The Review: Florian Zeller’s directorial debut stars Anthony Hopkins in an Oscar-winning role as a man suffering from dementia.
The Review: Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or winner shattered the genre barrier. Is it a thriller? A black comedy? At its core, Parasite is a social drama about class struggle.
In an era of franchise blockbusters and short-form video content, the drama film has become a radical act. Sitting in a dark room for two hours, feeling a single human emotion deeply, is a luxury. Streaming has allowed small, independent dramas (like Aftersun or C’mon C’mon) to find massive audiences they never would have reached in theaters 20 years ago.
Furthermore, popular drama films now often cross language barriers. Parasite (Korean), Drive My Car (Japanese), and Another Round (Danish) have proven that subtitles do not diminish emotional impact. The human condition is universal.