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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 10 OcTOber 2019
Class warfare depicted brilliantly in 'Parasite'

By MARK KENNEDY who? splashing about.
Associated Press Bong's previous films play Bong's trademark slapstick
Bong Joon-ho's film "Para- with film genres and never is still here but the rough
site" starts in a dingy, half- hide their social commen- edges of his often too-loud
basement apartment with tary — think of the environ- lessons are shaved down
a family of four barely able mentalist pig-caper "Okja" nicely and his actors step
to scratch out a life. There and the dystopian sci-fi forward. "Keep it focused,"
must be no place to go global warming scream the Kim's son counsels his
but up, right? Yes and no. "Snowpiercer." But this time, father at one point. Bong
There's nothing predictable Bong's canvas is a thou- has followed that advice.
when the South Korean di- sand times smaller and his There are typically dazzling
rector is on his game. focus light-years more in- Bong touches throughout.
This image released by Neon shows Yeo-jeong Jo in a scene This dark, socially conscious tense. There are no CGI Just look for all the insect
from "Parasite." film about the intertwining train chases on mountains references — stink bugs
Associated Press of two families is an intri- or car chases through cit- at the beginning to flies
cately plotted, adult thriller. ies. (There is also, thankful- at the end, and a preoc-
We can go up, for sure, ly, 100% less Tilda Swinton, cupation with odor across
but Bong can also take us a frequent, over-the-top the frames. And there's
deeper down. There's al- Bong collaborator.) a scene in which the rich
ways an extra floor some- The two Korean families matriarch skillfully winds
where in this masterpiece. first make contact when a noodles in a bowl while, in
It tells the story of the im- friend of the Kim's son asks another room, duct tape is
poverished four-person Kim him to take over English les- being wrapped around a
family who, one by one, sons for the Park daughter. victim and classical music
and with careful and de- Soon the son (a dreamy plays.
vious planning, all get em- Choi Woo-sik) convinces Bong could have been
ployed by the four-person them to hire his sister (the more strident in his social
affluent Park family — as excellent Park So-dam) as critique but hasn't. There
a tutor, an art teacher, a an art teacher, but doesn't are no villains in "Parasite"
driver and a housekeeper. reveal it's his sis. She forges — and also no heroes. Both
They are imposters stunned her diploma and spews families are forever broken
by the way wealth can arty nonsense she learned after chafing against each
make things easier: "Money on the internet, impressing other, a bleak message
is an iron. It smooths out all the polite but firm Park ma- about the classes ever re-
the creases," says the Park triarch (a superb Jo Yeo- ally co-existing (Take that,
patriarch with wonder. jeong.) "Downton Abbey").
Bong, who directed and The Park's regular chauffer "Parasite" is a worthy win-
wrote the story for "Para- is soon let go and replaced ner of the Palme d'Or at
site," has picked his title by the Kim patriarch (a the Cannes Film Festival,
carefully, of course. Natu- steely Lee Sun-kyun). Dit- the first South Korean mov-
rally, he's alluding to the to the housemaid, who is ie to win the prestigious
sycophantic relationship dumped in favor of the top prize. The director has
by a clan of scammers to Kims' mother (a feisty Jang called it an "unstoppably
the clueless rich who have Hye-jin.) All eight people fierce tragicomedy." We
unwittingly opened the seem happy with the new just call it brilliant.
doors of their home on a arrangement until Bong "Parasite," a Neon release,
hill. But it's not that simple. reveals a twist: There are is rated R for "language,
The rich family seem inca- more parasites than you some violence and sexual
pable of doing anything — imagined. The clean, im- content." Running time: 136
from dishes to sex — with- peccably furnished Park minutes. Four stars out of
out help. Who's scamming home will have some blood four.q
Broadway theater will turn into a

cinema for 'The Irishman'

NEW YORK (AP) — Broad- Saturday and Sunday from these days, turning the
way will be turning back Nov. 1-Dec 1. 1,000-seat Belasco into a
the clock next month when The Belasco has been movie house is an echo
it converts one of its august empty since the play "Net- from the past. Almost every
theaters into a movie the- work" ended its run in June. Broadway theater that is still
ater and starts screenings Its next tenant will be "Girl standing was converted to
of Martin Scorsese's "The from the North Country" in showing movies, recording
Irishman." March. Broadway produc- radio broadcasts, or being
Netflix is going to put up a ers lately have been cre- used as a TV recording stu-
screen in the Belasco The- ative about using the the- dio at some point in Times
atre and show the movie ater spaces when vacant, Square's seedier days, says
on the Broadway model of including programing con- Tim Dolan, a Broadway his-
eight performances a week certs, magic shows and im- torian who is owner of the
— Tuesday through Sunday prov performances. Broadway Up Close Walk-
evenings, with matinees on While unprecedented ing Tours Inc.q