Parasite (2019)

This Korean movie has been the talk of film festivals and been generating a lot of positive buzz along the way. It won the prestigious Palme d'Or award in this year's Cannes Film Festival!! Its multi-talented director Joon-ho Bong is no stranger to the Hollywood circle having also written, directed and produced the fantasy tale Okja for Netflix in 2017 and the sci-fi disaster movie Snowpiercer in 2013. I have to admit that I did NOT like both these earlier works as I found the narration muddled and convoluted. However, Parasite is in a totally different ballgame being set in the present and without the distractions of a futuristic or fantasy world setting.

One of the reasons which makes Parasite such an addictive watch is its unusual tale of a down and out family who finds themselves in an unusual opportunity to reap benefits and living off from an ever increasingly complex sting on a rich and gullible family. The plot is unpredictable and the film defies any simple genre definition. It starts off like a comedy but its dark undertone soon takes over to make it something far more ugly. Ultimately, it becomes a social statement on the inequality of the different class in society. Parasite one of the those rare movies that does not have a boring moment and keeps you glued to the screen while speed reading its subtitles to avoid missing anything on the screen. The overall performances from the entire cast is convincing which in turn succeed in making the characters and bizarre situations so believable. Even the title Parasite has multiple connotations within the story as some of its characters' existence and dependency is not unlike that of a parasite!

As the writer, director and producer of the movie, Joon-ho Bong has proven once again he is on top of his game and right up there with the Hollywood greats. I guess it is safe to assume we can expect more good stuff from him in the future.