Amazing Bizarre and Bizarrely Amazing

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2019)

In an unnamed South Korean city, a family of four (a middle-aged couple and their adult son and daughter) all struggle with low-paying jobs to get by in the cramped basement apartment in which they live. After the son has the good fortune of getting a well-paying job in the home of a wealthy family, his other family members manipulate their way into similar good fortune. Massive chaos follows.
Among universally acclaimed films, "Parasite" is unique: it is actually worthy of its acclaim. It could be described as bizarrely amazing or amazingly bizarre. Maybe both. The first half succeeds as a farcical comedy before going dramatic with many plot twists and turns, suspense, thrills, and a class war to top it off. The film also wins with its flexibility and mystery as to who are the potential villains. And it has a climax that must be among the best of all time.
While most of the dramatic surprises are welcome, some seem unnecessary and over the top (non-spoiler hint: the scene with the aftermath of a huge rainfall); there are also a few false endings. But these pale compared to the film's many assets the best of which is its uniqueness and originality. The cast is great too especially Song Kang-ho as the patriarch of the poor family. His face registers so much pent-up emotion. And director Bong Joon-ho has talents that are comparable to those of Alfred Hitchcock.
It is easy to compare "Parasite" with last year's "Burning", another South Korean film that digs deeply into modern class conflicts in explosive ways. While these are only two examples, it seems South Korean cinema leads the way in acknowledging contemporary class struggles - a problem that has exacerbated everywhere for the past three decades or so. Hopefully, these fine examples will inspire many more film-makers in all countries.