Parasite

Parasite, among those films nominated for the Academy Award for best picture, is a South Korean black comedy that manages to be both hilarious and tragic. Be prepared (spoiler alert) for a sudden profound mood shift as this film modulates from light situation comedy to the minor key of freakin' dead serious (rather like the sudden transition in the Clint Eastwood film, Million Dollar Baby). Parasite reminds me as well of the novels of Chinese writer Yu Hua--both side-splitting funny and gut-wrenching sad. And like another film also up for the Oscar, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite slyly tells a story of a fallen, dis-ease ridden mindset and society and how we got here. Both are masterful works of filmmaking, and, so far, my top picks for the Oscar (although no one is asking me).