Parasite
Bong joon ho’s “Parasite” shows class discrimination at its rawest form, and what one family will do to escape its wicked ways.
If you’re smart, you’ll walk into this film with no expectations. From the moment this movie starts, you get this feeling that something is off and that’s the beauty of the mystery that lies ahead. Parasite is a (Very) dark comedic thriller that demands the attention of the viewer from start to finish which displays the lengths that the Kim family is willing to go to extend their financial exhaust of an existence.
The Kim family is extremely poor and works every odd job they can find for extra money. They are dependent on WiFi to entertain and distract themselves from reality and live in the basement of the slums. Pretty much, they are at the point where they are willing to do anything to get ahead. Ki-woo Kim’s friend Min-Hyuk is going to study abroad and suggest that Ki-woo takes position as a English tutor for the Park Family. Ki-Woo successfully poses as an English tutor which eventually leads to him getting his sister, Ki-Jeong, a job posing as an art therapist. Soon enough the father, Ki-taek, and mother, Chung-sook, are hired and now the Kim family have successfully infiltrated the Park family. The family acts as strangers to one another as they close in on being a parasite of the Park family living vicariously through Mr. Park, the host for the parasite.
Being that this film is in Korean and subtitles are provided to following along, you can miss something if you turn away. It’s pretty important to watch the film closely because all it takes is one bathroom break and you may come back lost. Each character of the family is different from the other and hold a certain taste of richness to them. The Kim family display a togetherness forced by poverty where they know all they really have is each other. That’s a dominant factor when you compare upper class and lower class, each class possess something the other class can’t buy. Not all of these themes are explored in the movie (But no need to fear, Bong Joon-ho has agreed to make this a limited series for those who want to know more) but it is present through the metaphorical scenes and dialogue that is placed in front of us.
The cinematography displayed every detail we need to know to distinguish how rich the rich is and how poor the poor is. One major thing that will stand out is the distance from the Kims residence to the Parks residence. As we follow Ki-Woo when he goes for the interview, we walk up a series of hills and stairs to get to the Parks residence, almost as if it’s a castle on a hill. The Kims residence is down the stairs, down the street, in the basement of a building near where people preferably choose to urinate and drop trash. The camera doesn’t miss any details as we follow along the desperados known as the Kim family
This is NOT a horror film, but that’s the beauty of it. Parasite gives us all the same anxiety attacks and chills of a horror movie, but is still just a mystery drama with enough twist in the movie to keep you guessing “What’s next?”. Followed by an eerie score to keep our hearts racing, parasite breaks a barrier and seals the deal for the decade. Parasite is easily a 10/10 film that will leave you with that unsettling feeling.
