the line between class

Rating: 10/10 (9 December 2019)

Bong Joon Ho has an amazing track record. Memories of Murder, Mother, and the Host are fantastic, Okja was awesome and Snowpiercer is good. He's never made a bad movie and with now seeing Parasite twice, I can say he's still going strong. Moreover this might be his best film or at least competes with it (Memories of Murder is still a considerable contender.) The madman went as far as I say, to making the second best movie of the year, only behind the Lighthouse for me. But for everyone else it's their number one and deservedly so. It's just one of those masterpieces everyone and anyone can enjoy, critic and casual viewer alike. The end strikes with blunt surprise and it was nice to gauge the theaters reaction after knowing what was going to happen. Bongs drama and comedy have always meshed so well together without bringing the tension out the scene but with this movie there's that and this amazing tone shift near the midpoint that fits like a puzzle piece; changing the atmosphere, themes, and style in a way that makes 100% sense. It's like many movies in one. This will be talked about as being a classic of the decade for these reasons because of how perfectly it was done.
Without spoiling too much, this movie is about class. And not in the obnoxious in-your-face way where the poorer characters can do no wrong and there's an obvious message of "rich bad, poor sad" but done in the way by subverting those tropes by making the poor flawed but smart and the rich into gullible people. Themes and messages the movie has are very subtle to being said out loud: that being mostly about exploring the "line" between class. Whether that be through extremely great writing or literally through the directing and how it's shot. The whole film is like this where a line in the shot separates the two classes. It's done through lines in the wall, one genius moment of a reflection on a window as it's being looked out of, a fridge, or just as simple as panning down like in the beginning to show they're the lowest of the low in a already low shot. How they view the same things such as rain tells a whole lot too. While the rich enjoy its beauty and smell, the poor despise it because it floods the neighborhood and house in a very tense dramatic scene. Another nice touch is where they're located: the poorer family living at the bottom of the hill get the brute end of the storm while the rich on top are unaffected. But how the poor view and react to other fellow poor people in a twist situation was the point where I knew this movie was genius. Rather than live together, they fight, accomplishing nothing but a good time for the audience.
The performances are memorable and witty and not one dimensional, each with a purpose and each one being immensely entertaining in their own way. They all had a time to shine and they did with flying colors. Bongs directing prowess is at an all time high as every frame and movement feels methodically thought out. His gorgeous use of cinematography, seamless editing, and music fits so well and help flesh out the soothing, chaotic, and claustrophobic atmosphere/tone. The set design was also noticeably pleasing as it explores into the themes more. I would give my interpretation on the rock but that would spoil it. I have nothing more to say other than don't read much else about it and go in blind if you can. 10/10