Parasite (2019)
For anyone who knows anything about contemporary film I'm sure you've heard of Parasite. It's that new one by veteran Korean writer/director, Bong Joon Ho, that won a little something called the Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes... whatever significance that all holds. Okay, now for real, Parasite really is a near perfect thriller illustrating the masterclass talent, as both writer and director, of Bong.
Parasite has the feel of a Hitchcockian thriller - it is grounded in its strong characters, its tension mounts and mounts towards its epic climax, and to give too much away about its plot, which is slowly drawn out, would be to ruin much of the fantastic surprises. I will tell you though that the film's title is very apt in its description and relevance to the plot, as well, that this is a story about family (or two families): the dynamics between them and within its members and their everyday activities in order to get by. The cast are all excellent here and really play into both the high drama and biting comedy that Bong has infused into his script.
As longer-time followers of my page will have seen, some of my most-highly rated films of the past few years have all come from Asian directors. Burning - another Korean film - was easily one of last year's best films (its cinematographer, Hong Kyung-pyo, also shot Parasite). And, similarly, Shoplifters (Japan), The Farewell (China/USA), Shadow (China), Ash is Purest White (China) are all incredible films that deserve to be seen.
I know that this review has been quite sparse with regards to actual discussion of Parasite but, again, that is because I do not want to give away any details of its twisty-turvy story. Instead, I simply implore you that if you like expertly-crafted thrillers filled with great drama and dark comedy then get out there and go see Parasite! It will, at the very least, be winning Best Foreign Film at this year's Academy Awards - that I am sure of.
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