Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019): South Korea

Reviewed by Diego Moreno. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

Parasite is undoubtedly one of the very best movies to have released in 2019. I highly recommend this movie to everyone, whatever genre is to their taste, this is a must-see. It’s a very intriguing film that’ll have you on the edge of your seat. The unexpected twists and suspense is a standout in Parasite.

Parasite is directed by Bong Joon-ho, who has directed other films you may be familiar with such as The Host and Snowpiercer. It stars Kang-ho Song (who has starred in other films directed by Bong such as Memories of Murder and The Host), Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong, Woo-sik Choi, So-dam Park, Jeoung-eun Lee, Hye-jin Jang, Ji-so Jung, Myeong-hoon Park, Seo-joon Park, and Keun-rok Park. I viewed this film as a free screening at the Lobero Theater, as one of the events at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2020.

In Parasite, a poor family seeks a better, more luxurious life. In order to achieve this goal, they work for a wealthy family until an unexpected event occurs. The rest of the plot is spoiler-filled content. Parasite is the type of film where only a small portion of the story can revealed without giving too much away, so you must watch the film yourself to find out the rest. What I can tell you, however, is that the film deals with low and high class themes.

What I love about this film is how if shifts tones in a way you won’t see coming. It starts out light and comedic, then takes an intense, dark turn that lasts for the rest of the film. When the twist comes, it’s unforgettable and suspenseful all the way until the end, which also goes in a direction that you won’t expect. Everyone in the cast does a fantastic job playing their roles. Their emotions and reactions feel genuine, which helps add to the suspense in the movie.

Parasite is a masterful piece of work from Bong Joon-ho. See it as soon as you can. It successfully delivers suspenseful, shocking thrills along with a talented cast and a script that really works. It’s definitely worth the little over 2 hour runtime. I would have gladly paid admission price to see this movie despite the amazing opportunity to see it for free. I recommend Parasite for anyone that wants to see a great movie in general. After seeing the film, you will be left shaken and thinking about it for a while.