Review: Parasite (2019)

In the past couple of years, I have seen an increase in popularity of the black comedy like never before, something that I believe comes down to our collective cynicism at the state of the world. Parasite, the Palm d’Or winning film from director Bong Joon Ho, most definitely fits under this umbrella.

Maybe I just have Kubrick on my mind because of the class that I am taking on him this semester, but I definitely saw Kubrickian echoes in this film. His cynicism and disbelief in the future of man may have once seemed bleak but now feels pretty on the nose, making him a director easily embraced by today’s moviegoers. Parasiteis like a Kubrick-Lanthimos-Tarantino soup, violent and funny and violently funny.

The title – I loved the title. It gives you the impression that you are entering into some kind of monster movie, and yet what you find is a social satire that is both terrifying and thought provoking. The narrative of one family feeding off of another was extremely well thought out and unique. Needless to say, I was a big fan. Parasite makes me want to get into more Korean cinema and the work of Bong Joon Ho, as this was my first interaction with his work.