Director Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite has been named Best Picture of the Year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). Bong also earned LAFCA Awards’ distinction as Best Director.
Parasite brings the worlds of rich and poor together. The former is that of the Park family who reside in a magnificent house. On the flip side we have the Kim family, who live by the seat of their pants, stealing wi-fi and hustling to exist and subsist. In a scheme hatched up by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children install themselves as tutor and art therapist to the Parks. The Kim patriarch and matriarch become the Parks’ chauffeur and cook/housekeeper, respectively. The Parks do not know that their new trusted support team is from the same family. A symbiotic relationship forms between the two clans but then two third parties, the Parks’ former housekeeper and her hidden husband emerge, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks.
This story of class struggle and the widening gap between the rich and the poor at some points plays out like a comedic caper as the Kims are almost lovable con artists. But the comedy turns dramatic and more deeply poignant as a new reality sets in. making for a unique mix of the hilarious and the heart-wrenching.
LAFCA runners-up for Best Picture and Director were The Irishman and its helmer, Martin Scorsese, respectively.
“Our esteemed winners this year continue our association’s trend of championing a diverse and inclusive slate of extraordinary films,” said Claudia Puig, LAFCA president. “Winning filmmakers hail from around the globe, including Korea, Spain and France, emphasizing how film transcends geographic borders and speaks to our shared emotional experience.”
Antonio Banderas won for Best Actor on the strength of his performance in Pain and Glory, which also topped the Foreign Language Film category. The Best Actress honor went to Mary Kay Place for Diane.
Noah Baumbach took Best Screenplay for Marriage Story.
American Factory was named Best Documentary while I Lost My Body earned the Best Animation Film mantle.
The 45th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards ceremony will be held Saturday, January 11, at the InterContinental, Los Angeles. As previously announced, Elaine May will receive the 2019 Career Achievement Award.
Here’s a category-by-category rundown of L.A. Film Critics choices for winners and runners-up.
PICTURE: “Parasite”
Runner-up: “The Irishman”
DIRECTOR: Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
Runner-up: Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
ACTOR: Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Runner-up: Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
ACTRESS: Mary Kay Place, “Diane”
Runner-up: Lupita Nyong’o, “Us”
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Song Kang Ho, “Parasite”
Runner-up: Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Lopez, “Hustlers”
Runner-up: Zhao Shuzhen, “The Farewell”
SCREENPLAY: Noah Baumbach, “Marriage Story”
Runner-up: Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, “Parasite”
ANIMATION: “I Lost My Body”
Runner-up: “Toy Story 4”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: “Pain and Glory”
Runner-up: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
DOCUMENTARY / NON-FICTION FILM: “American Factory”
Runner-up: “Apollo 11”
NEW GENERATION: Joe Talbot, Jimmie Fails and Jonathan Majors, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”
FILM EDITING: Todd Douglas Miller, “Apollo 11”
Runner-up: Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie, “Uncut Gems”
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Claire Mathon, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and “Atlantics”
Runner-up: Roger Deakins, “1917”
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Barbara Ling, “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
Runner-up: Lee Ha Jun, “Parasite”
MUSIC/SCORE: Dan Levy, “I Lost My Body”
Runner-up: Thomas Newman, “1917”
DOUGLAS E. EDWARDS INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL FILM/VIDEO: “The Giverny Document” from director Ja’Tovia Gary
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Elaine May
