The 2020 Oscars saw a lot of great movies being nominated but the grand winner of the night was undoubtedly the South Korean movie ‘Parasite’ with four awards in total for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, and best international feature. This marks the first time in the history of the Oscars for a non-English language movie to take the grand prize for best picture. The past two years have definitely seen a number of Asian-centric movies moving into the global limelight. Although they might not have won prestigious awards like ‘Parasite’, they certainly deserve honourable mentions.
1. Parasite (2019)
Via imdb.com
It would be remiss for us to leave this movie out when their unprecedented outstanding achievement at The Academy Awards or 2020 Oscars catapulted Asian movies specifically Korean Movies into the public eye of the world. For those of you who haven’t had a chance to see this movie yet you should without a doubt find the time to do so as the storyline and characters will suck you in. The construction and representation of the characters are so well done that you can’t help but to have special affinity for them even though they’re meant to be the bad guys who encroach on a perfectly happy well-to-do family. In short, this movie tells the story of how a destitute family seeks to live the high life enjoyed by their rich employers through unscrupulous means such as conning their way through their heart and home.
2. The Farewell (2019)
Via medium.com
Though this movie didn’t receive any nominations for the Oscars, they did receive a ton of awards from various other award shows such as The Golden Globes, The AFI Awards, and The Spirit Awards, just to name a few. Awkwafina who plays the main role in the movie even bagged the best actress award for The Golden Globes in the lead actress movie category. This esteemed award has never been won by a performer of Asian descent and so her win for the movie is huge. To summarise this movie in brief, it tells the story of a Chinese family whose matriarch suffers from a terminal illness. However, she doesn’t know the seriousness of her condition and her family members (apart from Awkwafina) strive to keep it that way.
3. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Via imdb.com
Before ‘Parasite’ became such a huge hit, there was ‘Crazy Rich Asians’. Back then, it was viewed to be the first major Hollywood movie since 1993 that featured an all-Asian main cast. While the number and types of awards it was nominated for and won cannot compare to ‘The Farewell’ and ‘Parasite’, the movie created quite a stir when it first came out. This movie which is based on a 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan is inspired by the author’s more than well-off upbringing. It concerns the relationship between two university professors of Asian heritage, Nick and Rachel. Everything between them was peachy before Nick decided to introduce Rachel to his family in Singapore where it was discovered that Nick comes from a beyond-wealthy background.
And there you have it. Three very different types of Asian-centric movies who have managed to place themselves on the global movie map of today. Where one focuses on the difference between the rich and the poor, another focuses on family and identity, while the third has placed its focus upon the love relationship between two individuals with different social backgrounds. As you can see, no two movies are the same and yet the unique storylines, plots, and characters have managed to win the hearts of many viewers both local and international.
So, amongst the three, which one is to your taste? Or, are you more of a fan of the actors and actresses than of the movie itself? For whatever reason you watched or will be watching the movie, don’t forget to express your love towards them not just by fanboying or fangirling through the screen but also through a special printed picture gift of them for yourself made with love at Printcious.
