Perfection exists often in pure simplicity…

There’s something magical in the gloriously bent cinematic glow that is Parasite as it manages something truly disturbing yet has us rooting for it all by the end.

It’s the tale of two families; the Park’s: the picture of aspirational wealth, and the Kim’s, rich in street smarts but not much else.   In a moment of happenstance or fate, these two houses are brought together by the Kim children who expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks.  Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families; The Kim’s provide “indispensable” services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their lives. However when an outside force intercedes, the fragility of this relationship threatens to come crashing down.

Parasite is essentially the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ nursery rhyme ramped up in the most gloriously twisted way possible and could easily the pinnacle in a career of films from director Bong Joon-Ho.

Joon-Ho keeps it all simple and viciously insidious as he takes us into this world.  The production design is simply off the charts as we get into a world of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-not’.  He keeps the proceedings funny but insidious at the exact same time until he flips the switch and makes it all undeniably creepy.  It has a mastery of storytelling by using its surroundings to the utmost effectiveness with most of the narrative taking place inside the house.  With its clean and powerful visuals inside this confined space it a unfolds like a tense play that we have a better then front row scene for.  He’s giving us a narrative on class warfare that is not only socially relevant but it’s funny and occasionally it’s scary as all hell.

Take all this and marry it with concert with a strong performance from the ensemble led by the indomitable Sang Kong-Ho we get lost in this beautifully crazy story of class warfare and the ever growing division between the haves and the have-not’s in this ever changing world.

The picture and sound quality are top notch as you’d expect as we get to appreciate the amazing detail in every single frame of the film with clarity.  Unfortunately though, there’s only a Q&A with writer/director Bong Joon Ho from its premiere screening at Fantastic Fest during its festival run.  God willing we’ll get a more fleshed out version with lots of extras as the lore of this film does nothing but grow.

Parasite builds a really simple yet fascinating study on class study, economic inequity and the levels people will go to in order to hold on it all.  It baths itself in humour, tension and desperation which makes for a rare and glorious mix of cinema.