Parasite

I desperately needed this rewatch. The first time I watched this I was on a beach vacation and was semi-distracted doing other things, meaning I didn't get to fully appreciate the masterpiece that it is. Bong Joon-ho has created one of the decade's best movies in Parasite. It is truly an incredible depiction of class conflict and social/wealth inequality. The incredible attention to detail and symbolism truly elevate this film to the next level. The rich physically living above the poor is so genius and allows for incredible scenes like when the Kim family returns to their flooding house after escaping the dry and warm house of the Parks. The cut from the toilet in the bunker of the Park house to the flooding toilet in the Kim house is so genius. The idea that even the deranged and fearful Geun Se, hiding in the bunker of the Park house, is living above the Kims is so compelling. Mr and Mrs Parks' discussion of Mr Kim and "his smell" is so interesting. Mr Park's disgust at the smell of Geun Se in the party scene gives us the idea that people can be so affected by their differences in wealth and class that they have different smells. Also, Ki-woo's, or "Kevin's", desire to provide for his family and to be a good son is such a devastating and compelling character arc. From his early strive to take after his friend and to go to university to his final plan in the end of the film to make enough money to buy the Park house, he is always striving to better his situation so that it is better for those he loves. He is easily my favorite character in the film. My favorite scene in the film and I would go as far as saying one of the best scenes in all of cinema is Da-Song's birthday party. Geun-Se slowly walking up out of the basement and into the kitchen, stopping to grab a kitchen knife and proceeding to wreak havoc on the party is just sooooooo chilling and so good. And the ending goes on to be so devastating. Ki-woo's final message to his father saying that he is going to make enough money to buy the house so that his father can one day just walk up the stairs is so beautiful and perfectly pays homage to the film's (and society's) pervasive idea that one must rise up out of poverty into wealth. A perfect ending. Parasite is simply perfection in every level of filmmaking. I haven't even mentioned the sensational acting performances given, or the brilliant cinematography. This film is perfect.