Parasite (South Korea: Bong Joon-ho, 2019)

  

A zeitgeist-defining sensation that distilled a global reckoning over class inequality into a tour de force of pop-cinema subversion, Bong Joon Ho’s genre-scrambling black-comic thriller confirms his status as one of the world’s foremost filmmakers. Two families in Seoul—one barely scraping by in a dank semibasement in a low-lying neighborhood, the other living in luxury in a modern architectural marvel overlooking the city—become entwined in a dangerous relationship that will lay bare the dark contradictions of capitalism with shocking ferocity. A bravura showcase for its director’s meticulously constructed set pieces, bolstered by a brilliant ensemble cast and stunning production design, Parasite cemented the New Korean Cinema as an undeniable international force when it swept almost every major prize from Cannes to the Academy Awards, where it made history as the first non-English-language film to win best picture. -- Criterion

Song Kang-ho is one of the world’s greatest actors, as well as the muse of one of its greatest filmmakers: Bong Joon-ho. Song easily could have (and perhaps should have) also made our list for his performance in Bong’s masterful Memories of Murder. But the South Korean actor gained international fame for his role in the Oscar-winning Parasite, the first non–English language film to ever win Best Picture. And while it may not be as flashy as his turn as detective Park Doo-man in Memories of Murder, Song’s subtle performance as Kim Ki-taek in Parasite is just as impactful and may be an even more impressive feat of acting.

In Kim Ki-taek, Song transforms himself into a man who is hilariously—and even dangerously—frugal. He’ll go to absurd lengths to save money or make some quick cash, always searching for a new scheme to help lift his desperate family out of poverty. Parasite begins as a more lighthearted satire that centers on class inequality before descending into a full-blown thriller. It’s a wild and unexpected shift, one that is anchored by Song’s performance.

“This film starts with a story of average neighbors and builds to something extreme,” Bong told The Atlantic in 2019. “To cover that wide range, I thought Song Kang-ho would be the best to handle it. Especially in the climax; his character doesn’t have any lines—it’s the subtle changes in his muscles, the subtle tremors, that have to convince the audience of the entire film. Song has that strength as an actor.”

Song exhibits a full spectrum of emotions through simple, measured movements and changes in facial expressions, whether he’s silently reacting to the shame of hearing his employers discuss his distinct stench or he’s watching his basement home flood around him in hopeless, painful defeat. Parasite is an extraordinary film that The New York Times recently named the best movie of the 21st century, and Song is crucial to its groundbreaking success. —Chin

Parasite (South Korea: Bong Joon-ho, 2019: 132 mins)

Bradley, S.A. "Again, Volatile Substance: Caligari Goes to the Oscars." Hellbent for Horror #93 (April 26, 2020) [Bradley makes a case for three Best Picture nominees as horror films: Joker (Todd Phillips), 1917 (Sam Mendes), and Parasite (Bong Joon-Ho).]

Calman, Susan and Mike Muncer. " HOME INVASION Pt 35: Us (2019) & Parasite (2019)." The Evolution of Horror (2023)

Cook, Adam. "Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, South Korea)." Cinema Scope #79 (2019)

"How Bong Joon-ho’s Storyboards for Parasite (Now Published as a Graphic Novel) Meticulously Shaped the Acclaimed Film." Open Culture (September 22, 2020)

Hudson, David. "Bong Joon-ho's Parasite." The Current (May 23, 2019)

---. "Weighing Parasite's Wins." The Current (February 11, 2020)

Juhyundred. "Reading Colonialism in Parasite." Tropics of Meta (February 17, 2020)

Kang, Inkoo. "Parasite: Notes from the Underground." Current (October 30, 2020)

 Koresky, Michael, Nicholas Rapold and Amy Taubin. "Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite." Film Comment Podcast (October 26, 2019) ["At Film Comment, we love it when we get behind a movie and then see other movie-goers share the love. Parasite, the funny and fierce thriller from Bong Joon Ho, was on the cover of our September-October issue, but wasn’t released in theaters until mid-October. But what a release! Audiences are packing the theaters. To talk about the movie’s appeal and Bong’s masterful filmmaking, FC Editor-in-Chief Nicolas Rapold sat down with contributing editor Amy Taubin, who wrote out September-October feature on Parasite, and FC columnist and critic Michael Koresky."]

 Kunkle, Sheila. "Parasite and the Parallax of Social Relations Under Capitalism." Crisis Critique 7.2 (2020) ["This paper offers a psychoanalytic film analysis of director Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film Parasite, which engages Slavoj Žižek’s concept of a “political parallax.” The analysis reveals how social (class) relations under Capitalism are anamorphically distorted and structured by way of an unsymbolizable gap. Ultimately, achieving a parallax view allows us to see that it’s not capitalism that breeds parasites; rather parasitism is already there, inherently built into capitalism in the form of an internal excess. Thus, capitalism itself becomes the parasitic system that perpetuates both the fantasy of freedom and the fetishization of class difference, which, paradoxically obfuscates class struggle itself."]

Lin, Ed. "This Side of Parasite: New Korean Cinema 1998–2009." The Current (November 2, 2020)

Liu, Rebecca. "A Hellish Commons: Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite." Another Gaze (February 13, 2020)

Park, Ed. "Memories of Murder: In the Killing Jar." Current (April 20, 2021)

Yoonsoo, Kristen. "The Parasite Eight-Minute Meal." Filmmaker (December 10, 2019)