Movie Review Parasite in Love (2021)

 

Parasite in Love | 2021 | 1h 40m
Genre: Romance | Country: Japan
Director: Kensaku Kakimoto | Writers: Sugaru Miaki, Yukiko Yamamuro
Cast: Kento Hayashi, Nana Komatsu, Arata Iura
IMDb: 6.0
My Rate: 9/10

Hijiri and Kosaka aren't sure if the attraction they feel for each other is pure love or just an illusion created by the parasites in their brains.

Warning:

Contains scenes of suicide.

 

Synopsis of Parasite in Love:

Kosaka (Kento Hayashi) suffers from mysophobia, making it difficult for him to be around people. His excessive fear of germs and bacteria ruins everything. Extreme anxieties keep popping up even from small things like someone sneezing next to him. Kosaka always wears covered clothing, hats, masks, and gloves to avoid exposure to germs and bacteria from his surroundings.

Hijiri (Nana Komatsu) suffers from scopophobia, where she is very afraid or uncomfortable with people looking at her. Hijiri is a high school teenager, but her phobia makes her decide not to go to school. Hijiri always wears headphones to distract her from the stares of people around her. With those headphones, Hijiri feels more comfortable and safe.

Kosaka and Hijiri accidentally meet when Kosaka faints in the middle of the road. Hijiri takes him to her grandfather, who is a doctor. Hijiri feels a connection with Kosaka because she feels they have something in common.

Kosaka is forced by Hijiri's acquaintance to be friends with Hijiri and find out why Hijiri doesn't want to go to school. Even though Kosaka doesn't like it at first and it makes him uncomfortable, Kosaka and Hijiri become closer to each other. Until a fact comes to light about the parasites in their brains and will change their view of everything that happens.

 

Review of Parasite in Love:

The film Parasite in Love is based on the novel Koi Suru Kiseichu by Sugaru Miaki. The story idea is quite interesting and unique. Maybe not many people have the idea of using a parasite as the source of a mental illness that someone feels. The parasite is even considered to be controlling the thoughts and feelings of the person who has it.

The choice of music is tailored to each scene and supports the atmosphere in each scene. The camera movement and editing techniques used are quite good. There are scenes that require detail shown with close-up or extreme close-up methods, allowing viewers to see in detail the message conveyed on the screen. Some scenes that require a different atmosphere are presented in slow motion. The use of CGI effects is also quite smooth and not excessive.

The story is presented well and systematically, there's no useless dialogue. Everything is presented concisely and clearly. The development of the background and character of each main character is also presented very well. So viewers can understand the story as a whole.

The acting of the actors is beyond doubt. Nana Komatsu, who plays a high school student who is afraid of people looking at her, can show this very well. Likewise, Kento Hayashi, who plays Kosaka, his acting is very natural and not stiff. It will definitely be difficult to be able to show the phobia of each character played.

However, there is a small detail that might have been missed during the presentation of the story. However, this detail doesn't really disrupt or ruin the story. It just becomes something that's a little inconsistent. The scene is when Kosaka and Hijiri seem to have trouble being in the cafe as if it's the first time they've done it. But before that, Kosaka and Hijiri had met at a cafe and there was no fear shown by either of them.

Also, Kosaka, who has germphobia, doesn't seem like he would invite Hijiri to meet at a cafe. When he doesn't like being touched and is afraid of bacteria, he can casually drink coffee from a glass served by the cafe. Doesn't it feel a little inconsistent?

Overall, this film is a recommended film for those who enjoy romance stories with a little fantasy in them. The interaction and chemistry of the actors are built well.

 

Memorable Scene:

Hijiri feels despair and sadness when her grandfather asks her to undergo a healing treatment that could result in the loss of the feelings of love she feels for Kosaka. Kosaka sets aside his phobia and hugs Hijiri tightly to calm her down.

In this scene, it is seen that when we truly love someone, we can do anything, even set aside the great fear we have always felt.

 

Memorable Dialogue:

"Let's get treated and do normal stuff again."

 

Ending:

Happy Ending