Parasite
Gisaengchung
Directed by:
Joon-ho BongCinematography:
Kyung-pyo HongComposer:
Jae-il JungCast:
Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo, Hye-jin Jang, Woo-shik Choi, So-dam Park, Seung-min Hyeon, Hyun-jun Jung, Myeong-hoon Park, Keun-rok Park (more)VOD (1)
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A zeitgeist-defining sensation that distilled a global reckoning over class inequality into a tour de force of pop-cinema subversion, Bong Joon Ho’s genre-scrambling black-comic thriller confirms his status as one of the world’s foremost filmmakers. Two families in Seoul—one barely scraping by in a dank semibasement in a low-lying neighborhood, the other living in luxury in a modern architectural marvel overlooking the city—find themselves on a collision course that will lay bare the dark contradictions of capitalism with shocking ferocity. A bravura showcase for its director’s meticulously constructed set pieces, bolstered by a brilliant ensemble cast and stunning production design, Parasite cemented the New Korean Cinema as a full-fledged international force when it swept almost every major prize from Cannes to the Academy Awards, where it made history as the first non-English-language film to win the Oscar for best picture. (Criterion)
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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.
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In dealing with popular genres, Parasite is more perfidious than the crime film Memories of Murder, the monster movie The Host and the postapocalyptic sci-fi flick Snowpiercer. Its narrative is not pieced together by conventions of a single genre that Bong would modify or refuse to comply with. Rather, it changes solely based on how the characters see and react to certain situations. Unlike in ordinary genre films, evil is not concentrated in a particular monster or villain, but manifests itself in the actions to which the protagonists resort in an effort to gain and maintain a certain social status. Predatory capitalism is the real antagonist. In the film, it is an invisible force that strengthens people’s desire to live someone else’s life. ___ The entire plot is derived from a particular social reality and the relationships between members of various classes of society, who are trying to game the system or defend the positions that they have achieved. Due to the rules that have been put in place, however, it is not possible to do either fairly. Reaching the top requires self-denial and crossing numerous boundaries. Disrespecting and breaching those boundaries comprise the dominant formal strategy and the film’s central metaphor. The rich live thanks to the hard work, blood and sweat of the poor, while the poor parasitise those who live in even deeper poverty in order to scratch out a living. They simultaneously need and hate each other. The space of clearly defined boundaries, the crossing of which will have unfortunate consequences, is an expansive modern house which from the outside represents a dream space for the protagonists. Its location on a hill contrasts with the central quartet’s modest home crouching below street level. Although the claustrophobically cramped interiors contribute to the fact that the destitute family sticks together more, they offer incomparably less comfort than the spacious rooms of the villa, whose inhabitants are spatially and emotionally more distant. ___ Though Parasite verges on farse through most of its runtime, in the end we perceive most of the characters rather as tragic victims of social stratification and economic injustice. The protagonists’ successes no longer bring comic catharsis, but vacillation as to whether the denial of one’s own individuality can be legitimised by the effort to maintain one’s position in the system. Amusement alternates with worries, compassion and a sense of injustice. Bong achieves this by altering the rhythm of the narrative and through skilful changes of perspective that redirect our sympathies. In the end, the tones of the individual characters’ stories are so incompatible that a reversal occurs and instead of a mere game of conquering the Wild West, there is a real and bloody breaking down of the boundaries between fiction and reality, civilisation and wilderness. The film involves not only a clash of different classes and ways of relating to the world, but also a blending of horror, black comedy and melodrama. The mastery with which Bong combines these seemingly incongruent elements into a consistently entertaining whole, in which every cut and movement of the camera is calculated with Hitchcockian precision, offers the most convincing argument against doubts as to whether a similarly “viewer-friendly” film deserved the Palme d’Or at Cannes. 90%
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Basically, without objections. Very viewer-friendly, very entertaining, but also very bold and relevant. Exactly the type of film that makes me like films, while also proof that entertainment and art aren’t opposites. It’s so perfect that it couldn’t be ignored even by the jury at Cannes, who mostly overrate other types of films. #KVIFF2019
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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.
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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.
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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%
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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.
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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.
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The Koreans pulled this off in all aspects. The humor that accompanies the film is edgy and the viewer easily gets caught up in the internal strife. Should we hate them or love them? Should we wish them well or condemn them? Either way, I haven't seen a script this masterful in a long time. The acting was superb, the cast was every bit as good, and the soundtrack bumped the experience up a notch. 5 stars.
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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.
