I knew the 2019 movie “Parasite” before watching it. Everyone was talking about it as a “must-watch.” Directed by Bong Joon-ho, the movie is an Oscar winner for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. According to Business Insider, it made $35 million in the US and $165 million worldwide off of a small budget as it dominates box-offices. It even receives a staggering 99% rotten tomato rating. The popularity reflects the indicative themes of social hierarchy that resonates within the global audience. “Parasite” brilliantly created a disturbing yet truthful portrait of class and fate, highlighting the unending struggles of the lower class.
The movie starts with the Kim family living in their basement apartment. The characters Kim Ki-woo and Kim Ki-jeong seek wifi connection from nearby stores. The camera captures the two squatting near a toilet in their dirty bathroom, which indicates the poverty that this family lives in. The story begins when Kim Ki-woo landed on a job, through personal connection and document forgery, to tutor Da-Hye, the daughter of the wealthy Park family. Kim Ki-Woo disguised himself as Kevin, and he did not stop there. Once he gains the trust of the simplistic Park family, he is determined to bring his whole family into the Park home. He convinces Park’s mother that Jessica (Kim Ki-Woo’s sister) should be an art therapist for Park’s young son. A series of disguises and performances resulted in Kim’s father becoming the family's driver and Kim’s mother becoming the family’s housekeeper, thus the Kim family became a parasite of the Park family, feeding off the wealth of the Park. Or rather, the Park family is the parasite who lives off the hard labor of the Kim family. Who is the parasite is still debated to this day. This question without answer is partly what makes the movie so great.
The theme of deception recurs throughout the movie. Kim Ki-Woo, Kevin, plotted with his family to get rid of Park family’s current housekeeper through a script that exposes the current housekeeper as having active Tuberculosis. Kevin writes a script for his dad to perform in front of the Kim mother. This creates the idea of having a story within a story, which adds to the layers of deception in this movie.
The poor suffer greatly at disasters that the rich consider mild inconvenience. One scene depicts a heavy rain that leads to flooding in South Korea. While this leads to a change in location for the birthday celebration of the young son of the Park family, it plays a different role for the Kim family. The Kim family’s basement apartment becomes flooded with sewage water, forcing them to move immediately. In addition, the literal lower geographic location of the Kim family in the basement is also indicative of their lower social status compared to the Park family who live up the hill. The director of this movie also makes the comparison clear in the movie by switching angles back and forth between the two houses. The brutally honest cinematography makes this movie a perfect social satire that reveals the harsh reality of social inequality. Film critics say that the movie was originally named “564 years”, meaning that it would take 564 years for the Kim family to be able to afford the Park house.
Furthermore, the elementary-school-age Da-Song, son of the Park family, admires the Native Indian culture. He plays with the sacred indigenous swords as if those are his toys. This further illustrates that disregard for others from the rich. Da-Song does not fully understand the significance of indigenous culture, which is reflective of the lack of understanding that the Park family has for the Kim family. Director Bong effectively conveys the differences in the two families such as by utilizing dim lights for Kim’s apartment, and bright lights for the Park mansion.
The essential premise of this movie is to describe the general societal system. I noticed that there is no villain in this movie, unlike many other movies that have a clear protagonist and antagonist. Instead, the troubles are caused by the society as a whole. While the setting of the movie is in South Korea, the root of poverty is any country can be traced to a broken system. Understanding the foundation of this design is fundamental to realizing that we live with the same issues today. Homelessness and poverty in every country is not caused by any villain, but a broad, faulty system.
“Parasite” received unprecedented support from movie critics as well as widespread applause from audiences of all ages. Personally, I believe that this is one of the best movies of all time. The thought-evoking message and brilliant cinematography of “Parasite” makes its narrative unforgettable.