Parasite

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)

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)

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. (09/29/2019)

In the field of social satire and black comedy, this is a one-hundred-percent success. In terms of other genres, it is at least ambitious and surprising at every turn. However, what I really enjoyed was not knowing where it could go or what direction it would take. Even now I can't decide whether the catharsis was bold or just excessive. As is customary in Korean hits, as the number of surprises increases, so do the moments with such a high WTF factor that the line between a smile and a raised eyebrow is almost blurred. However, Parasite has become embedded in me with its mood and aftershocks (especially thanks to the strength of the narrated ending), remaining true to its name quite effectively. (10/16/2019)

Bong’s brilliance consists in the fact that he is able to approach a complexly caustic and, at the same time, excruciatingly empathetic image of society as an extremely rewarding film that draws the audience in with a suspensefully initiated and superbly escalating premise. And above that, it elicits amazement through its precise directing and the sophisticated staging and camerawork of the individual sequences. (04/10/2023)