Parasite Review
Parasite is written and directed by Bong Joon-ho and, in short, is a genre movie that feels like 3 different movies linked on to each other. It shouldn't work as well as it does but it does and it works very well. It's hard to describe it since some of the major things that happen occur about halfway into the film. It's a movie that could've taken the direction that it was going for during its first half as it clearly sets up a fairly interesting premise with its unique idiosyncratic characters. But since it's a Bong Joon-ho movie, things are never quite what they seem, and what it becomes is all the more impressive.
Parasite is a playground for amazing production design, dialogue, and performances with standouts from Song Kang-ho and Park So-dam just to name a few. What stands out for me specifically is the work from Snowpiercer/Burning/The Wailing cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong who's able to capture Bong's sociopathic depiction of class and the bleak, and at times, surreal moments that surround these environments. As great as the characters themselves are, it's no small task to make a story's setting have as much personality as it does in this movie. And these are locations you'd want to revisit, trust me.
For those who aren't into Bong Joon-ho's frantic tonal shifts, I think you can rest somewhat easy here as the movie puts in more of an effort to balance bleakness and dark humour (something I think he's a master at). It's a much more organic experience than Okja and Snowpiercer for sure but it's unafraid to make audiences laugh during its darker moments and no moment ever feels wasted or outstays its welcome.
I have to say that I love Parasite. There's a lot I want to say about it but can't because the surprises that are in the movie are so amazing that you shouldn't know about any of them beforehand. It's a multilayered narrative that takes incredible risks and they pay off in such a unique way. It's a movie that rewards multiple viewings and invites future discussion years from now. Parasite is a masterpiece.