Parasite (2019)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is definitely in consideration as one of the the best films of 2019, but also of the decade.
Brilliantly conceived, written, and executed, Parasite speaks more about who we collectively are as human beings than most films do in analyzing one key component to the themes and ideas being explored here.
The acting is stellar, the film never does what you think it will. An altogether stunning cinematic experience with twists, turns, and surprises, and precisely why we all love the movies so much.
NO
With an almost unanimous 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes from nearly 350 reviews, I have zero reason to think why you should not see Parasite.
You refuse to watch R-rated films, or movies with subtitles.
This is not a horror film and parasitic creatures do not take over hosts and payload buckets of blood and gore. The parasites in question are metaphorical and…I’ve probably already lost you if you thought this was a splatter flick.
OUR REVIEW
Much buzzed about and heralded, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite deserves to take its rightful place as one of the decade’s finest films. A searing, topical, visceral indictment of capitalism, classism, and the way we treat one another, the film also works powerfully well as an unforgettable work of dramatic fiction.
Bong has crafted several strong and memorable films, but with Parasite he brings together comedy, suspense, social commentary, and domestic suspense and horror into one complete and thoroughly tangible package. Subtitles and a language barrier mean nothing when someone sits down with the film, as one cannot help but become quickly immersed into the world Bong and his team have created.
For starters, we meet the Kim family – residents of a sub-level apartment which looks upwards and into the street. People relieve themselves outside their window every day. They steal the wi-fi whenever they can get a signal. When the exterminator truck sweeps the street, the leave the window open and receive free fumigation. Husband Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), wife Chung-sook (Chang Hyae-jin), and adult son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and adult daughter Ki-jung (Park So Dam) make their money folding pizza boxes and whatever scrappy means they can find to get by any which way they can.
Juxtapose that life with that of the Park family. Living just a few blocks away, their gated, expansive home is pristine and clean and protected from the outside world. Husband Dong-ik (Lee Sun-kyun) is the CEO of a large IT company, while wife Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong) tends to affairs of the home. Long-time housekeeper Moon-gwang (Lee Jung-eun) helps with the cooking, cleaning, and tends to the couple’s two children, teenage daughter Da-Hye (Jung Ziso) and young son, Da-Song (Jung Hyun-jun).
The two families unknowingly end up on a collision course with one another when Min (Park Seo-joon), an old friend of Ki-woo, offers him a tutoring job, teaching Da-Hye how to become fluent in English. Ki-woo jokes and initially laughs it off, but when he realizes it pays well and Min has no real experience either, he has Ki-jeong forge credentials and he gets the job.
For the first half of Parasite, the Kim family cleverly integrates and infiltrates the Park family’s lives. When Mrs. Park mentions needing an art teacher for her son, Ki-woo recalls knowing a cousin who might be available. This allows Ki-jeong to become Da-song’s new art instructor. When circumstances lead to the Parks having to let go their driver, Ki-taek lands the job under the auspices of being an old friend of the family. Eventually, Moon-gwang is let go and Chung-sook is hired as the new housekeeper.
That basic premise is about as far as one should go when discussing Parasite, because what transpires from there is why going to the movies is so much fun. Parasite never sits still for very long, and it never rests on what it places before you. The old saying, “Just when you think you have the answers, I change all the questions…” is fitting here. Bong has everyone in the palm of his hands from virtually the film’s opening moments.
The question of just who is, in fact, the “parasite” is a fair question to ponder when looking at what Bong and co-writer Han Jin-won has put together. The answer is not as simple as one may suspect. Largely, this comes as a result of several surprises in the film’s second half that will not be spoiled here.
But as Bong’s movie unfolds, we are constantly evaluating, and re-evaluating decisions made by characters. Our sympathies swing back and forth, our views of all involved become multi-faceted, and one of the beauties of Parasite is that it spins the camera back around on us and challenges us to balance our perspectives and assumptions against that which was being depicted on screen.
If the film feels loaded with socio-political commentary, the themes, concepts, and ideas transcend language and country. The perception of those in poverty proves universal. The side-eye criticisms of the wealthy ring true. Parasite’s power comes in seeing the stark comparisons and parallels which exist between both families. In one devastating sequence of events, something as simple as the rain can mean very different things to two families who both face an immediate need to return back home.
Though set in South Korea, with cultural touchpoints and references foreign to my experience as an American, Parasite cuts through any of those limitations and tells a story of desperation, hope, anxiety, fear, and loss. It orchestrates beautifully how the systems and mechanisms put in place around us can help some of us and conspire to ruin others.
Bong’s film underscores the separation which money and wealth can cause, that no one likes to really talk about when an economy is supposedly thriving. Just as easily as we see a widening disparity between the have’s and have not’s, one has to wonder how, if ever, that will be repaired.
Parasite is at or among the best films of 2019 not because a bunch of critics love it, or because Bong Joon-ho is a critical darling. It stands as the most acclaimed film of the year because from top to bottom, minute-by-minute and scene-by-scene, no film has seemed to capture the times we collectively find ourselves in better than this.
That it also delivers a pulse-pounding, unnervingly tense and compelling thriller we can sink our teeth into is simply cherry on the cake that is Bong’s brilliant work.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Lee Jung-eun, Chang Hyae-jin, Park Myung-hoon, Jung Ziso, Jung Hyun-jin, Park Geun-rok, Park Seo-joon.
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Written by: Bong Joon-ho (story); Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won (screenplay)
Release Date: October 11, 2019
NEON