Parasite (2019) - Film Review

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Choi Woo-shik, Lee Sun-kyun & Cho Yeo-jeong

Screenplay: Bong Joon-ho & Han Jin-won

Directed By: Bong Joon-ho

Certificate: 15

Even if I hadn't particularly liked 'Parasite', I think I'd still have been incredibly thankful for the international success it's accumulated. Of course that success peaked when it took home the Academy Award for both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Film overall - a win I was gleefully stunned by. I have never expected a non-English language film to win the top prize, and it was such a pleasant surprise on the night. Speaking personally, the main reason I was excited to see it do so well was because South Korea's culture and entertainment has formed a massive component of my life for a while now. This is especially so with regards to music, with 99% of the new music I listen to today being almost exclusively K-Pop. For those of you still reading who haven't clicked away at the mere mention of K-Pop, you have my undying thanks. Anything that brings wider appreciation for and introduces more people to Korean films, TV shows or music is great to see. And of course we shouldn't forget that even without all this, 'Parasite' itself is still incredible... 

Ki-woo, son of the poor, struggling Kim family stumbles upon an opportunity for a better paid job when his friend goes to study abroad. Taking his spot, Ki-woo becomes an English tutor for the daughter of the wealthy Park family. Gradually the Kim family infiltrate and assume different roles in the Parks' household. Chung-sook, the mother of the family becomes the Parks' new housekeeper, daughter Ki-jung becomes an art therapist to the Parks' young son, and father Ki-taek becomes the new chauffeur. With the Parks unaware that the four are related, the Kim family soon adapt to the more affluent lifestyle, until they discover an even more twisted secret within the house...

This review will contain spoilers for a major twist and the film's ending.

As 'Parasite' unfolds, it becomes clear that this is a goldmine of visual storytelling. A great deal of information and the themes of the film are not just conveyed through its dialogue, but constantly through its mise-en-scene. 'Parasite' is a staunchly anti-capitalist film, and its critique of wealth disparity is made clear through the contrast between the Kim and Parks' family homes. The difference between the Kims' basement apartment and the huge, sleek ultra-modern home of the Parks is impossible to miss. Even the geographical locations of the two homes proves significant as it reflects their wealth status. The Kims literally struggle to keep their head above water, while the Parks are sat atop a hill in luxury. It could even be argued that the individual levels of the Parks' house have symbolic function. Not unlike the levels of the house in 'Psycho', which some argue represents the different components of the Freudian psyche (the Id, the Ego and the Superego), in 'Parasite' the ground and upper levels of the house demonstrate wealth and privilege (the Ego), but underneath in the basement lies its much more sinister consequences (the Id). At every possible opportunity, director Bong Joon-ho stresses this contrast. Even things which appear to be a light rain shower for the Parks are a devastating flood for the Kims. Working alongside this great visual work is an amazing score, which makes great use of classical music. While the first half of the film features a lot of black comedy as the Kims make their infiltration, in the latter half the score steps up to the task of emphasizing tension as the film develops into more of a thriller. 

To some extent, the reason I think 'Parasite' has struck such a chord internationally is because its principal theme can be translated and empathized with the world over. Especially here in the West, many of us are enduring a capitalist hell-scape and given the intertwined history of the US and South Korea, it's perhaps no surprise that a Korean film too has a lot to criticize about its economic system. Speaking personally as somebody in the UK, at the time of writing the burnt husk of Grenfell Tower remains over London and is practically a symbol of the negligence and austerity measures that allowed a devastating fire to spread in 2017. Right now, the UK government is sinking billions into throwing itself off a cliff with Brexit, trying to build a new rail network, and have spent just as much to launch a COVID track and trace system that doesn't work. And just a matter of weeks ago, this same government voted against providing school meals for impoverished children. It's no wonder so many people are so angry and disgusted at the current power structure we're forced to live under and it's things like this that exemplify why 'Parasite' hits so close to home. From what I've seen of his other work, this kind of material is the kind of thing that Joon-ho excels with. These themes were just as present in another of his films, 'Snowpiercer', and like many people after 'Parasite' was released, a lot more of his filmography has gone on my ever-growing "to-watch" list.

But back to 'Parasite' itself, one of the things I definitely noticed about award ceremonies such as the Oscars is that while the film and its director received plenty of attention, there were few nominations for any of the actors here. This can largely be explained by the fact that performances are generally only recognized when the actors are speaking the same language as you, and I can't imagine many Academy voters are fluent in Korean. While I'm certainly not fluent either, I do feel this cast deserves a lot more love. One thing I really liked is the various shades of grey that practically every character displays. At some point, each player gets their turn at being the villain. The most obvious is of course the rich Park family, but they're never depicted as cackling villains - they're not inherently bad people. They're naïve and wilfully unaware of the hardships facing people who don't share the same fortunate position, but it's not as if they're deliberately going out of their way to cause harm. The comments that they constantly pass about Ki-taek smelling, or their young son's obsession with Native American iconography isn't done out of malice but a lack of awareness. To them, Native clothing and symbols are innocuous bits of history and its association with genocide and colonialism has been stripped away. Cho Yeo-jeong, the actress playing the Park family mother, gets this lack of awareness across really well. She's lovely and polite for the majority of the film, but as Chung-sook so deftly puts it, she's not nice even though she's rich, she's nice because she's rich.

'Parasite' culminates in possibly the perfect ending for a film of this nature. If this were a Hollywood production, I feel we might've ended on an optimistic note that would undercut the seriousness of its themes. For comparison, at the time of writing I've recently watched the film 'Bombshell' which tells the real-life stories of women at Fox News who were subject to sexual harassment from its CEO. The film is pretty good for the most part, but it ends with one woman walking out of the company, throwing her ID card in the bin, and going off to find a new job... as if it's that easy. It undermined the film hugely, and showed a massive lack of awareness about the effects of sexual harassment in the real world. 'Parasite' is thankfully much smarter, ending with Ki-taek hiding out in the basement underneath the Parks' house after murdering Dong-ik. Ki-woo makes a promise that he'll work hard and eventually purchase the house and reunite with his father. It sounds optimistic but the film itself knows full well that it's a fever dream. It's a scenario that aligns with the concept of the American Dream - you work hard and eventually reap the rewards. But it's completely unobtainable, and the song that plays over the ending credits reflects that. Actually sung by Choi Woo-shik, the song starts out optimistic but eventually fizzles out to a much more melancholy tone. Woo-shik and Joon-ho have said in interviews that an alternative title for the song was "564 years": roughly the estimated length of time that Ki-woo would have to work in order to be able to buy the house. The problem is systemic and in dire need of restructuring, else it ends up in the kind of violence that the film ends up in, and it's an honest mirror of what we're seeing in societies today.

Reviewing 'Parasite' is one of those lovely instances where I barely have a bad thing to say about it. As I started out saying, it pulls double duty of being an excellent film in its own right, and being the gateway for people to discover more Korean films. There are thousands more films for me to discover in general, and a fair amount of those are Korean. If you're looking to broaden your horizons, then it may be worth checking out some of Joon-ho's other work. Of the last few years, I'd also recommend films like 'The Handmaiden', 'Burning' and one of my all-time favourites, 'Train To Busan'. While you're at it, check out some K-Pop too (trust me, it's not all BTS and BLACKPINK if they're not your cup of tea). But for now, let's take heed of Jong-ho's words: "Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to many more amazing films." I could've kissed him when he said that! So go and check out 'Parasite' - you will not regret it.

Parasite

9/10