The first Korean film to ever win the Palme d’Or went on to break another awards record, and arguably a more important one, when it became the first film not in the English language to ever win Best Picture. Parasite had been tipped for some time to win Best International film, that was a certain and had been for a long time. However as the Oscar race continued and continued, another question kept arising, could it go on and take the top prize? Bong Joon Ho became a form of certainty too, with many believing that his Best Director award would balance out and be Parasite’s big award. But on that fateful night in 2020, Parasite went on and did the incredible. Or rather, the not so incredible after one has seen the film. I have commented many times in private circles that in regards to personal favourites, Parasite doesn’t make my top 5, with it placing 6th. However watch after watch, and this movie really is tremendously rewatchable, Parasite grows and grows on like the titular infestation it uses with its  brilliant titular metaphor. Bong Joon Ho really has made a movie for the ages and he has the Oscar to show for it.

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Written by both Joon Ho and Jin-won Han, Parasite begins in its first hour and a half as a pseudo Talented Mr Ripley tale with the Kim family slowly ingratiating themselves into the devastatingly wealthy Park family. For me I have always felt that this is the part of the film that works best, as one by one each member of the Kim family becomes wholly nesscerary to the Park’s, the cunning mystery and conniving at the heart of the tale leads us through at a stunningly propellant rate with many incredibly well devised sequences absolutely making the most of the filmic medium. I was rather surprised to learn that Joon Ho originally considered the film as a play, before considering camera angles upon writing the first line. There are perfect scenes in this ripe for theatre staging, however much of the film is built upon ingenious juxtaposition through editing and montage, that a single setting for long scenes would not fit the piece I don’t feel. However I certainly would be their opening night, even if it was a musical! Our Kim family is made up by four actors of incredible comedic and dramatic capability with a deft capability to mix the two in the most brilliant and watchable of fashions. Starting Kang-ho Song in the fourth collaboration between himself and Joon Ho, as the father of the devious family who for me was the major standout. Followed by his wife in a deviously machievillan turn by Jang Hye-Jin, imbuing much of her traits ever so clearly into her even more skilled daughter, played very well by Park So-dam. The beginning of this ingenious plan however has its roots with our son in it all, played by Cho Woo-sik. However a film’s anti-hero is only as good as it’s anti-villains – I think that’s right, the lines are very grey here, wonderfully so infact. With Lee Sun-kyun and Cho Yeo-jeong so exquisitely playing the patriarch and matriarch of the wealthy family that is being primed to topple, or at least milk the most out of. The lack of nominations for acting devastates and surprises me, although one could very easily make the argument that no one performance stands out with it being a sublime ensemble study, this has never stopped films before receiving multiple nominations and winning in many categories.

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In regards to narrative and structure, the second half was where the film lost me on a first watch, however in regards to building and solidifying the films metaphors and themes on greed and the popular “eat the rich” mentality of many social circles nowadays, it is the second half where the movie kicks into its major gear ultimately living up to its title. For me this was further realised by Joon Ho’s insistence of a black and white re-release bringing the film even closer to one of its biggest influences, Akira Kurosowa’s High and Low, a very similar tale of a clash between two families of seriously different means. Matters of the subterranean, oppression and reclaiming of land are all throughout the film; in the narrative, in the dialogue and in the imagery. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the repeated usage of outdated representations of Native American “Indians” imagery and props. Although Joon Ho has commented that the repeated usage of Native American imagery and props has no more significance than “someone wearing a Che Guevara” shirt, I beg to differ. Joon Ho has even commented himself that he was overly happy with the Oscar nominations for Editing and Production design, and one can easily understand why, with them both being arguably the two central forces in the film’s success. As aforementioned this is where the film makes the most of what it is trying to say and are by far its best features. These however were awards that the film did not win.

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The film really is Joon Ho’s masterpiece, written in his pen and directed with immense craft, along with a multitude of other factors, including writing lyrics for the credits song A Glass of Soju, commenting on the lyricism by asking that audiences “please try this song in karaoke, so [he] can earn some money from it". We loved Joon Ho before his press run, but award after award, Joon Ho never once failed to do so humility, modesty and tremendous wit and humour. Parasite is a hilarious film from time to time, but it was never as funny Joon Ho’s speeches. Half of the pain of doing this fortnight run of retrospective articles on the world of 2019 film is that of course we live in such a filmicly baron time now. I remember sitting down in Philadelphia at the Roxy theatre for Parasite for the first time, knowing that after that I’d be watching The Lighthouse and after that The Irishman. All in all a very long day, but one that I would give my right arm to live all over again. Parasite consisted of one third of the tremendous pleasure of my viewing schedule that day and for that I only thank Mr Joon Ho, and everybody involved in this marvellous film. Not my personal choice for film of the year, but almost undoubtedly the right winner perhaps for Best Picture of 2019.

-         - Thomas Carruthers