Bong Joon Ho’s 2019 film, Parasite, pulls off two very different genres in one, both effective independently, but together creating the Best Picture of the year. Parasite won four Oscars: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, and was the first non-English film to win Best Picture.
The film transitions from lighthearted social commentary with dynamic characters to a much darker and more urgent message, obliterating all expectations. The Park family and the Kim family sit at very different economic statuses, which is symbolized in the elevation of their homes - one isolated at the top of a high hill, the other mostly underground and compact without privacy.
The first half of the film brings out the comedy as we watch the Kim family dupe and manipulate the naive Parks, and we cheer them on as they gradually take over the Park residence in various employments. However, this seemingly simple and clever scheme is only the mask of a much larger plot undermining any sense of stability. Bong Joon Ho is in no rush, but instead allows you to settle in with the characters and a sense of normality before changing the stage.
At times of suspense early on, the film avoids going for the easy outs you expect in order to build up the climax that much greater. Bong Joon Ho clearly shows you all the potential ways he could have spoiled the surprise early, letting you ride the fear alongside the family, but instead lets the anxiety grow inside you and lets you dread a far worse result.
The cinematography illuminates examples of class conflict by placing images of the families back to back throughout the film. The effects of the rain that devastates the Kim family, flooding their home with sewage, simply waters the grasses of the Park family. While the Kims are up to their necks in sewer water in their own hallway, the rich praise the rains as a blessing. Phrases like this are common small talk of middle to upper class social norms in the direct shadow of their privilege, even if the irony is painfully obvious when directly compared to the Kim family. For viewers, it induces a turning of the stomach to instill frustration, but also guilt about our own scale of privilege and the consequences we are unaware of.
Setting the most climactic scene at a child’s birthday party adds chilling nostalgia to make the hit that much deeper, exposing how much privilege backs even the smallest parts of daily life. The tiniest details stick out, like the way Mr. Park notices but tries to hide his disgust at the Kims’ smell. Each shot is subtle but deliberate and is dutifully noted by a careful viewer. I cannot reveal more without spoiling the film itself, but the complexity and weight of the film are unraveled intricately and with brilliant precision.
The film is packed with brilliant foreshadowing and symbolism, meeting the perfect balance: viewers are unable to predict what it may lead to, but the details are memorable enough to easily make the connections later and create chilling realizations in hindsight. Bong Joon Ho designs twisted irony of rotating class conflict that reflect our real world of unfairness and hypocrisy.
In addition to dynamic personalities for each member of the Kim family, Bong Joon Ho also pulled off writing a contrasting rich family while still framing them as well-intentioned people. Many films will take the easy way out by polarizing morality with wicked villains, but more powerful relationships and surprises come with the consequences of grey areas, as in reality. The rich family, although privileged and oblivious, were still portrayed as kind while blind and deliberately ignorant of poverty. One of the most iconic lines in the film takes place as the Kim family is having dinner and discussing Mrs. Park, “Even though she’s rich, she’s nice,” and a returning scoff, “She’s nice because she’s rich.”
Most of the discussion is on the brilliance of the screenplay, but I feel obligated to point out that the magic trick could not have been made possible without such immensely talented actors. Each performer is completely immersed in the role to the point that it takes a conscious effort to remember that they are not actually these characters. Parasite leaves everyone rattled; it is the movie everyone wants to recommend to their friends but cannot reveal exactly why. It defines and redefines what the true meaning of a parasite implies, and what it means for our illusions of fairness in capitalist economies. This movie holds something valuable for everyone. It finally sheds light on the genius of Bong Joon Ho, and hopefully will set a long-overdue precedent for American audiences to pay more attention to cinema on an international scale.
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