Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1221489
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MARCH 2020 7 FILM ENVIRONMENT between the Park couple at around the film's midpoint -- they are otherwise a decent, if somewhat gullible, bunch. Both families are pitched as each other's opposites by a sys- tem that favours one lifestyle over the other, and it is when the workings of this very sys- tem are pushed to it outer lim- its that the trouble truly starts. In the genre-shifting fashion that is in line with both some of the most prominent exam- ples of Korean cinema in gen- eral and Ho's work in particu- lar, Parasite's final act brings things to a twisty, explosive logical conclusion that is spec- tacular as it is horrifying. A mesmerising, unforgettable tightrope walk. PARASITE PARADISE PARAGON PARTLY THERE PARALYSED ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Rails and crakes are birds of lake edges and reedbeds. Their col- our palette is generally low-key – mostly blacks, greys and whites – which helps these secretive birds keep a low profile. Of the dozen or so species recorded in Malta, the moorhen (M. gallozz iswed) is the one you'll most likely see, since this bird is a year-round resident breeding bird. Moorhens only began breeding regularly in the 1980s, in other words as soon as the restoration of the wetands at Għadira and Is-Simar nature reserves took off. Several pairs now breed at each of these protected site, and every year young moorhens leave the nature reserves and disperse to other potential breeding lo- cations, such as damp valleys with seasonal streams. But hunters invariably turn up and shoot these birds (what fun!), so moorhens never succeed to establish new populations. Text: Victor Falzon Photo: Aron Tanti 703. MOORHEN Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 600 Find out more and act now: www.foemalta.org/beesaver The verdict Having secured a name for himself as a dependably bril- liant filmmaker across various genres, Korean maestro Bong Joon Ho comes to full bloom with Parasite, a goldmine of horror, comedy and social sat- ire that is as sleek as it is intri- cate. Very rarely has a Best Pic- ture Oscar felt more deserving, even if such institutional acco- lades feel banal in light of such an incisive piece of cinema. PARASITE (TBC) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Surprise! Cho Yeo-jeong