Best Films of the Year

Parasite

This was the final entry into the list, the last I saw, but I was blown away with how perfect this film is. Bong Joon-Ho has long made interesting think pieces on class disparity, including past Top 10 entries Snowpiercer and Okja, but they haven’t so finely put a bow on it. And to his credit, he never marks a villain or hero in the story, so as not to demonize or lionize one particular class or the other. Bong Joon-Ho expertly crafts his story by attacking the systemic nature of disparity, as opposed to the unwilling participants. We feel for all involved, especially for the tragedy of the Kim family. The film is masterfully edited and brilliantly paced to pull you right in, and while it’s an ensemble piece, Song Kang-ho’s performance as Ki-taek is one of the more careful and nuanced performances of the year, bringing great heart and woe to the Kim patriarch.