Parasite

Starring: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo, Woo-sik Choi, So-dam Park, Jeong-eun Lee, Hye-jin Jang, Myeong-hoon Park, Ji-so Jung, Hyun-jun Jung
Directed by: Bong Joon Ho
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A poor family cons their way into the service of a rich family, but the tensions created threaten to boil over.

Review:

Tim: It still strikes me as surprising that I've lived to see a non-English language film win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I was so happy this film won- it's a landmark in the Academy's history. It's an important recognition that all the best films don't come out of America, that the rest of the world is capable of and delivering truly exceptional movies. This has always been the case, but it's front and center now. No doubt, Parasite's win (and its three other Oscar wins) is important.

It helps that Bong Joon Ho directs a near-masterpiece. I will probably struggle to convey why this movie is so amazing. On its surface, it seems like a straightforward story- a poor family cons their way into a rich family's life. Okay, so what? However, Bong Joon Ho takes this simple story and crafts this complex, layered look at socioeconomic classes, how humans can so easily lie, trick, and steal from each other. It's a story about family- how the decisions of parents impact their children, often in ways that were never imagined or intended. It's a story about South Korea, as we learn about the education system, about the divide between the haves and the have nots, and how each look at the other. It's a story of selfishness and greed. Bong Joon Ho weaves all these things together into a spellbinding movie.

Watching the film, I was in awe of how Bong Joon Ho built his story, piece by piece, each adding to the overall momentum, creating this avalanche of drama and suspense. The rich family hires one of the poor family's members, and then they (MINOR SPOILER) systematically maneuver to get the whole family hired. How this is depicted, the quiet terror of how easily this family infiltrates another, was truly chilling to watch. It was more disturbing in how this was presented. Bong Joon Ho doesn't scream about the craziness of it all, he doesn't use the music to call attention to it. It happens quietly, as if everything was normal. That's the true brilliance of his film. Nothing in this movie is normal, but the film acts like everything is- until it reaches the boiling point and everything explodes. How this was crafted is nothing short of astounding. I was transfixed, watching this all take place. The movie also throws a serious of unexpected events at us. I never knew what was going to happen next. The ability to keep us on the edge of our seats is excellent.

I loved the cast. Kang-ho Song gives one of the most remarkable performances I've seen. He easily could have been nominated for Best Actor (although it's hard for me to complain, as this film did receive 6 Academy Award nominations). As the patriarch of the family, his influence on the others is unmistakable. He's such a tragic figure in this film. I marveled at how he connected with the audience, so you felt a range of emotions for his character. You cared about him, you pitied him, you raged against him. His performance was the best of the film. Ye-jeong Jo gave a quietly impressive performance. I equally loved Woo-sik Choi's performance. He matched his performance well to Kang-ho Song- their relationship is unmistakable and fascinating. He gave a complex performance for one so young. So-dam Park was excellent, too. Her performance felt so authentic, so natural. It was subtly chilling. She was so good in this film. Jeong-eun Lee was incredible, too. It felt like it would be easy to overlook how effective she was in her role. She made a huge impact on the film. I could go on, because every member of the cast felt like they were in the right roles and delivered strong performances. By the end of the film, you feel like you know these characters.

I did want to touch on one thing. I'll try not to spoil it, but it was perhaps my favorite part of the film. It was the thing about "the smell". It starts out such an innocuous thing, but it builds in intensity as the movie progresses. That was one of the most brilliant aspects of the film. Bong Joon Ho handles this perfectly. It's the one thing in this film that I keep coming back to, that I can't let go. I loved how he incorporated it into the story, the societal commentary that this simple thing conveys.

Parasite is incredible. I was glad that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It also won the newly renamed, Best International Feature Film (a change that was long overdue). In addition, Bong Joon Ho won Best Director, which is another stunning victory for this film. And finally, it deservedly won Best Original Screenplay. It absolutely earned these accolades. This is hands-down one of the very best films of 2019. It's a film that is funny, shocking, heartbreaking, and unforgettable.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



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