A NEW MASTERPIECE

Rating: 10/10 (9 February 2020)

Bong Joon Ho's absolutely brilliant and powerful masterpiece is a sheer work of cinematic art. It tells the twisted, funny, and ultimately tragic tale of class discrimination and greed. About an dirt-poor Korean family that lives in cramped half basement level apartment where drunks regularly piss and throw-up outside their window. The out of work father Kim Ki-Taek, played terrifically by Song Kang Ho, helps his wife Chung Sook, well played by Jang Hye Jin, and his two children, son Ki-Woo and daughter Ki-Jeong, superbly played by Chi Woo Shik and Park So Dam, fold food boxes for a pitiful low-wage, but that all is about to change and a sinister plan is about to come into play, when Ki-Woo with the assistance of of his sister who creates a fraudulent diploma which helps him secure a job as an English tutor for the teenage daughter of the super wealthy Mr. Park and his naive wife, Yeon-kyo, marvelously played by Lee Sun Kyun and Cho Yeo Jeong. Miss Kim is so impressed by Ki-Woo's teaching skills that she mentions to him that her younger son needs a tutor to improve his art skills, so Ki-Woo recommends an art tutor which unbeknownst to her is his sister Ki-Jeong. What follows is the escalation of the Kim family's nefarious scam as they slowly make the Park family replace their household servants, beginning with their chauffeur, who is replaced by K-Woo's father, then they replace their live-in housekeeper, with Ki-Woo's mother. The Kims have now thoroughly invaded and occupied the Park's home without them suspecting anything, but this insidious situation will soon turn dangerous and deadly in a truly shocking climax. This amazing film is a slow burn in the beginning as the story unfolds but once the Kims are in the Park's home the film becomes an engrossing and breathtaking dark drama with some wicked humor. Masterful Oscar nominated direction by Bong Joon Ho who was first Korean filmmaker to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Gorgeous cinematography by Kyung-pyo Hong, and a captivating Oscar nominated Original Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Jin Won Han, impressive Oscar nominated Production Design by Ha-jun Lee and Won-Woo cho. A new classic that is nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture. In Korean with English subtitles.