Parasite Movie Review: Superbly Impactful

A still from Parasite movie trailer

Parasite
Cast: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin, Lee Jung-eun, Jung Ji-so
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Rating:

If you go in thinking this is an alien invasion film (given Bong's penchant) you are going to be terribly wrong. This film directed by Korean auteur Bong-Joon-ho and co-written by Han Jin-won, is one of the best films the last year has produced. Touted as an Oscar favourite, going in with nods in both the main Best Feature category as well as Best Foreign film, this film has had a stupendous run at all the major festivals with critics unwaveringly unanimous in its praise. And the film itself reveals why?

With all the members of their family unemployed the Ki-taek's ---Song Kang-ho as the father, his wife Chung-sook (Chang Hyae-jin), son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and daughter Ki-jung (Park So-dam), are looking for some much needed opportunity when their son's friend throws in an idea. The rest, as they say is history.

Won't go into this story because that would play major spoiler to your enjoyment but this much must be said. This is the freshest, most inventive and consistently surprising plotting we've seen in a long time.

Bong's breath-taking piece of jugglery may be tonally inconsistent but the effect it leaves behind is one of shock and awe. "Parasite," like his earlier films (including "Snowpiercer" and "Okja"), examines class but it also sets fire to the notions of covetousness that pursue the ambitious of those with less. "Parasite" is at once a satire and a horror flick. It sets up a group of lovable con artists against a very wealthy, posh family and the result is staggering.

Watch the trailer of Parasite here:

The social commentary, which appears unconsciously incidental, is woven in so beautiful that it doesn't hit you until you walk out of the movie. The scripting is masterfully twisty, the Takes are well calibrated, and the visual semantics aided by cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong and terrific production design makes every sequence captivating and enlightening. The protagonist family is caught between two worlds and we see it in the location of their home and the trauma they have to endure as a result of it.

Creature film maestro Bong Joon-ho's return to dark family farce has monsters that are human. While thematically similar to Hirozaku Kora-Eda's 'Shoplifters,' Bong's 'Parasite' is richer, splashier and more impactful than Eda's film…and it never fails in keeping the surprises coming at a steady invigorating pace. Go for it!

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