★★★★★★★★★★
Going in I knew next to nothing about Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite.
I had seen this film garnering high praise almost unanimously as well as topping several best of 2019 lists from very trusted critics. Disappointed that I would probably not be able to see the film in theaters, I purposefully kept my distance from trailers or in depth reviews hoping that one day I’d catch this on VUDU.
Next thing I know I’m in a theater seat, and the lights are dimming.
What a ride this was in the theater. Never have I been so happy I avoided gaining any knowledge of a film. Parasite defies genre. This film is full of emotionally relatable characters with realistic and believable motives finding their way through a plot full of twists flying at a breakneck speed. The film’s deconstruction/analysis of class struggles and realistic poverty is always present and yet somehow never forced or in your face. At times the film is loud, and at other’s it’s quiet. There are moments of great tension and emotional force, and others of the more relaxed or serene type.
It’s very rare that I truly have no idea what will happen next in a film, but that was the case here for almost 3/4 of the runtime. Down to the last minutes of the film I was on the edge of my seat, mind racing, heart pounding and palms sweaty. With every twist the characters encounter, it seems the film takes a new form. First it’s a quiet drama, which turns into a heist film, which develops in a thriller, which goes back to drama and so on and so forth. All of the actors are perfect in their respective roles, and all of the characters are so well written. No character in this film is single note. No character serves only one purpose. No character is villainized. The playing field is even. The screenplay plays with this concept constantly, forcing you to go back and forth, picking sides and re-choosing sides.
I truly think this film’s greatest strength is how level the playing field is. No character is evil, and no character is even shown in a bad light. Everyone is shown in their respective situations and allowed to act and react in natural, believable and yet still entirely engrossing ways. Simply put: Parasite is a masterpiece. It is an absolute powerhouse of film and bends genres in ways never before seen.
Go check this out without knowing anything. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Uneducated Ramblings on Cinema 