Tuesday 25 June 2019

Film Review: "Parasite" ("기생충") (2019).


In Parasite (기생충), "happiness is grown when it's shared." This South Korean dark comedy-drama film directed by Bong Joon-ho, written by Bong and Han Jin-won, and produced by Bong, Kwak Sin-ae and Jang Young-hwan. All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

After the release of Snowpiercer in early August, Bong, obsessed by the film's theme of the disparaging divide between the rich and the poor in an action science-fiction setting, wanted to continue the thematic exploration in a realistic setting. Bong commented: "So... with my film Snowpiercer, I had layers of this film in my head... But Snowpiercer was a science-fiction film in the realm of the imagination, but I wanted to tell this story of the rich and the poor in a realistic setting, a setting we can all relate to." In regards to how the two social classes would collide, Bong, whilst writing the script, finally settled on the character of Ki-woo having the job of a home tutor. Bong settled on this as he realised that the job was sadly the only way that the two families from two extremes of the class spectrum in modern day South Korea could cross paths convincingly. For the role of patriarch of the Kim family, Bong had Song Kang-ho in mind for the role long before the script was completed and the casting process began. The film ultimately became the fourth collaboration between the director and the actor after Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), and Snowpiercer. When asked about their working relationship, Bong commented: "We've had a very long partnership of seventeen years, we've worked on four films together. We don't talk very much on set, we just look each other in the eye and we know what we're about. It's an easy process writing the script with him in mind because even though I write the most grotesque and the most outlandish scenes, I know that he has acting capability to pull off those scenes..." With a budget of KRW 13 billion (US $11 million), principal photography began on May 18, 2018 and wrapped seventy-seven days later, on September 19, 2018. As for the houses of the two families, no such houses actually exist and had to built entirely from scratch. Bong explained that "... I had already planned it in my head as I was writing the script because I had the plan for which the actors had to move. That was taken into consideration in the architectural process..." The film was shot in the 2:35:1 aspect ratio. This was chosen to accommodate the capture of large family group in a single frame. The film had its world premiere in the In Competition section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, and received widespread acclaim. The film ultimately won the Palme D'or award, becoming the first Korean film to receive the award.

The film stars Song, Jang Hye-jin, Choi Woo-shik, and Park So-dam as the poor Kim family, and Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jung Ji-so, and Jung Hyun-joon as the wealthy Park family. The cast gave incredible performances and presented a fascinating dichotomy between the unemployed yet opportunistic Kims and the glamorous yet clueless Parks in modern day South Korea. Through the course of the film, we're glued to our seats as we anxiously anticipate what will happen to both families and which one will come out on top.

A social satire, a dysfunctional family comedy, and a touching melodrama, Parasite is also one hell of a movie. How the hell does a film this tonally out there, with characters this complex and at times even terrifying and humorous, manage to be so indescribably moving? An involving and skillfully mounted film from Korean auteur Bong Joon-Ho that's probably his best film yet. A livid social satire, an absurd dark comedy and a surprisingly somber drama, the film is a convulsive, wild ride - simultaneously eliciting squirms and giggles by mashing up finger-pointing anger with legendary Korean director Kim Ki-young's wickedness. Bravely shifting tones from the horrific to the slapstick and back again, Bong has made a movie that's comprised almost equally of family sitcom, social indictment, and balls-to-the-walls movie delight. The film works brilliantly, the sum of extremely disparate parts that adds up to cinematic excellence. Don't miss it - this is enormously fun visionary filmmaking, with a witty script and a great Korean cast. He uses dark humour, incisive characterisations and social commentary to infuse its family tragic comedy with a distinctive flair. Serious, often absurd, but full of brilliant surprises, while Bong keeps the Kim family at the centre of the film. Bong directs writes sublimely, mostly focusing on the antithesis between the poor and the rich in South Korea, which is presented with intense humour, without depriving the film of its seriousness, though. He lets viewers fall into the Kims' frustrations, but this family is dogged, not downtrodden. The film shows their lives, however tragic and absurd. Bong's limber inventiveness keeps the film unpredictable for its entire two hours, which are filled with incident after incident, alternately terrifying, ridiculous, suspenseful and wry. Rarely plays out the way you expect, he is careful to deliver the promised twists and turns, but he is also willing to overlook plot formulas to explore his own interests. Bong not only has an eye for the realistic, but also for the absurd. What's singular in all this is the director's angle into the material, which is subtle, difficult to pin down, elusive. However, if the film has one element that never flags or falters, it's Song Kang-ho. Overall, a smartly made, highly entertaining ride, laced with a strange poignancy that makes it an all-around wonderful movie experience. This gripping tragic comedy remains one of the most unique releases of last decade. The film sucks you into its strange yet relatable world so completely, it leaves you with the all-too-rare sensation that you've just witnessed something you've never seen before ... and need to see again.

Simon says Parasite (기생충) receives:



Also, see my review for Okja.

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