Parasite (2019)

Many have compared critically acclaimed director Bong Joon-Ho to the great Alfred Hitchcock. Frankly, this is unfair. Bong is his own artistic being with a creative vision so distinctly his own you can almost smell it; propane, laundry detergent, sewage, blood, industrial steel and whatever sunlight smells like. The buzz surrounding this film was disorientating with it leading the awards nominations for 2020, this took me down the path of fear, would my anticipation kill this film, especially given the fact it won the coveted Palme D'or at Cannes and that the UK was the film's final release stop before the Oscars. Much to my delight, Director Bong, delivered his best film yet. An important, thought-provoking, gut wrenching thriller for the ages.

Parasite, is the thrilling tale of the Kims, a destitute Korean family, living in a bleak semi-basement struggling for the necessities such as the holy WiFi and living off the bare minimum. When Min, the son of the family is asked to fill in as a fake English tutor for a rich family, the Parks, he hatches a plan to slowly insert his family into the Park's lives, leaching off them as a titular Parasite. The home of the Park's is an architectrual and visual wonder which Bong exploits, turning a modern home into a bonechilling hall of shadows. This may not sound like the plot for film of the year and that's becuase a series of bone splintering revelations lead the Kims waist deep in trouble.

Tone can make or break a movie, in Parasite, Bong doesn't only make it but forges it and weilds it. Genres and tones are blended like paints blurred into a painting that is this movie. Distinctions between dread and humour drift further apart as the film progresses, leaving you pumped full of adrenaline. The faint of heart are not ready for what prowls in wait. Parasite begins as one thing and mutates into another but your investment will certainly be constant.

While I have stated that comparisons between Bong and Hitchcock are unfair, it is undeniable that the amount of suspense Bong forces into every scene is overwhelming. Every slight camera movement and cut culminates in astoudning tension. Bong cleverly draws your eye to the tiniest detail and a simple cut or the smallest pan can force chills down your spine. Try to remember to breathe.

As well as an allround outstanding film, Parasite is an deeply important one. One part Hitchcockian, one part Dickensian in this way. It's sociopolitical themes of inequality, it's cause and effects, are integral to Parasite's story. The excecution of these themes feel very similar to the work of Jordan Peele with "Us" and "Get Out" as well as Bong's previous film "Snowpiercer". Unlike another film this year about a clowned-prince-of-crime who shall go unnamed, Parasite actually evaluates it's themes of poverty; weaving them into it's story, structure, dialogue, cinematography and characters. Oh, and the soundtrack is pretty amazing too, adding to this already masterful piece of cinema.

Parasite is without a doubt Bong's magnum opus and I cannot wait to whatever macarbe, blood-curdling, skin-crawling monstrosity masterpiece he has in wait for us next. If you see it or have done so already and love it (and believe me if you like cinema at it's finest you will love it) I cannot reccomend his other work enough and I highly suggest you join the #Bonghive4life.