By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Starring: Hye-jin Jan | Ji-so Jung | Kang-ho Song | Myeong-hoon Park | Seo-joon Park | So-dam Park | Sun-kyun Lee | Woo-sik Choi | Yeo-jeong Jo
Country: south_korea
Year: 2019
Running time: 132
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6751668/reference
Thom says: “Director Bong Joon Ho has been the darling of international film festivals for years with his varied, dazzling, & inventive stories and techniques. Since the super-fun monster film THE HOST (2006) he’s directed the superb MOTHER (2009), SNOWPIERCER (2013), the unseen by me OKJA (2017), & now this year’s Cannes Palme D’Or winner PARASITE. This is really his most brilliant film. The story is about the seemingly hopeless Kim family who live in a run-down shack in dire poverty and do anything to save money and are always trying scams to get by. The son Ki-woo runs into a friend who is leaving for America who turns him on to the job he is leaving, that of an Eng lish tutor for a teenage girl from a copiously rich family (the Parks). They live in a huge mansion with the same family dynamic mother/father/son/daughter as the Kims. The mother is rather simple-minded & easily accepts Ki-woo’s false credentials. Ki-woo recognizes that the young Park son is both autistic & artistic and gets his older sister to pose as an art tutor to help develop the boy’s undeniable talent. Then they plot to remove the Park’s chauffeur with the help of a pair of nasty panties and, of course, the Kim father is prepped to replace him. His too intimate style is a definite hindrance to the Park father. Hardest to get rid of is the loyal, treasured housekeeper so mama Kim can come on. And let’s not even talk about the basement of the mansion. Despite some hugely tragic elements the film is basically a laugh riot with scenes of such high dizziness that your head starts to spin. One scene that takes place in their dilapidated residence during an epic rainstorm i s as inspired as any plumbing disaster I’ve ever seen. The acting ensemble is perfection itself. 5 cats“