Korean director Bong Joon-ho stunned not only myself, but his fanatics and his critics alike in late 2019 with his roller coaster thriller “Parasite.” Receiving an astonishing 33 awards, Parasite made Oscar history, winning Best Picture, Directing, International Feature, and Writing. It deserved it.

“Parasite” tells the story of a down-on-their-luck family that takes a special interest in a very wealthy family. Because the whole family is unemployed, they find calculated ways to get every member hired by the rich family for very private positions: a driver, a tutor, a maid, and an art teacher. Oblivious to the fact that each family member is related, the wealthy family has no idea that they are being scammed.

When something rather unexpected takes place, both families’ lives are forever altered, and the viewer is left mind-boggled. This climactic and radical incident not only creates a shift in the leverage or power of each character, but also flips the entire dynamic of the movie on its head, which is just one thing about the movie that amazed me.

To classify this movie strictly as a thriller would not make sense, as it is actually quite honestly one of the funniest comedies I have seen in a long time. A witty and clever humor resonates throughout the movie, until almost none is felt following the unexpected happening, and the movie takes a very sharp and scary turn. The fact that “Parasite” morphs from a hilarious comedy to a mind-boggling thriller almost exactly halfway through the movie blew my mind.

“Parasite” is also a beautiful movie. From the acting, which I thought was some of the best I’ve seen in awhile, to the cinematography, which was brilliantly placed and connected each piece of the film, to the music, which intelligently complimented every other aspect of the movie, “Parasite” is a theatrical masterpiece! In particular, I was blown away by the young Jeong Hyun-joon. Playing Da-song, Hyun-joon stunned me with his incredibly spot-on acting skills, despite being so young.

Now, I am not generally a fan of movies in foreign languages and subtitles, but it would be completely unreasonable of me to hold that against a movie which, dare I say, is this perfect. Not once in the movie did I feel a barrier to the language. The cinematography, acting, and music created a seamless viewing experience for me.

I am not an esteemed movie critic, nor am I in anyway educated in film and movie production; however, based on what I do know and the other movies that I have seen, I would give this movie a five out of five stars due to the fact that I simply cannot find anything wrong with it. From the plot to the conflict to the cinematic shots and so on, “Parasite” is truly a masterpiece.

For those interested in viewing this movie, “Parasite” is currently available for rent on Youtube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Vudu, and Hulu.