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Parasite feels like a relationship with an actress who brings her roles home. You never know who will come through your door in the evening. Bong Joon-ho's film starts as a genuine comedy that increasingly intertwines with social drama, and then without warning, it begins to ruthlessly settle the score with its heroes. Personally, I have counted six genres with which the director works and interestingly mixes them. If Bong Joon-ho could avoid the East Asian butchery, I would even flirt with giving the film five stars. In the past, I have written that if I have a fundamental problem with any globally recognized cinema, it is precisely South Korean cinema for its fascination with violence and its never-failing ability to shock with bizarre mental processes and the strange actions of its characters. Bong Joon-ho's piece managed to avoid this for the most part, and although his story about the widening gap between social classes is firmly rooted in local culture, the message is globally understandable. Bong Joon-ho deserves praise for being able to skillfully maneuver between the interests of various groups in the audience - it is entertaining, original, provocative, and not afraid to harshly show the vast differences in opportunities within an outwardly prosperous and efficiently managed society. I don't always agree with Bong Joon-ho and I consider his film Snowpiercer, where he also attempted a genre mix with a shallow message, to be a prime example of failure, but I can wholeheartedly recommend Parasite. Give the family of exemplary losers from the basement a chance, they will likely surprise you. Overall impression: 85%.
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With its amazing screenplay, Parasite is an entertaining and intelligent social probe that makes fun of class differences, while at other times chilling the blood. The genre transition from black comedy to an almost horror thriller is textbook filmmaking, building up the suspense with each new twist. Precise in terms of acting and very, very contemporary.
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A more exotic alternative to David Fincher’s films. Sophisticated, refined, precisely directed and staged. The most interesting and layered presentation of the clash of two different social classes in a long time, it's a shame that the first half is full of unpredictable quips and moments, while the second already has the classic boilerplate framing and unnecessarily pessimistic profiling of the main characters so that it will find its place with audiences who enjoy sophisticated but still conventional and digestible enough arthouse films.
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I am very, very happily surprised. I really didn't expect such a damn black combination of cynical comedy, thriller, and satirical drama. It's so stunningly written, with characters I still don't really know what to think of, and with amazingly funny moments that probably wouldn't be funny at all in another movie. The directorial playfulness is one hundred and ten percent – still a surprising, thoughtful, but not pretentious guilty pleasure.
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I could repeat what POMO has written. Bong Joon-ho has proven once again that surprising an unprepared viewer can be the sweetest satisfaction for a filmmaker, and also the easiest way to achieve cult status. But I was already prepared after the wave of enthusiastic responses and, though the ironically subversive narration worked on me very well and my prepared self enjoyed the development in the second half, the eagerness to shock and put together an intellectual puzzle with the unpredictably arranged motifs of the ending left me a little disappointed. Nevertheless, I appreciate the truly untraditional viewer experience that straddles the border of several well-known genres, whose tropes are bent over to the benefit of this precise filmmaker, who in many scenes is able to get the viewer exactly where he wants them. I’m really sorry that it missed me in the end. 85%
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This is an entertaining movie with a captivating mix of genres by Bong Joon-ho, and it is about a sly cunning poor family, who manage to scheme their way into the service of the cream of society. However, what begins as a pleasantly black comedy about how to feather one's nest ingeniously, gradually crosses over into a rather tense thriller, whose plot twists and the drastic finale will definitely not leave you disappointed. As long as such movies rightfully win in Cannes, the world will be OK. [KVIFF 2019]
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A masterful combination of thriller, social satire and absurd black comedy. The brilliantly escalating, initially very funny and later surprisingly exciting and chilling film is wonderfully written, develops in unexpected ways across unsuspected plot twists and perfectly expresses its opinion regarding class differences in society, and to the lifestyle of its two contrasting layers. This film amounts to intelligent and brilliantly directed top entertainment from start to finish, with director and screenwriter Bong Joon-ho in his best form since Memories of Murder. I definitely recommend not finding out anything else about the film and watching it as soon as possible.
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After a number experiences with South Korean cinema, I approached Parasite with caution, as I never managed to get a taste for that country’s thought processes and acting style. But when a non-English language film receives six Oscar nominations and collects awards like on a treadmill at all sorts of festivals, it arouses a great deal of curiosity and some suspicion, too, which is usually the case with such academically-oriented films. After watching it, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised to be presented with a film that did not leave me cold. The adage "while the cat’s away the mice will play" could be applied to Parasite to a certain extent, with the "mouse" family from a musty basement deciding to take appropriate advantage of it. But the problem arises when there are too many mice in the cat’s house. Parasite starts up slowly, only to serve a series of unpleasant sequences showing the lengths to which a person will go to preserve their newly acquired privileges. In the end, I would have rated the film a better four stars, as I felt the ending could have been more impactful and darker, but I'll give it a bonus nonetheless.
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A great film about the Kims’ infiltration into the lives of the Park family. I had no idea that a Korean film could be so entertaining. Throughout those 132 minutes, to my amazement, not a single Korean started overacting. The story was so excellently written that I wasn’t bored for a second. I was even sorry when it was over, which doesn’t happen to me very often. A perfect treat!
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A brilliant South Korean effort that takes shots at class issues with unconventional grace while maintaining an incredibly funny detachment. In this respect, all the jokes and references to North Korea are extremely successful and cool. Plus, in terms of filmmaking, it's really very professional and in some ways even a hair more progressive than mainstream Hollywood. The self-conscious alternating of genres then becomes the icing on the cake, reminiscent of the earlier bright period of South Korean production. Its international renown is well deserved, as this is truly one of the best films of 2019.
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