Hi everyone!
Man, what a ride! Thank you all for listening this past month to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 days of audio dramas, interviews, reviews, and outtakes is no joke! We’ve got some catching up to do, a new series of reviews, and much more in our last six weeks of content before we break for the holidays.
Part of that catching up is getting Andrew going on his many, many reviews coming out of Fantastic Fest 2019. Today’s film is from one of my favorite modern filmmakers, and I can’t hide the fact I’m supremely jealous of Andrew reviewing it. I also can’t wait to see this film when it hits our area. For a few other South Korean favorites here, check out Andrew’s review for “Burning” (Episode #487), “The Handmaiden” (Episode #122), and “Psychokinesis” (Episode #124). And literally anything by Bong Joon Ho.
Before the review, we’ll have a promo from the Fab Figmentals podcast. Every episode, Lindsey Morse delivers all sorts of lore about mythical and magical creatures. Don’t miss their recent episode on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. And definitely make sure to catch One Movie Punch Episode #598 for Lindsey’s review of “Scream” and her best scary movie phone call voice during Reign of Terror 2019.
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Here we go!
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<< FAB FIGMENTALS PROMO >>
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Hello film fans!
Andrew here. With the Reign of Terror finally at an end, what good fortune that November begins on a Friday so we can give our intrepid host a quick breather. Actually, for the rest of the month I’ll be administering a double-dose of the Fantastic each week. The 2019 festival delivered a bevy of remarkable films with October/November release dates, so buckle up. Fridays will continue to focus on Netflix and VOD releases, and I will be taking over Matinee Mondays with a handful of films playing in theaters around the country. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, today I am thrilled to present the first film in my tenure with the podcast that rates a perfect 10 out of 10. Let’s do this.
Today’s movie is “Parasite”, the 2019 comedic thriller from South Korea, written by Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won, and directed by Bong Joon-ho. The 2019 Fantastic Fest pitted “Parasite” against critical darlings “Knives Out” and “Jojo Rabbit” and not only did the film edge those out to win the Audience Award, the Alamo Drafthouse literally renamed their flagship Austin location the Bong Joon-ho Cinema with the unveiling of a plaque and everything.
The film stars Song Kang-ho in his fourth role for the auteur director, playing Ki-taek Kim, the patriarch of a perpetually under-employed family. Mr. Kim and his wife Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin) have a loving and playful relationship with their young adult son and daughter. The family resides in relative poverty in a basement apartment, but their positive spirit and collective will are demonstrative of their overall happiness, at least at a surface level. When his friend moves away, the Kims’ son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-sik) takes over his job as a part-time tutor for the daughter of the wealthy Park family residing in an ultra-modern home. When the family also finds themselves in need of a caregiver for their unruly elementary-aged son, Ki-woo is quick to recommend his sister to that post. During their frequent visits to the Park home, they grow accustomed to the trappings of wealth and begin to assimilate into the Park family’s daily life.
“Parasite” may be the capstone on a thematic trilogy for director Bong, whose last three films have now dealt with class and social status. 2013’s much-lauded “Snowpiercer” saw Chris Evans as an economy-class passenger on a train circling the frozen globe, battling his way toward the oppressive Tilda Swinton in a not-so-subtle allegory for the wealthy thriving off those less fortunate. His next film, “Okja”, was released by Netflix in 2017 as one of their larger budget projects at the time. Though it falls short of “Snowpiercer”’s cult status, “Okja” received a Certified Fresh rating and contemplated the ethics of mass-scale food production; specifically, meat; more specifically, “super-pigs”. With “Parasite”, Bong strips away all of the high-concept sci-fi pretense and delivers a message that can be appreciated at both broad and human levels.
“Parasite” expertly explores class differences without making the wealthy Park family into villains. The family is kind and human, often naïve about the motivations and concerns of those in society that serve them. The conversations between members of different classes are tinged with the sort of one-sided uneasiness of a conversation between an executive and an employee several rungs below on the corporate ladder. At one point the Kims question whether the Parks are “nice because they are rich” or “nice in spite of being rich”. Either version presupposes that wealth at its core has a transformative effect on people. A lesser writer would have taken this story down a far less interesting path in the second half than Joon-ho, who is fearless in his writing and knows how to entertain while dealing with social issues. When class tensions are allowed to build unchecked in society, it inevitably bubbles over into violent clashes. The Kims and Parks are personifications of the poor v. wealthy dynamic, the former too polite to protest, the latter either totally oblivious of their privilege or just unwilling to care. This all serves to set up a shocking finale.
What makes “Parasite” fantastic?Going in, the hype for this film was out of control. “Parasite” unanimously won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and was pronounced by several critics with great hyperbole as the best of the last 5 years, 10 years, you name it. If anything, this actually served to lower my personal expectations, thinking this film must have been built to appeal to snooty, arrogant critics. I could not have been more wrong. It is a powerful, moving story that is bitingly funny and wrought with tension. The cinematography makes even the mundane settings look gorgeous and every shot feels like a perfect portrait.
“Parasite” (2019) is a genre-bending tour de force captured on film by a modern master. Fans of raw and honest family dramas that explore issues of class and privilege such as “Winter’s Bone” (Episode #040) or “Shoplifters” (Episode #394) will love this film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% (CERTIFIED FRESH)
Metacritic: 95 (MUST SEE)
One Movie Punch: 10/10
“Parasite” is rated R and playing in select theaters.
Come back on Monday and we’ll discuss another film still playing in theaters - “Jojo Rabbit”. Based on a novel, Taika Waititi wrote and directed this satire about a young boy growing up in Nazi Germany and his imaginary friend – a wacky and whimsical version of Adolf Hitler, portrayed, of course, by Taika himself. He’s treading some perilous ground and swinging for the fences. Let’s see where this one lands. See you then.
