Back home

Parasite

19774 votes

Producing House

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 2019-05-30

Runtime: 133 mins

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Spoken language: English, Deutsch, 한국어/조선말

Genres: Comedy, Thriller, Drama

Original title: Parasite

Production Companies: Barunson E&A

Production Countries: South Korea

Reviews

t

tmdb39513728
errbnb News that Adam McCay is collaborating with Bong Joon Ho to retool Parasite as a Netflix series makes me positively giddy. Parasite is easily the best movie I've seen since the Big Short. Joon Ho's compelling ease of execution alongside the effortless lure of the plot's trappings had me hooked in an instant. I would have been happy watching this family fold pizza boxes for two hours. The story, like the family, takes on a life of its own, rapidly elevating to a setup impossible to sustain. The Bunuelesque occupy-the-rich scheme gleefully, blissfully ascends to lofty heights only, inevitably, to hit the fatal fan. The poor buggers ultimately find themselves literally chin deep in their own sh*t. The hotsy-totsy aristocrats, meanwhile, host a lovely garden party that flips into a tragic Shakespearean bloodbath. It's all fun and games till someone loses a daughter. (Note to the rich: Check the references of new hires and think twice before inviting riffraff to your afternoon functions). Decades in the making, the implosion of a middle income buffer and a widening disparity between social classes make Parasite a must-see for all income brackets. You don't have to be rich or detest or envy the rich to enjoy this instant classic. But please, whatever you do, don't try this a home, folks. Never combine the rich and poor without safety goggles or outside the confines of a controlled and supervised laboratory setting.
2020-01-23

s

saru2020
This is VERY HIGHLY OVERRATED. The most part of the movie is foul-playing, most of those scenes seem to have been copied from the 1999/old Vijay’s movie: Minsaara Kannan [IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7562630/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2], (Warning: This again might be a copy of some other movie as well]. “Morse code” has been used in a much better way in 2017 Ajith’s film: Vivegam [IMDB:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6878378/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0] [Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/vivegam/] I just don’t understand what makes this movie so special that it has been appraised so highly. It is not even 10% of the Tamil movies at this level/standard. People who’re praising this movie must start watching Tamil movies instead of Korean, there are so many gems that have gone unnoticed. There is really nothing special in this movie that stands out. Cannot digest that an average movie like this has got so much limelight. Btw: Where does this kinda BS trend start off?
2020-01-12

d

dalboz
The working class and down on their luck Kim family struggle to make ends meet. When a friend of the son, Ki-Woo’s, who is an English tutor for the daughter in the wealthy Park family, has to leave his position, he recommends Ki-Woo for the job. Now having an "in" with the wealthy family, the Kims begin plotting the downfall of the current household servants and inserting themselves into those vacant positions, making them all gainfully employed and with money finally flowing into the household. But not everything is as it seems in the Park house or with their previous servants. This movie starts out as a comedy and quickly goes into social commentary, pointing out the differences between the poor working class family and the wealthy privileged family. The differences are ones that get commonly pointed out with the well-to-do having what usually gets termed as first-world-problems, while the poor family is literally trying to survive and save meager possessions in a flood. It doesn’t shy away or try to be subtle about it, but interestingly enough, we don’t feel beaten over the head with it either, which is a major change from the ham-fisted approach taken by most filmmakers. Couching this in a comedy is a good approach, as well, as the audience’s guard is let down and we become more receptive to the ideas. However, I do say it’s MOSTLY a comedy. The third act takes a dark, dark turn, and the contrast, not to mention general disdain and even indifference, between the classes becomes much more severe. This gets into some hard territory, and characters that we’ve found quirky and even come to like in some ways show very different sides of themselves. At the same time, it doesn’t feel unexpected, almost like we could tell that this was under the surface all the time and tried to ignore it, but aren’t surprised by it when it does show up. This is some masterful characterization! Another aspect of note is that this film is rich in allegory and metaphor. It’s a smart film, yet at the same time the filmmakers are not condescending about it. They give the audience credit for being able to understand the symbolism and don’t spoon feed you everything, which is a refreshing change from the usual head-beating most filmmakers go for. At the same time, they understand that not every audience member will understand or immediately pick up on every symbol, but they have crafted this so carefully and so perfectly that you don’t have to understand each and every one. That understanding merely enriches the experience, but isn’t essential to it. This film has gotten some recognition, and deservedly so. It is rich, intelligent, and polished to a degree that we sadly don’t see as often as we should nowadays, showing the filmmakers are masters of their craft. This is easily one of the best films I’ve seen in 2019. Highly recommended!
2019-10-19

m

maketheSWITCH
What makes ‘Parasite’ so satisfying is that it commits neither error. It’s an engrossing, stylish and near perfect movie, and its underlying themes go beyond merely pointing out class exploitation to challenge the logic of capital. Though he is often juggling a mosaic of characters, themes and social issues, Bong never eschews his anarchic impulses and dark humour. It’s a movie that should be seen as widely as possible, if only so that Bong Joon-ho gets more chances to make movies for modern audiences that badly need them. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-parasite-a-bloodthirsty-and-very-funny-look-at-class-warfare Head to https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/sff for more Sydney Film Festival reviews.
2019-06-16

Recommendations

The Rules of the Game
3.7

The Rules of the Game

1939-07-09

A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois a

The Passion of Joan of Arc
4

The Passion of Joan of Arc

1928-04-21

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-c

Gandhi
3.8

Gandhi

1982-12-01

In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all w

Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World?
3.5

Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World?

1932-05-14

Kuhle Wampe takes place in early-1930s Berlin. The film begins with a montage of newspaper headlines

Platoon
3.9

Platoon

1986-12-19

As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the

Blue Velvet
3.8

Blue Velvet

1986-09-19

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related

Persona
4.1

Persona

1966-10-18

A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in al

Rosemary's Baby
3.9

Rosemary's Baby

1968-06-12

A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frigh

Se7en
4.2

Se7en

1995-09-22

Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "s

JFK
3.8

JFK

1991-12-20

Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans dis

The Music Room
3.8

The Music Room

1958-10-10

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices h

Playing by Heart
3.3

Playing by Heart

1998-12-30

In a vibrant tapestry of love and longing, nine interconnected souls navigate romance and heartbreak

The Bridge on the River Kwai
3.9

The Bridge on the River Kwai

1957-10-11

The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their J

Diabolique
4

Diabolique

1955-01-29

The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely

M
4

M

1931-05-11

In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the fo

Umberto D.
4

Umberto D.

1952-01-20

When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling

In the Mood for Love
4

In the Mood for Love

2000-09-29

In 1962 Hong Kong, neighbors Su Li-zhen (Mrs. Chan) and Chow Mo-wan (Mr. Chow) discover their spouse

2046
3.6

2046

2004-10-29

Women enter and exit a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years after the author

Brief Encounter
3.8

Brief Encounter

1945-11-24

Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is throw

Enemy at the Gates
3.7

Enemy at the Gates

2001-02-28

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.