Parasite

The cult Czech one-liner "Don't be angry that I'm bothering you again, but I forgot to ask if you have a cellar. Do you have a cellar? And could I see it?" elaborated in the form of a feature film consisting in (by far not only) a thriller mixed with a black-humor class satire in which you never know what you can believe as a spectator. This could have easily ended up as an embarrassing mishmash (and this has happened to Bong Joon-Ho in the past), but it resulted in a scathing masterpiece that give the South Korean wave a second wind. Second wind? This is not a simple revival, but a full-fledged comeback in several respects. (29/09/2019)

South Korea aspires for the film of the year with the most original idea of recent years. Bong Joon Ho, director of The Host, Okja and Snowpiercer, has another notch to his name that has rocked festivals and, in turn, the world. The story revolves around a poor but cunning family of four who will gradually infiltrate a rich family. The infiltration itself is very entertaining and intelligently presented and once the cards are dealt, the social drama crossed with comedy gives way to a thriller with a dense onslaught of unexpected twists and turns, a huge dose of suspense and a beautifully paced finale, where even the dead bodies are not in short supply. The director plays beautifully with genres so that they don't interfere with each other and add to that perfect acting performances, polished visuals and enough entertainment to keep the viewer's attention. Recommended. 90% (18/09/2019)

Basically, without objections. Very viewer-friendly, very entertaining, but also very bold and relevant. Exactly the type of film that makes me like films, while also proof that entertainment and art aren’t opposites. It’s so perfect that it couldn’t be ignored even by the jury at Cannes, who mostly overrate other types of films. #KVIFF2019 (01/07/2019)

Unfortunately I can't go with the flow. I totally acknowledge that the film is well made. The cinematography was for me the best part of the whole movie. But the rest of it... tone deaf? Because I didn't find it funny. I don't like it when people get tricked like that, and here it escalated to unfortunate heights for my taste. Not to mention the ending, which was to be expected from a certain point on. I don't think it was anything innovative. I don't think it deserves so much attention, but the film obviously came at the right time in the right place. Mostly I also thought it was too long. It didn't feel like 132 minutes, it felt like three days. I guess I need to establish some sort of rapport with the characters, I need someone to at least be likeable; it didn't happen here. I couldn't even sympathize with them, nothing. Cold. Maybe it was meant to be, in which case it's a completely unsatisfying film for me. Great cinematography, good cast, but a totally cranky Ziza. (30/11/2019)

Bong’s brilliance consists in the fact that he is able to approach a complexly caustic and, at the same time, excruciatingly empathetic image of society as an extremely rewarding film that draws the audience in with a suspensefully initiated and superbly escalating premise. And above that, it elicits amazement through its precise directing and the sophisticated staging and camerawork of the individual sequences. (10/04/2023)