Parasite sucks you in from the very first minute...

Rating: 9/10 (17 April 2020)

With the likable struggling family trying to make a living in a rough world and then keeps you attached with it's unconventional twists while using subtle symbolism to get its anti-capitalism message across.
As an American who believes in the free market, and the "American Dream" of working hard, saving your money (the step people struggle the most with), then investing your money, and shooting for your goals with everything that you have, I appreciate it when movies that are critical of the economic system of capitalism which allows for their to be a larger wage disparity between the rich and the poor then other economic systems, doesn't feel the need preach its beliefs to you with elaborate speeches, but instead opts to let the story do the talking. However, the one exception in Parasite to this was the conversation in the gym that Ki-taek had with his son about plans. And it's this quote that really sticks out to me:
"You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all. No plan. You know why? If you make a plan, life never works out that way."
This is an absolutely heartbreaking outlook to have on life and it can only truly be believed by a man who has let his circumstances defeat him. But at the same time, some people are just given the short end of the stick in life. They grow up in a bad situation and often times lack the education, the capability, the direction, drive, or the opportunity to pull themselves out of it. In the case of Ki-woo and his sister Ki-jeong, they clearly weren't lacking in capability or drive, but the lack of opportunity was implied which was why Ki-woo's friend Min-hyulk was a godsend to the family when he presented Ki-woo with the idea of him taking a tutoring position.
What I find funny is that the father ends up acting on impulse when he hides in the basement and the situation of the film with a poor person living in the shadow of a rich person remains the same. On the flip side, the son says he has a "fundamental plan" in which he will go to a university, and make enough money to buy the house so he could free his father. At first, the movie tries to trick you into believing that he was able to do so and he is able to see his father again, but then it is revealed to be a more realistic and melancholic ending with Ki-woo hoping that he will be able to actually set out and do it, but never actually being able to do so. This is suggesting that in a capitalistic society, those on the bottom have a hard time of rising to the top even when they have the drive and capability to do so.
But me being the optimist that I am, I cannot accept such an ending. The reason that Ki-woo fails isn't because his dream isn't attainable, it's because he doesn't actually have a plan. Saying that you are going to go to a university and make lots of money is not a plan. That's a dream. Plans need to be thought out with smaller attainable goals set as stepping stones to reach that dream. And judging by the way Ki-woo was raised, he probably never had anyone show him how to break things down to properly execute a plan. That pains me because once Ki-woo gets some direction, he'd be able to find an opportunity to help get his family out of the rut they're in. Of course, in some cases, it's better for you to worry about #1 and to not let your family drag you down with you which is something that I've had to learn the hard way in my life...
Overall, I am happy that this film won best picture, It was an original film with a brilliant script, great acting, and likable protagonists despite all of the horrific stuff that they do. But what I think is even more noteworthy is that Parasite is an anti-capitalist film which portrays rich people as people. And I respect Bong Joon-ho for pulling that off especially when I felt that the biggest flaw in his previous film Okja was that he was anything but subtle with how he portrayed his antagonists. Parasite doesn't have antagonists. It has a working class of characters that are struggling to make a living and a higher working class of characters that is oblivious of the struggles of those that are beneath them.