Every once in a while, a film comes along that reminds us why movies are considered art. Usually this film comes out of nowhere. It is not highly anticipated by mainstream audiences, nor is it heavily marketed by its distributing studio. However, while watching it, audiences know they are witnessing a classic film before their eyes. “Parasite” is that film.
Directed by Bong Joon-ho (“Okja”), the film revolves around a lower-class, destitute and unemployed family in South Korea that takes special interest in a more upper-class, wealthy and glamorous family and engage in a swindling scheme similar to something out of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” That is all there is to know about this film before sitting down to watch it because, frankly, after a certain point early on, there is no way to tell where the film is heading or what specific genre it fits into. Simply put, it is original in the best sense of the word.
The film opens within the confined basement complex the lower-class Kim family, consisting of son Ki-woo (Woo-shik Choi, “Rosebud”), daughter Ki-jung (So-dam Park, “Fukuoka”), mother Chung-sook (Hye-jin Jang, “Adulthood”) and father Ki-taek (Kang-ho Song, “The Drug King”). The family is struggling to move past each other through cramped hallways and filthy rooms as they search for a viable Wi-Fi signal. Afterward, their employer, a pizza delivery service, scolds them for not properly folding the pizza boxes, to which the Kim family turns into a petition for a promotion. It is this opening scene that shows the audience all they need to know without explicit exposition or elongated sequences. The Kim family is a single unit, they are symbiotic. They act out of the interests of the whole party, never selfishly, and cling onto any shred of opportunity they notice until the root is pulled from under it. This is why director Joon-ho is such a genius, for he uses the characters to drive the story forward, as opposed to reducing them to simple passengers on an already set-in-motion merry-go-round of a story that does not care who sits in the seats, because it will hit the same beats and go through the same motions no matter what.
The Kim family goes on to trick the wealthy Park family, also consisting of a son, daughter, mother and father, that Ki-woo is an english tutor, Ki-jung is an art therapist, Ki-taek is a chauffeur and Chung-sook is a housekeeper. Sound comedic? Well it is, at first. However, the film never truly settles into the comedy arena so much so that it feels like a “Saturday Night Live” parody skit. In fact, the film almost entirely shifts genres by the third act, which one must see to believe. The Kim family lies and cheats their way into a life of luxury. This alone will split audiences into two packs, one which is still rooting for them by the halfway point, despite the heinous acts they commit, and one that is patiently waiting for their luck to run out and the fallout to commence. Joon-ho knows these expectations and thwarts them at every chance he can, not because he wants to screw around with the audience out, because he is simply following the story. This film is by no means a comedy or even a thriller. It is an entirely new concoction of storytelling that takes audiences on a roller coaster of emotions and surprises, filled with subtly and nuances that flesh out the characters and their motivations. The intricacy that goes into every shot and every line of dialogue is well worth it in the end, for “Parasite” is a rare film that leaves viewers utterly speechless and in awe of the experience they just had that they can only classify as cinematic.
The entire cast turn in stellar performances. Park is a scene-stealer as Ki-jung, the conniving sister with a solution to everything. She easily takes point in some of the film’s most memorable scenes. The most powerful, and Oscar-worthy work acting-wise, comes at the hands of Song. His portrayal of a loving, cowardly and gentle father adds that extra emotional resonance that propels the film into some of its more profound and heartbreaking sequences.
From gut-bustingly hilarious to emotionally-gutting, “Parasite” is a film we as Americans need more of. It does not follow the basic eight-sequence, three-act structure of mainstream Hollywood movies with a clear beginning, middle and end. It is refreshing to watch a film that does not follow the cinematic norms that we are used to and simply tells a story the way the filmmakers seem fit. It is unpredictable but not jarring, epic yet intimate. It knows its characters and lets them drive the bus and has a bombastic third act that leaves the audience utterly speechless even once the credits roll. However, the film’s greatest strength is that it does not feel like it was created as a general concept with a clear ending and a whole middle that needed to be filled with content. Nor does it feel like a neatly organized and well-thought out structure with every plot point planned and vetted beforehand. It feels as if Joon-ho had a general idea and started writing and as opposed to him coming up with the story, the story came to him and he was simply a transcriber. That is what true cinema should always strive for. That is what “Parasite” achieves.
Image from IGN via YouTube
