On this week’s podcast, Glenn and Daniel (along with special guest Erika) take in a pair of surprisingly apropos titles about the lives of rich and poor families: Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, and The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out(01:34:19).
- Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman. It follows a master detective investigating the death of the patriarch of a wealthy, dysfunctional family.
- Fantastic Fest sets 'Knives Out' as closing night film. Second wave of programming includes Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite'.
- A common thread connects Parasite and Knives Out, two of the best films of the year. That thread is not just the representation of class, but more specifically the servant as kind of figure of class struggle. At first glance this is surprising, nothing seems more archaic, more out of touch with the existing labor relations than a household servant.
Knives Out Parasite Online
May contain NSFW language.
FilmWonk rating (Knives Out): 8.5 out of 10
FilmWonk rating (Parasite): 9/10 (Glenn, Erika), 6/10 (Daniel)
Show notes:
- [00:01:59] Review: Knives Out
- [00:19:57] Spoilers: Knives Out
- [00:34:26] Review: Parasite
- [01:00:41] Review: Parasite
- Music for this episode is the track “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot, from the Knives Out soundtrack. And another thing.
- Stay tuned at the end for a Trotskyist blooper.
The profound effect that Knives Out had on me led me to retroactively reassess Parasite, the only other social commentary thriller I had ever watched. But this time it was September, not March.
Knives Out Parasite Trailer
Watch Knives Out
Listen above, or download: Knives Out, Parasite(right-click, save as, or click/tap to play on a non-flash browser)