Review of Parasite (2019) by Jamescollier — 16 Oct 2019

'Parasite' is without question one of the best films of 2019 and I can see why Joon ho-Bong's film won the prestigious Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes film festival. This is the first film of his that I have seen and I undoubtedly have to watch more of them as I have been meaning to for some time.

The film follows a family of a father, mother, son and daughter who are largely down on their luck and unemployed, living in a basement type flat with a low view onto a street usually occupied with a man who gets drunk and urinates down the street in full view of the family.

Ki-woo (Woo-sik Choi) who is the son has a college friend called Min (Seo-joon Park) who visits his home and leaves the family a large rock that Min states will bestow wealth upon the family. Min tells Ki-woo that he is going abroad for study and asks him whether he would like to take over as English tutor for this young rich girl he has been tutoring himself.

Ki-woo unsure of how he could considering he is not in college nor an english teacher is told by Min that his knowledge is better than most of his college friends and for him not to worry. Ki-woo is hired by the girl's mother Yeon-kyo Park (Yeo-jeong Jo) after he displays his ability to the mother, and this sets in motion a film that offers such varying emotions and surprises throughout that only a few directors of a very able nature could direct a film of this standard.

A fantastic ensemble performance with I think particular praise going to Kang-ho Song as Ki-taek Kim the father. His transitions from comedy to drama are seamless as is the film itself and this blend of comedy and drama always lends a hand in making a film great when it is done well as it is in this case.

The cinematography by Kyung-pyo Hong was perfect and you can tell when you have an ensemble crew who are masters of their field. It is good to see an East Asian film garnering so much attention and awards buzz.