Bong Joon Ho's "PARASITE"
Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald
What begins as a farcical satire of haves vs. have-nots morphs into a tragicomedy with disturbing moral overtones.
We start with a down-and-out family that lives at a very low level (literally) that, headed by an out of work patriarch, folds pizza boxes to get by. The son by chance and via some subterfuge gets a job with a rich upper class family teaching its teenage daughter English. He brings in his sister to tutor the young son by taking advantage of the rich mother’s gullibility. Then through some chicanery the housekeeper is fired to be replaced by the poor family’s mom. And the rich family’s driver is maneuvered out of his position and the dad takes over as driver.
All disguise their family relationships as they embed themselves into the day to day life of the well-off family. The “hijinks that ensue” are both comic and (increasingly) tragic. Things take a very dark turn and there are shocks and surprises along the way. By the end we are forced to wonder, “Who is the host and who is the parasite”?
Fans of Korean cinema will recognize key players here as class divisions become increasingly apparent as the story proceeds towards a dark end.
What also impressed me are the production details and photography. The production team takes full advantage of widescreen photography to contrast the living conditions of the two families with special attention paid to the dramatic architecture and sweeping horizontal lines of the rich family’s house. Despite most of this film taking place “indoors” I was especially pleased to see the movie on a large — and wide — theater screen. Full and effective use of surround sound is also made with voices emanating from all points of the theater. The sounds of rain and running water also contribute to the viewer’s immersion in the onscreen action.
Highly recommended. This is definitely one of the best films I’ve seen so far in 2019 and I’m glad I saw it in a theater.
Review copyright (c) 2019 by Dennis D. McDonald
