ReviewCannes 2019: Parasite film review – Bong Joon-ho’s sublime family drama lends a demented twist to class divide
- Story of a poor family who con their way into working for a rich couple is just made for the big screen. Superbly scripted and shot, the acting is excellent
- Full of twists, shocks, and the blackest humour, at one point Bong’s film appears ready to unravel, but he holds it together. This is bravura filmmaking
5/5 stars
Unveiled at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, South Korean maestro Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is a sublime family drama that just keeps getting better and better. By turns darkly funny, violent and mournful, it’s a remarkable movie even by the standards of the acclaimed director of Memories of Murder and Mother.
The focus is a family of four, all unemployed and so poor they have to steal a Wi-fi signal from a neighbour. The son, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), is recommended by a friend for a tutoring job at a well-to-do residence, teaching the young daughter of wealthy couple Mr Park (Lee Sun-kyun) and his wife Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong).
Faking his credentials, Ki-woo is soon enjoying a good wage. When it becomes clear that the Parks need another tutor for their younger, out-of-control son, to help the boy with art therapy, he recommends his sister (Park So-dam) – never, of course, revealing her true identity.