Parasite Review

Definitely a MUST WATCH film from 2019, this Palme d’Or winner of Cannes Film Festival sure does not disappoint with it’s hard hitting themes and exceptionally crafted story. The great use of space in the film coupled with well executed direction is what makes the film flow with such ease and keeps the audience engaged and emotionally invested from start to finish. With awards season in full swing, and the Academy yet to release their nominees, we still expect Parasite to take the Best International Feature Film Oscar home for South Korea after taking the Best Foreign Language Film award at the Golden Globes. See our category breakdown below for more details on our review of the film:

Plot: 9/10

• A highly engaging story about class warfare involving two families, the Kim’s and Park’s, whose paths interconnect in a seemingly innocent way, then proceeds down a path with shocking twists and turns, not being afraid to take a deep dive beneath the surface of such relevant socio-economic issues

Theme: 10/10

• Parasite showcases class inequality at its finest, while covering feelings of love, care, and respect, along with their opposites of hate, anger, and disdain
• Highlights greed and the desire for short term gain versus planning for long term success

Acting: 9/10

• As an ensemble, the entire cast does a great job at portraying their characters and emphasizing the little nuances that makes each of their personalities unique

Script: 9/10

• Exceptionally well written, intense storytelling, that is simple enough to follow yet features a greater level of depth among the context of the scenes
• Calls out some obvious moments of what it wants the audience to think/feel but not in a distracting way

Directing: 10/10

• Bong Joon-ho creates a movie which explores the unspoken natural ability that humans living in a capitalist world have, where they can sense the class of the people around them
• The pacing of the film is exceptional and keeps you captivated through the creation of intrigue and tension throughout the film

Score/Music: 8/10

• The original score which features mainly usage of classical music elements, including piano and string ensembles, adds well to the development of emotional intensity at key moments of the film

Cinematography: 10/10

• The visual language of the film is spectacular with its use of space and settings
• The family home where the majority of the film takes place was specifically designed with the story in mind and it shines through when looking at the overall flow of the film as well as its creative use of lighting and camera angles which support the narrative

Editing & Effects: 9/10

• The pace and tone of the film was well executed in the cutting room as there are seamless transitions between scenes
• Rarely required in the film, but any on set effects used were realistic and not distracting

Uniqueness: 9/10

• The theme of covering late stage capitalism and rampant inequality has become more frequent in film, however the story of this film is very unique and quite unlike anything the audience has likely ever seen before

Rewatchability: 8/10

• Parasite holds its value over a rewatch and remains equally as intriguing, whereby you will notice something new each time in relation to the finer details of the story and interconnectedness of the different film elements, which is quite amazing considering only a 2h12m runtime