Bong Joon Ho’s PARASITE: The Film Of The Year (So Far)

It’s no secret that Bong Joon Ho’s most recent film, Parasite, continues to capture audiences and impress critics worldwide. In May, at the Cannes Film Festival, the film received the highly prestigious Palme d’Or – the highest prize awarded at the festival. In a way, it’s hard to know what to say that hasn’t already been said by countless experts and film buffs that continue to praise the extraordinary film-making on display. In an industry endlessly over-saturated with prequels, sequels, and everything in between, anything with this much creativity, originality, and class deserves to be talked about – maybe even more so than it is.

Last week, at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film social media platform Letterboxd announced that the film is currently the most highly rated by users over the last decade – an impressive feat given the relatively brief amount of time it has been released. Joon Ho’s reaction to this news was incredibly heartwarming and sincere, describing himself as “also a cinephile” and expressing genuine appreciation. So, why exactly is it being labelled a masterpiece?

The Experience

While the term ‘masterpiece’ tends to get used rather haphazardly as of late, it is abundantly clear that here it can be used with full honesty. While it’s true that film as a medium is, for the most part, intrinsically subjective, it seems pretty clear amongst viewers with knowledge of film that Parasite will go down as a classic.

The film follows a struggling yet seemingly content Korean family living in a low-socioeconomic area and barely making ends meet. When a highly educated friend of the family offers the son, Ki-Woo, his old job tutoring a member of the affluent Park family, the rest of his family attempt to infiltrate their way into the Park household through various means of employment – under the pretence that they don’t know each other.

Going into a film like Parasite for the first time without any knowledge of what to expect is a truly magical experience. There has already been a plethora of discussion within the film industry over the last few years regarding how trailers are ruining the movie-going experience. In the case of this film, the tone changes so swiftly during the second act that expectations and predictions are shattered and genres appear to merge, making the importance of “going in blind” vastly intricate to the overall impact the film has on audiences. This isn’t to say that rewatches are redundant; on the contrary, second or third viewings lend themselves useful in recognising clues and motifs that were initially overlooked.

One of the incredible things about Joon Ho’s latest flick is the fact that it doesn’t fit into one particular genre or sub-genre. Though some of his previous work has achieved this to a degree, here he has entirely transcended the boundaries of film-making and proves he is a master of creating work that subverts audience expectations – his films are a genre in and of themselves. Over the course of cinema history, there have been very few other directors to pull off this kind of achievement; the auteurs that come to mind are the likes of Wes Anderson and Stanley Kubrick – directors whose films have their own unique style and voice. Still, with these examples, you often know what you’re in for and your expectations are met. Here, audiences have been completely blindsided by the twists and turns this film produces – in the best way possible.

The Filmmaking

The themes tackled by the film (namely social class and familiar relationships) are handled within reality and through lived-in experiences, providing thought-provoking commentary on class divide. Whilst the rich are portrayed through the Park family as naive, greedy, and self-absorbed, they are also likeable in many scenes; Joon Ho’s intentions are never to paint the rich family as entirely villainous, but rather to show the stark contrast between the state of mind of each family due to their different circumstances. Ki-woo’s family are hardworking, intelligent, and manipulative; as a result of their frequently desperate situation, they become perpetually more willing to deceive and act with violence in order to protect their secret and each other from exposure and the dark secrets they discover. As they become further entrenched in the Park family, their actions become morally ambiguous and callous – though our willingness to support their actions never wavers.

A reason for this is the clever humour which is incorporated; the film-makers know when the sinister mood or atmosphere needs lightening, expertly finding a perfect balance and knowing when suspense should be broken or held. Alongside this, the characters are well developed; we care about them, empathize with their situation, and respect their need to do whatever it takes to survive and alter their future. Like a real family, each member has a place and purpose within it and brings something important to the table, and the actors involved do a terrific job of humanising and giving depth to these characters. Technically speaking, the striking cinematography is only paralleled by the eerie sound design and sharp editing that complements the work behind the camera and create a consistently engaging atmosphere.

Awards Season

Come January, it’s clear the film will (should) receive nominations for major ceremonies, the real question being under which categories. Whilst it appears the majority of general audiences and critics believe it is more than deserving, unfortunately, past years have taught us that the votes of The Academy and surrounding bodies do not always reflect the opinions of the wider film community.

The cultural significance of such a highly respected film being ‘foreign’ cannot be understated; last year, Mexican writer and director Alfonso Cuarón‘s Roma was also loved and respected amongst the majority of critics, deservedly picking up several important awards (though currently, Parasite seems on track to surpass even this level of critical reception). A reason for this may be the more “universally accessible” nature of Parasite, where storytelling and characters are of a higher priority than visuals; a simple case of style over substance, though of course this is ultimately reliant on personal preference.

The film should pick up nominations in the realm of directing and writing, as well as a ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best International Film’ nod, with the possibility of an acting nomination (though it’s hard to know who would receive this due to a high ratio of shared screen time amongst the actors). Regardless, the fact that a film from South Korea is achieving so much widespread visibility, recognition, and praise, is undoubtedly significant to the film industry.

Have you seen Parasite? How do you think it will fair this awards season? Let us know!

Parasite will be released in theaters in the US on October 11, 2019 and the UK on February 7, 2020. For all international release dates, see here.