2019 In Review: Parasite

The Deepest Bong Hit Yet

AKA: An unspeakably poignant tragicomedy on economic class

Bong Joon-Ho = Korean Shakespeare.
I said what I said.

* * * * *

 “With no plan, nothing can go wrong. And if something spins out of control, it doesn’t matter.”

 Just as The Host is a family film dressed up as a Kaiju-monster movie, and Snowpiercer is a classist commentary disguised as a violent action film, Parasite is perhaps acclaimed director Bong Joon-ho’s most personal and pivotal statement to date, his latest film masquerading as a black comedy... which of course becomes something else entirely.

  Like the vile monster from The Host, Bong’s film consistently mutates, shape-shifting multiple genres and evolving tones throughout the film’s 132 min. runtime. By paralleling two completely different families, Parasite utilizes every character, plot point and mood to completely shift audience expectation in polar opposite directions, filling in the gaps of a subconscious desire for genre entitlement. Until now, Bong has used explicit genre as a facade to say something greater within his stories. Where a film like Okja is baked with oppressing PETA themes it’s still ultimately married to the ‘action/adventure’ genre; a darkly sentimental piece like Mother still branded a ‘crime thriller’ or ‘murder/mystery,’ where Parasite cannot so easily be labeled. Sure, the film works as both a black comedy and a thriller, but it’s also not committed to either genre. Bong’s lack of deriving from standard expectation at once leaves his latest film as insanely frustrating as it is brilliantly rewarding in an ambitious ambiguity that much of today’s cinema has no concept of even properly accomplishing.

  Parasite is something of a response to comparison in itself; its low vs. high class characters being completely gray representations of a painfully black-and-white world; his bleak tone tearing down the walls of expectation, albeit this is definitively also Bong’s funniest film so it’s never taking itself too seriously, even when the audience is. From the opening shot inside the Kim family’s dingy basement apartment, as socks dangle on a clothes line while life is happening above ground, down to the slender walls of the interior behemoth of the wealthy Park family house; every frame of the visual contrast alone breathes like the homes were characters themselves.

  Being perhaps his strongest commentary on both broken families and social economics to date, Parasite is about the most Bong Joon-ho movie there ever was, the only thing missing maybe a giant beast or science fiction presence. Even then, by stripping such fantastical elements from the story Parasite is arguably the most tragically realistic and ergo most heart wrenching of the Korean director’s entire resume, even if it is the most comical. Of course the most pleasant irony to any and all of Parasite’s complex perfections lie within the simplicity of Bong’s lean script; a tight, teetering and bleakly cheeky seesaw, sticking only to its core characters confined strictly to the walls of their class-extremist homes, swaying genres just enough to keep audiences on their toes until the exact moment they’re audibly whispering “what the fuck” to themselves, which of course is right where Bong wants us. The plot is filled with secrets and unravels like an elaborately packaged gift; a poor family slowly masquerading as various assistants to a rich family; its pacing not only harmless, but hilarious. Of course it’s once the seemingly irrelevant plot points counteract that the entire film becomes a much larger statement beyond its classist morale.

  This is storytelling at its finest, and of course Bong’s simplicity in his storytelling only works because his characters are as self realized on the pages as they are brilliantly portrayed by the unbelievably credible ensemble who bring them to life. The characters of Parasite are genuinely rich in ways that hark back to the stuff of Shakespeare, and like the best of Shakespeare they boldly redefine the tragicomedy. Folks dress up in disguise, masquerade in false identities, and betray one another; mischief, death, and devastation cackle behind every corner of the plot. The film isn’t only akin to a traditional stage play in its ability to be both funny and tragic, it’s also a relevant commentary on society. The smug attitude of Mr. Park reeks a pretentious aroma when he’s literally discussing the foul smell of lower class people; a seemingly small yet significant detail which plays on the entire commentary of not just specific character development, but deep reflection of Bong’s view of a petty society. The fuzzy but false reality where both families are living cordially under the same roof is only the beginning of the shenanigans. What transpires after isn’t only unexpected but underlined by humor, as Bong is shocking audiences with comedy while really peering back his curtain just enough to surprise his audience with something much bigger to say.

   Like a distant cousin of The Host, Parasite is ultimately a character piece driven by central themes of family, each singular member of both the Kim and the Park family like opposite sides of a sharply economic coin. The characters harmonize like richly tuned instruments that play the film like a ballad which slowly becomes a symphony; Bong the sadistic maestro seranading his audience just enough to threaten to tear all his great characters down in a swan song. Naturally a film as infectious as Parasite can only be described so vaguely to those who have not experienced its for themselves without giving any of the good stuff away, since the film’s most well kept secrets are not in the ever-changing plot, but in the unfolding of various mood and tone that shape-shift without the audience even aware of it happening.

  Parasite is a film like a chameleon blending color. It’s only miraculous when seeing it happen with your own eyes. In this sense, Bong is like a magician, and one that harks back to the days of George Méliès in his ability to use the trickery of film to dazzle his audience, not with special effects but with total transformation of expectation in order to make us feel feelings we didn’t even know we had.

+50 points to Bong