Parasite

With a series of drab blockbusters underperforming in critics’ and audience’s word of mouth, Director Boon Joon-ho has come to our rescue with a near-perfect masterpiece in Parasite.

The Palme d’Or winning film centers on a poverty-stricken family of four living in a basement. The four trick their ways into working for an obscenely rich family. Their sly get-rich-quick schemes soon fall apart as they unlock an unforeseeable danger which threatens to consume their lives.

Boon Joon-ho is no rookie in dealing with matters concerning class inequality and the grotesque greed of the upper class, as seen in his Dystopian thriller Snowpiercer. Despite the similar themes, Parasite manages to be so much more than just “Snowpiercer without the sci-fi elements”. Even with a grounded reality built into Parasite, it still feels like a massive undertaking in terms of its tone shifts, emotional resonance and social engagement. Boon’s sensibility and skillfulness in melding all the tones here is nothing less than a stroke of genius. Parasite begins like any other dramedy with an ironic and comedic touch. With the help of the likeable ensemble of characters, audiences are immediately lured into a false sense of security right from the start. In revealing the twists and turns, Boon borrowed classic techniques seen in horror and action films that enhance the immersive experience. As it draws to an end, the rightful anger that is seeping through the shots will take you apart like a gut-wrenching punch to the heart. But Boon, being as ambitious as he is, seems to think that even marrying humour and anger together flawlessly runs the risk of trivializing the issues at hand. As the family muses drunkenly about their future plans, their hopes of overcoming their disadvantage are devastatingly materialises into a sense of wistfulness and a longing that, we know, will never be fulfilled. This is exactly where Boon’s gentle and contemplative touch comes through and shines.

As the half-year mark approaches, it might indeed be too early to give out the title of “best film of the year” but Boon’s Parasite might just be the film for us to break the rule.

(Originally posted on 25 June 2019 @projectunwrapped)