I'm pretty sure that I don't have to say much about this film. Most people have heard the film's name Parasite all over the media for the past week or so. Bong Joon Ho is the director of the film who is known for his storytelling in many of his works. Most film buffs know of his films and several of them have made their way to international film festivals. Parasite stars well known Korean actors and actresses such as Song Kang Ho, Lee Sun Kyun, Cho Yeo Jeong, Choi Woo Shik, Park So Dam, and Jang Hye Jin. The film was the Korean film to win or be nominated for an Oscar in more than one category, making history for international films in America.
A poor family infiltrates a rich family as "the help" while trying to experience the lap of luxury. Each family member goes undercover as Tutors, Car Driver, Maid etc. Will the two classes of rich and poor clash? Who will win?
Parasite was an interesting watch. A viewers opinion of the film will vary depending on whether you let the hype get in your head. Also, depending of if you are a fan of Bong's previous films. This film deals with the issue of social class in South Korea. Much of the story is a slow burn that burns toward a big bang of a conclusion. I'm not afraid to say that Parasite was overhyped by the media worldwide. The film plays around with the idea of the difference between rich and poor in a dark comedy sort of manner. I didn't laugh at any of the jokes, not even once during the film. I did however enjoy how the film uses two families as social satire to spell out the problems in the social class system. People from all cultures can relate to this but South Korea holds strong to these values even today. What hits the hardest in my opinion is the film is the ending. I'm not talking about the scenes that caused the ending. I'm pointing to the immediate ending where a grave lesson is taught to one of the main characters and the viewer at the same time.You kinda feel a sense of hopelessness looking at the last scene. Then you understand why Parasite decides to end like that. I still don't understand why the family wasn't saving up the money they were making working under the rich family to move to a better home. They should have been making enough to. Were they working for less to nothing? Life is a hard pill to swallow sometimes.
One of the families was under developed in my opinion. Bong might have wrote the characters like this on purpose. They came across as very stupid. A family would have never been tricked for such a period of time. they would have done a background check on the people coming into their house after awhile. Maybe Bong was trying to show viewers that rich people can be so wealthy that they get too comfortable like nothing can do them wrong. A lot of warning signs got past this family which was painful to watch. I'm a fan of mister golden voice, Lee Sun Kyun. He made me dislike him as the character he played. I didn't really dislike the character until toward the end though. I'm excited to watch his other film about the corrupt cop that had bad reviews. (I can't remember the name right now.) The Kim family who was brought to life by a very talented group of actresses and actors carried the film most of the time. Comedy dark as night came from the characters's interactions that's easy to spot but just wasn't funny. Still, I think they did a fantastic job pulling it off during scenes not calling for laughs. Choi Woo Shik continues to step up to the plate as an ever so growing actor. I'm happy that he's getting his recognition. I remember when he first started out. Song Kang Ho is become a legend at his craft in every way of the word. The whole cast honestly made Parasite as good as it was. My biggest issue with the cast outside of the underdeveloped soulless rich family was that I was looking for something edger from one party of characters that I didn't received while watching Parasite, which was revenge. Parasite would have been a greater film had one part of the story gone deeper into madness. Bong paints dark ideals on blank canvases in his earlier films like Mother(2009). I feel that what Parasite gave me by the time of it's conclusion wasn't enough for me to have sat through an almost two hour movie. It wasn't as satisfying as his other films either.
The scenery used during the film were a true look into Korean life for the people in poverty. Underground housing that constantly floods is a real life problem in South Korea. Parasite gives a raw look into this slice of life without apologies. The house of the rich family contained many staircases that went up and down into the lower level of the home. These steps signify the social classes. Going up the steps shows wealth while descending the steps shows poverty. The india garb in the film also represents cultural appropriation where a person wears something from another culture without truly understanding the cultural meaning behind the item. Koreans do this a lot to black culture in entertainment.
Parasite was an alright film, just not a film that was one of Bong Joon Ho's masterpieces in my opinion. I don't think it would've deserved Best Picture at the Oscars if it had gone up against US but since Us wasn't nominated Parasite was the better film out of the rest chosen.
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