A Parasite to See

After winning at the Golden Globes, the Directors Guild, and the Producers Guild, 1917 looks to be the movie to beat for this year's Best Picture Oscar. But notably, the Screen Actors Guild awarded their top honor to a different film, Parasite.

Parasite is a tricky movie to discuss. It's been called everything from a black comedy to a drama to a satire to a thriller. It's mixing up a lot of genres in its own way. And no one wants to get too specific about its story; it's definitely packing some surprises best not spoiled.

What can safely be said: Parasite is a Korean film from writer-director Bong Joon-ho. He's made several films, many known in America, though perhaps the most relevant is his dystopian sci-fi movie Snowpiercer. Like that film, Parasite is a story about poverty and class... though it uses a very different type of story and genre to make its points. A family of four is struggling to make ends meet when an opportunity comes along to con a rich family. Bit by bit, the con game grows and the lies become more elaborate. There are secrets to be revealed that shock the story in a whole new direction.

It's easy to see how Parasite managed to break through enough to find an audience before awards season, and to vault it into award contention now. The movie effortlessly transcends any cultural differences between Korea and the west, with very real (if sometimes exaggerated) characters, familiar struggles, and a relatable tale of gradually sinking in too deep before you even know how you got there.

That said, you should not see Parasite because you've heard it packs some great plot twists -- it takes more than half its 130-minute run time to get to any of that. You must first enjoy it as the con artist story it is at the outset. It can be enjoyed on that level; the characters are more than interesting enough to draw you in. The wait for things to shift feels long not because the film is boring in Act One, but because you begin to feel tension in wondering just what's going to go wrong and how.

But it's also hard not to think of another 2019 movie that used an unconventional genre to depict class struggle. Many critics have compared Parasite to Us, and it's a fair comparison. They're certainly different enough that both are worth seeing. But they're also different enough that one is going to appeal more strongly to you than the other. Jordan Peele's movie felt forged in the mold of Rod Serling. Parasite feels more in the mold of Alfred Hitchcock. Both work. But my preference is for the supernatural elements at play in Us.

In fact, Us looms so large on my 2019 movie radar (it's still #2 on my Top 10 List) that good as Parasite is, it doesn't quite make the cut for me. Still, I give it a B+. If you like suspense thrillers, it's worth seeking out as it makes its way to streaming.