Food for thought delivered with exciting wit

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2019)

Parasite is the best movie of the year. This Korean movie won the renowned Palme d'Or of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It has been selected as the South Korean entry for Best International Feature Film at the ninety-second Academy Awards.
This movie combines multiple genres such as comedy, drama, horror, thriller and tragedy. The main theme is the clash between rich and poor in the Republic of Korea. This conflict has been the main topic in other great films such as The Housemaid and The Taste of Money. Parasite however is less cumbersome, melodramatic and moralizing and convinces with wit, depth and creativity instead.
International audiences might feel slightly confused by this unusual genre mixture at first contact but this is exactly what makes this movie so unique. The story starts in a dramatic way and portrays a poor family who lives in a small semi-basement apartment and struggles to make ends meet. The movie gets more comedic when the son of said family gets the unexpected opportunity to replace a friend as English tutor for the beautiful daughter of a wealthy family. The film turns into a thriller when the four family members gradually infiltrate and even replace the personnel of the wealthy family with ethically questionable procedures. The movie turns into a horror film when the family realizes that the family mansion hides a creepy secret as things gradually spin out of control. The film ends as an almost surreal tragedy that will leave the audience speechless. Parasite is a movie the leaves a lasting impression, offers much food for thought and should animate philosophical discussions. The movie is so detailed, precise and profound that it deserves to be purchased to be watched time and again.
I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to watch this movie in French in a Canadian cinema and so were the numerous other members of the audience in the packed movie theatre. People are craving for a change and are tired of tame, predictable and repetitive Hollywood superhero prequels, remakes and sequels. There should be more creative, dynamic and entertaining international movies like Parasite in movie theatres all around the world. If you desire to make a statement in favour of cinema as an artistic expression rather than shallow entertainment, do yourself a favour and enjoy this incredible movie on the big screen. This movie has the potential to become a cult classic and deserves all the praise it gets.