Cast:
Song Kang-ho (Kim Ki-taek), Lee Sun-kyun (Park Dong-ik), Cho Yeo-jeong (Choi Yeon-gyo), Choi Woo-shik (Kim Ki-woo), Park So-dam (Kim Ki-jung), Lee Jung-eun (Gook Moon-gwang), Jang Hye-jin (Chung-sook), Park Myung-hoon (Oh Geun-se), Jung Ji-so (Park Da-hye), Jung Hyeon-jun (Park Da-song), Park Keun-rok (Yoon), and Park Seo-joon (Min-hyuk) Directed by Bong Joon-ho.
Review:
"It's not that they were parasites from the start. They are our neighbors, friends and colleagues, who have merely been pushed to the edge of a precipice. As a depiction of ordinary people who fall into an unavoidable commotion, this film is: a comedy without clowns, a tragedy without villains, all leading to a violent tangle and a headlong plunge down the stairs. You are all invited to this unstoppably fierce tragicomedy."
Korea has had plenty of film directors in the century that has followed from the first Korean film in 1919, and it is a welcome occasion to add another name to the list, particularly one that has rocketed himself to prominence both in South Korea and abroad like no other in Bong Joon-ho. He was the son of a professor of art that grew up in Seoul. Bong was inspired to direct movies by seeing his father doing drawing as a child, and seeing films on television also helped in that regard. He made his first films while being in college (such as with stop motion and 16mm) before graduating and moving on to study at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. He moved on to working on other films in cinematography and writing before getting the chance to direct his first feature film with Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000). Memories of Murder (2003) proved his major breakthrough in South Korea (being one of the biggest hits of its year), while The Host (2006) proved even more popular. This was the seventh feature film from Bong. It was during production on Snowpiercer (2013; the first of two films to feature Hollywood stars) that he came up with the idea for the film (he had been a math tutor of a wealthy family for two months as a teenager), inspired by a suggestion from a friend to do a play (which has limited space but spurred on a story that could be told with two houses), with the second half ideas coming in the last few months of writing (he wrote the story by himself while co-writing the screenplay with Han Jin-won). He has stated in interviews about the divide in South Korea in terms of "relative wealth" as widening, and he described the film as "neutral" more than just being a film about clashing class systems, aiming for bittersweet with honesty rather than random hope (he also noted one inspiration being Kim Ki-young's 1960 film The Housemaid) - he also once argued that you could see either family as being a parasite in their own way, so there's also that point to consider of a film with numerous surface levels to look upon.
There was certainly a bit of high expectations, mostly because it was one of the most talked about movies of 2019 (the one defense I have is the fact that I never saw it advertised as playing in my local theater, and 2019 was certainly a busy theater year), and the Academy Award wins (including the first international-language film to win Best Picture) only cemented the curiosity. The art of a great film can come from the balance of tragedy and comedy. The art of seeing human fallibility depicted with such tremendous skill and honesty is what makes this a tremendously devastating film. It does so much without needing to be in your face about what it is saying, whether that involves elements of family drama, dark comedy, suspense, and particularly satire. One of my favorite little things about the film is the fact that both of the family houses for the film were actually sets, with one of them being designed by the director and the other doubled as a water tank. In general, this is a well-crafted film in its details that spring from its look to its management of tone that never wilts, keeping the attention of the viewer high while leaving a curious question or two to ponder after it ends (it is a film with shades of gray, after all). The acting (with a main core of seven) lives up to the enjoyment of the film. Song (who had worked with Bong before) makes for an engaging performance, capable of the everyman type that can be clever in moments that can either reflect a dark comic tone or family drama. Lee reflects this just as well on the other side of the coin in the family dynamic, engaging at a distance that make for some useful moments in the house (such as talking about someone's smell when believing he is only in the company of his wife). Cho does well in reflecting naivety without being used for ultra-cheap amusement. Choi and Park make worthy youthful sly support, while Jang contributes well to snide humor on the side. Rounding out the cast is J.Lee and M.Park, a reflection upon a reflection in people living on the margins with their own sense of craven desperation. The film takes its time with 132 minutes to set its surroundings and characters with delicate precision while allowing its story to breathe in observation (as opposed to having a soapbox moment). Once it jumps into another gear with its movement for the second half, it proves a roaring ride of carefully crafted thrills within its dark humor for those who enjoy what it aspires to tell about society in some form while not seeming like it will age badly. It proves worth a watch as a classic for the era and a stand-out film for South Korean cinema and its well-regarded director in Bong as a whole with its well balance of cast, story, and style.
Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.
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