Parasite

Rating: 10/10 (29 February 2020)

Parasite
2020
15
Director: Bong Jun Ho
Starring: Kang ho song, Sun Kyun Lee, Yeo Jeong Jo, Woo sik choi, so damn park, Jeong Eun Lee, Hye jin jang, Ji so Jung etc
Overall rating 99/100

Parasite is based on a poor Korean family who thanks to their son tutoring a family's daughter con there way into a rich family's life but not everything is great as it seems. WOW what a movie, one of the best films and some of the best directing I have ever seen, so many good things to talk about here so let's get started here.
First of all, the performances and the Kim family were very interesting. Everyone's performances here was fantastic and I am surprised the actors are not getting more recognition here. Everyone did a very nuanced and excellent job at showing the cleverness of the characters and how far the characters will go not to get found out. I also found the Kim family very interesting. I loved how they were slowly one by one making their way into the house, and the whole family had completely different personalities which I also appreciated.
Next the film-built tension really well and used gore effectively. This film balanced so many tones well, but I think it balanced the tenseness very well. Due to being confined to the house for a large majority it was very claustrophobic for the characters. And some of the camerawork when the family was hiding was truly fantastic and made you feel tense in general but also for the characters involved. They also used gore very effectively as well. It wasn't overused but it didn't need to be, but it was used enough to leave an impact in the perfect way. They happened more out of nowhere which was excellently executed and very startling.
Next the films cinematography and set pieces were fantastic. Wow this film was an absolute feast for the eyes, whether it was the attention to detail through the camerawork or using normal props like peaches or tents in a completely different way this film was just so detailed and masterfully filmed it was insane to watch. The set pieces were also fantastic, I loved the deliberate sharp contrast between the rich and the poor house and both were explored very well, the poor house of the Kim's was extremely cramped and they gave you a good visual representation of what living in the slums would be like, but the contrast of the rich families house was fantastic, it had so many different components to it and each part of the house was explored well it was a great playground for some fantastic and cleverly put together scenes.
My next two positives would be the humour and the fantastic final act. Parasite had a fantastic comedic undertone to it that worked really well the dynamic between the Kim family really worked and they had some great comedic moments together that reminded me of my own family in places, similar to the gore it wasn't overused and I am glad it wasn't as otherwise the film wouldn't of worked as well but it was used enough to get a few good laughs out of me. I also have to commend Bong Jun Ho for a truly fantastic final act that was completely unexpected. I didn't know what was going to happen which was fantastic and left me wanting to know what happens next, and where they ended up going with the film took me by complete surprise but in the best way possible, huge respect for Bong for his masterful directing here.
My final two positives that really made the movie phenomenal was its exceptional script and deep and truthful themes about the class divide in today's society. Wow I think this film had the best script I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. The amount of amazing comments on society and clever ways to develop the characters I was in awe of the films cleverness. The films messages about the class conflict in today's society were so insightful it really made me stop and think which is what a good movie shall do. How the film portrayed the naivety of the upper class and how unaware they are of the struggles of the poor was excellent. The ending was also showed the harsh brutality of where the poor is places in society and that is sadly underneath the rich which was really impactful for me I gave this film 99 only because it took me a fair amount of time to realise the true message of the film instead of straight away. But there was just so many little messages that were conveyed so well it really made you think.
Overall parasite is one of the best films I have ever seen, with masterful directing, cinematography, screenwriting and performances which leads to an exciting rollercoaster of a film that will leave you shocked and make you think more deeply about the state of the world class system.