EXTRA! EXTRA! "Class divide sweeps the globe"

Rating: 9/10 (10 March 2020)

In this dark comedy thriller, the Kims, a resourceful lower-class family swindle their way into employment within the home of the wealthy Park family. Rich with style and social commentary 'Parasite' presents director Bong Joon-ho in complete control of his craft.
The cinematography works subtly to convey the rising tension of the film with purposeful slow push-ins on the characters. Even if the audience doesn't at first notice this subtle movement, we subconsciously feel the pressure closing in on the Kim family and a sense of foreboding disaster as their con is at risk of collapse. The film is filled with deliberate long takes, the smooth camera movement shifts the shots creating new compositions and keeps the frame visually interesting without the need to cut. This helps to give more opportunity for characters to share the screen building on the visual representation of their relationships. These long moving shots also function as a method of emphasising the scale of the Parks' house and give the audience the chance to gain a well-constructed sense of the space which is symbolic of the Parks' vast wealth.
The production design is immaculate and demonstrates a careful attention to detail, both the Park and Kim houses were sets constructed for the film and while they could not be more aesthetically dissimilar, they both feel equally believable. The locations of these two houses are also important, with a not so subtle metaphor the Kim family live down a street in a semi-basement dwelling while the Park house sits atop a hill. This vertical distancing represents both the separation of the families and their respective classes. Through this visualisation we understand that there are physical structures in place enforcing the separation of the classes, while the rich keep moving up, for the poor the uphill battle only gets harder. This idea translates in the story as setbacks for the Kim family negatively compound, forcing them into a downward spiral while the Parks' with their established forward momentum easily transform obstacles into positive opportunity.
But the movie is more complex than 'poor people good, rich people bad' each family possesses both good and bad traits showing a common humanity, aiming the critique towards the system rather than the people within it. The lower class can be viewed as infantilized by their idolisation of the rich, while the upper class may be considered child-like in their naivety towards the struggle of the less fortunate. The two sides of society romanticise aspects of the other, what then separates them is the ease with which the wealthy Park family can dip into that fantasy and return to their privilege while the Kim family are punished for their aspirations and attempt to embrace a more lavish lifestyle outside of their designated class.
In 'Parasite' Bong Joon-ho has carefully crafted a slick and evocative film that through excellent film technique conveys important social themes of the segregation of classes through the systematic structures of society. The film Resonated with audiences all while being insanely entertaining leading to a much-deserved Best Picture win.