Released: 30th May 2019 (South Korea) 7th February 2020 (UK and US)
Length: 132 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Lee Jung-eun, and Jang Hyae-jin
For over twenty years now, Bong Joon-Ho has made a name for himself as one of the best directors in South Korea, his films maintaining a consistent thematic hook. His latest production, Parasite, is his most harrowing and capable production to date.
Parasite follows the lower-class Kim family made up of Kim K-taek (Song Kang-Ho), Kim Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), Kim Ki-Jeong (Park So-Dam) and Park Chung-sook (Jang Hye-Jin); living in a half basement in a poor district and struggling to make ends meet. They stumble across the wealthy Park family and manage to con their way into four highly paid jobs in their lavish house. Working as tutors, a driver and housekeeper respectively, the four family members enjoy a taste of the high life while never revealing their secret. It’s said that pride comes before a fall however and as the film reaches the midway point, a dramatic twist upends the film into significantly darker territory. It’s a riveting narrative that brilliantly changes gears and always leads the audience to question who they are rooting for. At first, the Kims have great success pulling off their grand scheme and you’re tempted to revel in the luxury they’re experiencing while turning your nose up at the rich and their ignorance; but once secrets are revealed, you come to view them less favourably and step back to a more ambiguous level of support. In this way, the notion of class divides and the distance between higher and lower classes is transplanted onto the viewer and it’s through this fantastic storytelling that the director gets his message across. Ho emphasises that our modern society has a system that rarely changes, a ladder that excludes and presses down on those beneath it. The difficulties and ultimate consequences the characters face only stress this further.
With a setting grounded in realism, the characters of Parasite are immaculately presented; at every turn the cast shows you something that distinguishes their social class and the way it influences their mannerisms and perspectives. There’s a deep contrast between the two families that not only highlights their different social classes, but also feeds into the central plot; the Kim family are playing roles themselves to fool the Parks and yet there’s an underlying feeling that they will never be a true part of this upper-class society. It’s the son Ki-woo that forms the backbone of the Kims, both initiating the con while also feeling the most reflective about his family’s place in society. On the other side of the scenes, the Parks are equally well portrayed, capturing a blissful unawareness that permeates the proceedings. The four family members here also have their own unique characteristics; Cho Yeo-jeong’s Choi Yeon-gyo makes the biggest impact here, a stay-at-home mother with very little awareness of others and even fewer practical skills. This speaks volumes of the often-sheltered lifestyle the rich have and while you do get a sense of the Park family’s closeness, it’s often diluted by their rampant consumerism and dismissive attitudes. The characters interact and bounce off each other in such believable ways that when the dramatic tension really heats up, you’re left exhilarated all the way through; the fact that the film does all this without any sort of typical action sequences is immensely impressive.
Chock full of both entertaining moments and deeply cutting criticisms, Parasite is an excellent and powerful portrait of modern society’s problems and another standout piece from director Bong Joon-Ho; as the most blunt and realistic portrayal of class war in his filmography, it demands to be seen.
Rating: 5/5 Stars (Exceptional)