[VIFF 2019] REVIEW: I am a willing host for 'Parasite'
Jang Hye-jin and Song Kang-ho in Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho.
A parasite is an organism that lives inside a host, and director Bong Joon-ho’s latest film is so visceral and effective I can’t help but keep replaying it in my head. Parasite is one of the best films of the year, combining Bong’s treatises on socioeconomic conflict with a horror-thriller theme and his signature brand of dark humour.
Kim Ki-taek (frequent Bong collaborator Song Kang-ho) and his family live in a cramped and dirty semi-basement apartment, folding pizza boxes as fast as they can to make money. His loyal wife, Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin), and two adult children, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and Ki-jung (Park So-dam), also try to make ends meet, but life is difficult. One day, Ki-woo’s good friend Min-hyuk visits and tells him that he’s going to travel abroad and asks him to take over his job as an English tutor to Da-hye (Jung Ji-so), the teenage daughter of the very wealthy Park family. Despite Ki-woo’s initial reservations of being unqualified for the job, he readily accepts after realizing how much the gig pays and also becomes infatuated with the beautiful Da-hye.
Upon hearing that the Parks are looking for an art tutor for Da-hye’s younger brother, Ki-woo hatches a plan and presents his sister Ki-jung as an Illinois-educated art professional in high demand. She’s hired right away, and soon afterward Ki-taek is hired as the family driver and Chung-sook as the resident housekeeper. The Kims mock the Parks for their gullibility and enjoy their new lives. However, they’re soon interrupted by Moon-gwang (Lee Jung-eun), the previous housekeeper, who reveals a secret hidden deep inside the house that immediately throws a wrench into their plans.
The revelation suddenly changes the film from a dark comedy lampooning the rich to a classic Korean horror-thriller, and the transition is seamless. Even though you see the turning point from a mile away, you can’t take your eyes off the screen. What follows is a tense hour of cat-and-mouse, culminating in a bloody birthday party that alters everyone's futures forever.
Bong has been criticized in the past for being heavy-handed with his messages, but Parasite assaults everyone. The rich are gullible, yes, but the poor are immoral and not beyond reproach. Everyone struggles to survive and everyone has secrets, and the movie does a really good job of examining the costs that are associated with them.
The entire cast is outstanding, led by Choi Woo-shik as the sensitive but self-serving Ki-woo, and his profile is climbing after turns in Train to Busan and Bong's previous film, Okja. Song Kang-ho also re-unites with Bong after appearing in The Host, and he's also very effective. His big face and thick body takes up so much of the screen his presence becomes imposing, and his mercurial temper is unpredictable. Two other standouts include Park So-dam, who's carved out a niche as the girl who you trust even though you really shouldn't, and her cold disposition as a fake art teacher is juxtaposed nicely with Cho Yeo-jeong, whose comedic timing is impeccable (and a nice relief) as the kind-hearted but gullible Mrs. Park.
For the second straight year, following Lee Chang-dong’s Burning, a Korean film is going to dominate top-10 lists, including yours truly. It is the first Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes and just the second to win by unanimous vote since Blue Is the Warmest Colour. It would be remiss to say that Korean cinema is on the rise -- if anything, it has already arrived and Parasite is just the new high water mark. Just as how Hong Kong and Japanese films had represented the peak of East Asian cinema in the '80s and '90s, it's now Korea's turn to show its wares in the modern era. Parasite will be competing for Best International Feature Film at the upcoming Oscars, where it's expected to be a front-runner.
Parasite gets four stars out of four.
