A movie that stays in your head for weeks and weeks.

Rating: 10/10 (21 February 2020)

I've never seen a movie do all the things that Parasite does and manage to do them so well. It's a comedy, thriller, horror, and heist film rolled into one, meticulously directed and beautifully edited. It remains entertaining while dealing with heavy topics on the nature of class and wealth. While the movie takes some unexpected turns in tone, it never feels disjointed. Most importantly, Bong Joon-Ho has a way of relaying his social criticism in a nuanced manner, so that the theme of wealth disparity doesn't devolve simply into the poor vs. the wealthy narrative we see often in these types of dramas. Rather, he layers multiple shades of gray into the morality of characters, giving them humanity and therefore a stronger verisimilitude to real people in current society. It makes the movie's appeal universal.
After watching the movie I was floored. It was the only thing I could think about for hours afterwards. Even now I keep discovering another layer of interpretation behind a dialogue or scene. And there is a lot to engage with when the film direction is so detailed. Each shot and each line of dialogue is a result of careful storyboarding and writing. Even the background details such as the brick walls and the litter by the Kims' basement are painstakingly styled and arranged by the set designers. And the result, at least in my summation, is a near perfect execution of a great film.