Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, 2019): South Korea

Reviewed by Ryo Nishimura. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.

Watching this film for the third time at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, I still get left with the same reaction when the movie is over: jaw dropped and speechless. Days and weeks after watching this movie, it still lingers in the back of my head.

Critically acclaimed writer and director, Bong Joon Ho, is a creative genius; from his commentary on the meat industry in OKJA, an epic story about a monster that emerges from the Han River, and then Parasite, Bong Joon Ho excels at making the audience think after viewing his work. Bong’s newest project, Parasite, is a thriller/drama about a symbiotic relationship between a rich and poor family. It highlights many relevant topics such as class and greed.

What makes this movie so good is that it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole entire time. The pacing of this movie takes you through many blind corners, making the movie feel like one big roller coaster ride. In the beginning of the film, I had an idea about how the story was going to unfold, but then by the end of the film, it ended in a way that I would have never imagined. I question myself, “How the hell does someone come up with this!!”. The tension that Bong Joon Ho creates in Parasite is done so intricately that it keeps the audience engaged throughout the whole film.

Another aspect of Parasite that stood out to me was the cinematography. Every single shot in this movie feels as if it is an art piece. A shot in particular that stood out to me was the scene where the Kim family discovers the underground basement. There is a shot in that scene where the mother is going down the windy corridor and it keeps the audience questioning, “What is down there”. The camera movement builds question and tension in the audience which I thought was really cool.

Finally, the third time watching this movie, I realized how many hints that Bong Joon Ho gives out in the first half of the movie. There isn’t much that I can say without spoiling the movie but if you have a chance, I would watch this movie twice or three times to catch all the details that Bong has intentionally put into the movie. Especially the first time watching, I was so focused on reading all the subtitles, therefore I wasn’t too aware of all the visual details that were in the scenes.

One personal downside I had about Parasite was the language barrier. Being. fluent in both Japanese and English, I know from experience that a lot of meaning is lost through translating the language; in other words, it is hard to have a direct translation, considering other elements that go into talking such as: body language, tone, and cultural norms. Although this is a very minor and personal downside, every time I watch this movie I walk out wishing I understood the Korean language.

If you haven’t seen Parasite yet, you have to. Immediately. Now! Bong Joon Ho deserves the win.

 

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Published:
02.02.20 / 11am
Category:
Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2020