Parasite (2019)
A poor family's and a rich family's lives unexpectedly intersect in this Best Picture Oscar-winning tragicomedy from South Korean auteur, Bong Joon-Ho (Okja).
"Ki-taek's family of four is close, but fully unemployed, with a bleak future ahead of them. The son Ki-woo is recommended by his friend, a student at a prestigious university, for a well-paid tutoring job, spawning hopes of a regular income. Carrying the expectations of all his family, Ki-woo heads to the Park family home for an interview. Arriving at the house of Mr. Park, the owner of a global IT firm, Ki-woo meets Yeon-kyo, the beautiful young lady of the house. But following this first meeting between the two families, an unstoppable string of mishaps lies in wait." (Cannes Film Festival)
- Director:
- Bong Joon-ho ('Okja', 'Snowpiercer', 'Memories of Murder')
- Writer:
- Bong Joon-hoJin Won Han
- Cast:
- Kang-ho SongSun-kyun LeeYeo-jeong JoWoo-sik ChoiSo-dam ParkJeong-eun LeeHye-jin JangJi-so Jung
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Steve Newall
flicksOn paper, Parasite may look a familiar beastie—chronicling the divide between haves and have-nots (hello, other films by director Bong Joon-ho), it’s a Palme d’Or-winning tale about a down-on-their-luck family, none of whom are averse to a scam (hi, last year’s Cannes winner Shoplifters). But surface similarities be damned, Parasite charts its own course, into some unexpected territory and burrowing right into your head.
Flicks, Craig Mathieson
flicksAt the beginning of Parasite, the latest masterfully thrilling dissection of capitalism’s flaws from South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, the twentysomething brother and sister – Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and Ki-jung (Park So-dam) – of a fiscally bereft South Korean family squeeze into a nook above their family’s cluttered bathroom with their phones, trying to scavenge free Wi-Fi. It is an apt introduction – cruel but everyday, more cheerful than grim – to a film that uses space, architecture, and the way it reflects circumstances and the resulting actions of people as a defining force. Bong, who used a progression of increasingly privileged train carriages as a metaphor for inequality in 2013’s Snowpiercer, is a masterful 21st century filmmaker: a subversive with a taste for genre, audacious in his shared implications.
I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say this is one of the greatest films to ever grace our planet’s inhabitants. The symmetry in the writing and direction is something I only dream of coming up with myself, which is harmonically executed in the editing. This film deserves every pair of eyes and ears it can get. - letterboxd.com/therealclose
It stays with you for extended periods!
The Geets: An unexpected surprise to end 2019 with an excellent representation of class systems in today's society. This superb tragi-comedy resonates with the harshest of critics as it illustrates excellence in cinematography and filmography with a meaningful narrative crafted by the eccentric Korean Director. His masterpiece is one of the parasite-host...
Well filmed but trivial story
Firstly, two warnings: 1. No real spoilers below. 2. My wife and I did not like this film at all (but note we also hated Pulp Fiction and Little Miss Sunshine which were also very popular with many people). The cinematography was excellent. Beautifully filmed and showing bits of Sth Korean life that I had never seen. Of course, some aspects, the unemployed...
It'll make you laugh, cry and probably check your basement.
I had no expectations walking into Parasite, but now my love and appreciation for it has breached the stratosphere. This is definitely one of the best movies of 2019, and it's bound to be a classic. It's directed by Bong Joon-ho, he did Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja (2017), and now he's back with Parasite and it is fantastic. From a directing standpoint,...
Variety
pressBong is back and on brilliant form, but he is unmistakably, roaringly furious, and it registers because the target is so deserving, so enormous, so 2019: "Parasite" is a tick fat with the bitter blood of class rage.
The Times
pressYou expect the whole enterprise to come crashing down around his ears, but this is a film-maker in total control of his craft.
Stuff
pressParasite is a masterclass in writing and narrative control. That a film as funny, subversive and relevant as this can still win the Cannes Palme d'Ór makes me very happy indeed.
Los Angeles Times
pressAs an escalating freak show of tension, surprise and class rage, "Parasite" would make a terrific double bill with Jordan Peele's "Us," which it matches and perhaps even surpasses in pact.
Hollywood Reporter
pressParasite is generally gripping and finely crafted, standing up well as Bong's most mature state-of-the-nation statement since Memories of Murder in 2003.
Flicks, Steve Newall
flicksOn paper, Parasite may look a familiar beastie—chronicling the divide between haves and have-nots (hello, other films by director Bong Joon-ho), it’s a Palme d’Or-winning tale about a down-on-their-luck family, none of whom are averse to a scam (hi, last year’s Cannes winner Shoplifters). But surface similarities be damned, Parasite charts its own course, into some unexpected territory and burrowing right into your head.
Flicks, Craig Mathieson
flicksAt the beginning of Parasite, the latest masterfully thrilling dissection of capitalism’s flaws from South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, the twentysomething brother and sister – Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and Ki-jung (Park So-dam) – of a fiscally bereft South Korean family squeeze into a nook above their family’s cluttered bathroom with their phones, trying to scavenge free Wi-Fi. It is an apt introduction – cruel but everyday, more cheerful than grim – to a film that uses space, architecture, and the way it reflects circumstances and the resulting actions of people as a defining force. Bong, who used a progression of increasingly privileged train carriages as a metaphor for inequality in 2013’s Snowpiercer, is a masterful 21st century filmmaker: a subversive with a taste for genre, audacious in his shared implications.
Variety
pressBong is back and on brilliant form, but he is unmistakably, roaringly furious, and it registers because the target is so deserving, so enormous, so 2019: "Parasite" is a tick fat with the bitter blood of class rage.
The Times
pressYou expect the whole enterprise to come crashing down around his ears, but this is a film-maker in total control of his craft.
Stuff
pressParasite is a masterclass in writing and narrative control. That a film as funny, subversive and relevant as this can still win the Cannes Palme d'Ór makes me very happy indeed.
Los Angeles Times
pressAs an escalating freak show of tension, surprise and class rage, "Parasite" would make a terrific double bill with Jordan Peele's "Us," which it matches and perhaps even surpasses in pact.
Hollywood Reporter
pressParasite is generally gripping and finely crafted, standing up well as Bong's most mature state-of-the-nation statement since Memories of Murder in 2003.
I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say this is one of the greatest films to ever grace our planet’s inhabitants. The symmetry in the writing and direction is something I only dream of coming up with myself, which is harmonically executed in the editing. This film deserves every pair of eyes and ears it can get. - letterboxd.com/therealclose
It stays with you for extended periods!
The Geets: An unexpected surprise to end 2019 with an excellent representation of class systems in today's society. This superb tragi-comedy resonates with the harshest of critics as it illustrates excellence in cinematography and filmography with a meaningful narrative crafted by the eccentric Korean Director. His masterpiece is one of the parasite-host...
Well filmed but trivial story
Firstly, two warnings: 1. No real spoilers below. 2. My wife and I did not like this film at all (but note we also hated Pulp Fiction and Little Miss Sunshine which were also very popular with many people). The cinematography was excellent. Beautifully filmed and showing bits of Sth Korean life that I had never seen. Of course, some aspects, the...
It'll make you laugh, cry and probably check your basement.
I had no expectations walking into Parasite, but now my love and appreciation for it has breached the stratosphere. This is definitely one of the best movies of 2019, and it's bound to be a classic. It's directed by Bong Joon-ho, he did Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja (2017), and now he's back with Parasite and it is fantastic. From a directing standpoint,...
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