Well, well, well. Notice a film that first catches your eye, and then when you turn your head, goes and wins the big Oscar. I was going to check this one out anyway, but by the time I got to my seat in the cinema my curiosity was burning--and, fortunately, was well-rewarded.
It's probable cult film fans have seen at least one prior film of Bong Joon-Ho--perhaps Snowpiercer, or 2006 monster satire The Host, (not to be confused with that Stephanie Meyer nonsense). Now that he's getting worldwide recognition, these might not remain cult much longer. While this one carries over some of his past sensibilities, mainly biting commentaries on South Korean culture, it also gives us a more universal critique that's a clenching condemnation of classism. You've had the Host, now here's Parasite.
From the get-go, Joon-Ho doesn't waste time establishing the mood and characters--we get to know the Kim family, a struggling destitute clan that need to clamber around to mooch off wifi and try and make ends meet folding pizza boxes. Out of desperation, the young son Ki-Woo (Choi-wook shik) fakes his way into a tutoring job for the rich Park family, who live in a veritable palace next to the Kim's squalid hole. Dog eat dog principles kick in as the rest of the Kims worm their way into replacing the Park staff--but, as the film notes, no plan ever goes so smoothly.
Off the bat, we get to see the approach each of the main characters has to their scam--Ki-Woo is a charmer and smoothtalker, sister Ki-Jeong (Park So-Dam) is the manipulative and creative one, and so forth. This sense of consistency goes across the board as far as the direction is concerned--there's a solid sense of location, which I like, as we get to see every cranny of the Park house. Between wide shots and the colors, we get to taste the familiar textures of such a sterile and soulless luxury pad--and it makes certain twists hit all the more harder as a result.
I won't hope to spoil too much, but I do like the way that the initial tone of a rather deadpan comedy/commentary eventually segues into something much more like a thriller. It reminds me somewhat of Jordan Peele's Us, though honestly, this one's executed better. It's a more interesting and nuanced take on modern class structures than others--and really bites into how ignorance and apathy can be turned into so much more worse things.
If I have any nits to pick, it's that I felt the epilogue went on a tad too long. But otherwise, Parasite is one that truly deserves the accolades, and hopefully will bring Korean cinema into the forefront, alongside other famous gems like Oldboy and Train to Busan. Give it a watch, and definitely try to do so on the big screen--if only because that way you might really feel like you're in the tense discomfort of what the Park house descends into. Check it out.
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