A Masterpiece in Filmmaking

Rating: 10/10 (28 October 2019)

Director Bong Joon Ho has been on my radar for years now, as I believe him to be one of the best storytellers out there right now. Admittedly, I haven't seen the majority of his films but his two most recent works in Snowpiecer and Okja were among the best films of their consecutive years. I thought both of those films were great, so I was very eagerly awaiting his newest film, Parasite. After viewing, not only does this film deserve to be talked about as one of the best films to be released in 2019, but I personally think this may just be the very best movie you'll see all year. Now, some people may not like the turn it takes, but here's why I think Parasite demands to be seen.
To go into detail about this premise would be to ruin it for those who haven't seen it, so I'll stick to the basics here. The Kim family lives in a basement living space. All unemployed, they find any way they can to make things work. Ki-woo, the eldest sibling in the family, is given the opportunity to tutor the daughter of the rich Park family. Getting smarter and smarter as the first act really kicks into gear, the Kim family becomes a group of very clever con-artists. Meaning well and doing everything they can to keep things legitimate, this makes for some terrific tension.
The biggest praise I can give this film is that it's constantly in motion, never wasting a moment to surprise you. The set-up for this movie has many clever aspects to it, the second act throws you a real curveball and the finale doesn't disappoint either. Some viewers may think this movie goes off the rails toward the end, but I found it to be an overall brilliant piece of storytelling. Each time you think the movie has said everything it wants to, it becomes that much more interesting. In other hands, this story could've have come off as a very generic film, but there's truly something special about how well-made Parasite is.
Wonderfully shot by cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong, each frame of this movie has more than one thing to say. It's very rare these days that shot compositions are done in such a way that they seem to tell a story as well, but even in the moments when the focus is on the characters alone, there are things happening in the background or even signs in the framing that things are coming soon. This movie is brilliantly made in every way.
It's very rare when I review a film and struggle to at least come up with one negative here, so I won't bother trying, because I loved this movie too much to let anything take away from it. I will just say that certain aspects may not work for everyone. Parasite is a perfect example of why I love movies so much. A great, engaging story that surprises you from start to finish, along with one of the best crews to work on a film yet this year. I can't praise this film enough. This Korean language film has broken through and I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if it takes home the award for best foreign film and even a nomination for best picture. This is as close to a masterpiece you can get today.