Bravo

Rating: 8/10 (3 November 2019)

Captivating, thrilling, appalling, stomach wrenching. These are words used to describe Bong Joon Ho's Parasite. At first a seemingly witty and somewhat-vulgar comedy, it slowly evolves into something much more. The movie is in Korean with English subtitles. While some subtle cultural differences are noticeable, this movie can be enjoyed by Korean and American audiences alike.
The movie centers around the lower-class Kim family, consisting of a man and a woman and their young-adult son and daughter. In the beginning, they are just scraping by, assembling pizza boxes for meager pay and living out of a less-than-desirable underground apartment in a run-down neighborhood of urban sprawl. Then one day, their fate changes: the son's friend, who is about to go overseas to study, hands off to him his job working as an English tutor for the high-school aged daughter of the wealthy upper-class Park family. The Parks reside in a remarkably modern house designed by a well-renowned Korean architect. Think the Frank Lloyd Wright of Korea. The house is gated and surrounded by beautiful luscious greenery: a far cry from the run-down apartment of the Kims. The Park family closely resembles the Kims in its composition: a husband, a wife, a son, and a daughter. However, the children are much younger. The young Kim, upon providing a falsified college transcript, is hired on the spot by the remarkably naive lady of house.The house goes on to become the main setting for the rest of the rollercoaster ride that is Parasite.
One-by-one, through their crafty use of deception and by playing a few dirty tricks, the rest of the family succeeds in invading their way into employment in the extravagant Kim household. The family rejoices in its new circumstances, having made this elegant house their sanctuary and having turned their financial situation around by milking the cash cow of the Park family. However, this sense of wealth and prosperity proves to be ephemeral as the dark secret of the house soon-after is revealed in a torrential whirlwind of events.
This movie made me somewhat envious as to the Kim family's unity. My brothers, parents, and I have never been as close to each other as to what I witnessed in this movie. Even if the motivations of the Kims are ill-willed, I couldn't help but to empathize with the family. Their crude behavior is quite entertaining as well. From my own experience, I have never had to face poverty in the way that they did. Perhaps because of this, my family is not as close to each other as theirs.
The inequality between upper and lower social classes is a major recurring theme throughout the movie. While at times a bit over-dramatic in its stark contrasts, the movie's cinematography is ingenious through its use of space. It is quite clear that the Park family's house is unnecessarily large, but it never feels quite as luxurious or over-the-top as a mansion. This concept of space lends itself to another major factor: the Park family's socioeconomic privilege and inherent disregard towards people of the lower-class, especially observable through the actions and mannerisms of Mr. Kim. This is a pertinent and powerful theme which makes the movie all the more interesting and intriguing. Similar themes can be observed in Warner Bros. and Todd Phillips' recent box-office smash-hit Joker. Sadly, there will always be the "haves" and the "have-nots," for better or for worse, and discussion regarding the capitalist system in which the people of South Korea and we in the U.S. reside could go on for days.
The film's soundtrack is very tasteful. The beginning section of the film is accompanied by pleasant percussive sounds. As the plot thickens, the music grows in intensity, mirroring the looming atmosphere of uncertainty. Stringed instruments such as violins and cellos become much more prominent and are cleverly implemented to express sentiments of unease and for a peculiar ominous effect.
All in all, Parasite is a very thought-provoking journey which takes the viewer to unexpected places. As a sociological commentary which will surely be looked at differently by different people, this film may not be particularly agreeable with everyone who views it. I do not wish to spoil anything, but I will say this: it is not for the faint of heart. This film is an accomplishment in the international Korean film industry, and its commercial success will hopefully lead to more Korean movie-screenings in U.S. movie theaters. I hope the movie will make people here who were not interested in learning Korean (or any other foreign language, for that matter) more motivated to embrace the amazing and fruitful process of learning a new language. Above all, I am not necessarily aware of anything I wasn't already aware of after having watched this movie, and I don't believe it to have changed me or my beliefs. It also leaves a few unanswered questions. Overall, it was an indulgent, aesthetically pleasing, and even at times surreal experience. I would definitely watch it again, although it might not be my first choice.