for the former housekeeper? What if they did not all work to get themselves in the Park’s home? What if Kim Ki woo did not take the job offer from his friend Min? Would have they all survived? So many questions surrounding what-ifs arise once the film is over but all of them go unanswered because if those what-ifs appeared in the film, then there would be no film. Bong Joon Ho’s brilliance as a writer and director shines through in this film because it is a mind-bender of a film, and the audience has a good go at navigating the film but not all understand its significance, and some understand it too well. It’s no wonder why this film won Best Picture at the Oscars, Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and many more awards and acclamations.