Parasite

The cult Czech one-liner "Don't be angry that I'm bothering you again, but I forgot to ask if you have a cellar. Do you have a cellar? And could I see it?" elaborated in the form of a feature film consisting in (by far not only) a thriller mixed with a black-humor class satire in which you never know what you can believe as a spectator. This could have easily ended up as an embarrassing mishmash (and this has happened to Bong Joon-Ho in the past), but it resulted in a scathing masterpiece that give the South Korean wave a second wind. Second wind? This is not a simple revival, but a full-fledged comeback in several respects. (09/28/2019)

In Parasite, the South Koreans twist human emotions and create a premise just as absurd and obscure as when Rammstein were singing about that Austrian guy who kidnapped Natascha Kampusch and held her in his cellar for more than ten years. Moreover, they do it with dangerously dark humor, which I don’t even know whether it’s funny at all, because it makes me gape at the screen rather than laugh. In the context of South Korean cinematography, however, this is a unique gem that has no match. (02/05/2020)

This unpredictable thriller about the clash of social classes is formalistically and psychologically brilliant in the mold of Kubrick. Bong Joon Ho is a master director – from his surgically precise characterisations for the purposes of the story and setting that story in an interesting environment (which itself almost becomes a character), to his unpredictable juggling of genre principles and twists, to the metaphorical interpolations that tie the whole masterfully directed film together with thought-provoking questions. He is perhaps David Fincher’s only creative sibling, though culturally more exotic and transcending the standards of universal American genre movies. But of course that also requires the viewer’s willingness to accept a significantly different logic behind the resolution of conflicts, which is where I got stuck – just as in the case of the resolution of Oldboy, for example. The conclusion of Parasite seemed to me implausible, insufficiently justified and superficially escalated solely for the purpose of adding would-be depth and some sort of intellectual inaccessibility. (12/24/2019)

Unfortunately I can't go with the flow. I totally acknowledge that the film is well made. The cinematography was for me the best part of the whole movie. But the rest of it... tone deaf? Because I didn't find it funny. I don't like it when people get tricked like that, and here it escalated to unfortunate heights for my taste. Not to mention the ending, which was to be expected from a certain point on. I don't think it was anything innovative. I don't think it deserves so much attention, but the film obviously came at the right time in the right place. Mostly I also thought it was too long. It didn't feel like 132 minutes, it felt like three days. I guess I need to establish some sort of rapport with the characters, I need someone to at least be likeable; it didn't happen here. I couldn't even sympathize with them, nothing. Cold. Maybe it was meant to be, in which case it's a completely unsatisfying film for me. Great cinematography, good cast, but a totally cranky Ziza. (11/30/2019)

South Korea aspires for the film of the year with the most original idea of recent years. Bong Joon Ho, director of The Host, Okja and Snowpiercer, has another notch to his name that has rocked festivals and, in turn, the world. The story revolves around a poor but cunning family of four who will gradually infiltrate a rich family. The infiltration itself is very entertaining and intelligently presented and once the cards are dealt, the social drama crossed with comedy gives way to a thriller with a dense onslaught of unexpected twists and turns, a huge dose of suspense and a beautifully paced finale, where even the dead bodies are not in short supply. The director plays beautifully with genres so that they don't interfere with each other and add to that perfect acting performances, polished visuals and enough entertainment to keep the viewer's attention. Recommended. 90% (09/18/2019)