Why Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is one of the best films?

Parasite is a 2019 South Korean dark comedy-thriller film, which was directed by a Korean director named Bong Joon Ho. The actors and actresses for this film are Choi Woo-Shik, Park So-dam, Song Kang-ho, Jang Hye-jin, Lee Sun-Kyun, Cho Yeo-Jeong, Jung Ji-so, and more. The movie won the 2019 Cannes Award and became the first non-American film to win an Oscars Award.

Parasite is about three families. The first one is the Kim family— Ki-taek, Chung-sook, Ki-jung, and Ki-woo. The Kim family lives in a small basement apartment in the slum area of South Korea with a temporary job of being pizza box folders. The second family is the Park family— Dong-ik, Yeon-go, Da-hye, and Da-song. In addition to this, this family is really rich. Lastly, the third family shown in this film are Moon-gwang and her husband, Geun-sae.

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A quick show and tell of the plot

The story started with the Kim family in which one evening, Ki-woo's university best friend, Min-hyuk, went to their house. He gave the family a huge rock, which is meant to symbolize wealth to whoever has it. After, Min-hyuk suggested that Ki-woo should take over his job as an English tutor to the Park's family's daughter, Da-hye, since he would study abroad. In addition to this, the Park family pays well. The moment Ki-woo knew that they give enough salary, he wanted to give it a try.

Eventually, he got hired by the Park family and officially became the English tutor of Da-hye. During the first encounter, Mrs. Park showed Ki-woo a portrait of her youngest child, Da-song. Because of this, Ki-woo thought of a plan to recommend his sister, which he will pretend that they haven't met before, and give service as an art teacher to Mrs. Park’s son.

One evening, the Park family decided to go on outdoor camping and Mrs. Park wanted Chung-sook to stay so that someone would still take care of their house. Once they left, the Kim family had the house for themselves. They enjoyed every opportunity they had in the house while the Parks were out. Around evening, while the Kims were in the living room, getting drunk, they started talking about what is currently happening in their lives.

As the thunder began to strike, the doorbell of the Parks’ rang several times. It was Moon-gwang, the previous housemaid, who returned and told Chung-sook that she left something in the basement of the house. Chung-sook decided to check the basement and was creeped out when she saw Moon-gwang pushing the shelf so hard. She managed to help Moon-gwang push it and revealed a hidden entrance to an underground bunker. Geun-sae, who is Moon-gwang’s husband, was secretly living underneath the house so that he could hide from loan sharks years ago. Soon after, Moon-gwang knew that the workers for the Park family are just a family pretending to not know each other. Because of this, Moon-gwang got really angry and threatened to tell the Park family their secret if the Kims don’t keep hers.

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As hours passed, Mrs. Kim called Chung-sook that they would return home early from their camping trip because of the storm. The Kim family panicked and cleaned the house. Moon-gwang and Geun-sae, who was severely wounded, were locked inside the bunker. As the Kims managed to “clean” the house, Mrs. Park began to eat the food named ram-don she requested from Chung-sook. While eating, she told Chung-sook that Da-song had a seizure years ago. It happened because of a traumatic experience on his birthday when he witnessed a ghost, who is technically just Geun-sae, coming from the basement.

While the Kims were hiding, Mr. Park commented about Ki-taek’s smell which is really bad, like an old radish. Everything went off to Ki-taek and he felt resentment because Mr. Park thinks of him lowly. Hours later, they escaped the house and ran as fast as they could during the storm. They returned to their apartment to find it completely flooded, making all of their things drenched. They got a few things from their house, including the rock Ki-woo’s friend gave, and temporarily stayed in a gymnasium with other people who evacuated from their homes.

The following day, Mrs. Park decided to host a party for Da-song’s birthday. She decided to invite Ki-jung. Da-hye asked her mother if they could also invite Ki-woo and agreed that they should. As Ki-taek drove Mrs. Park to the grocery, he was still disturbed from the things that happened last night. On the way home, he overheard from Mrs. Park that the rain was such a blessing for them and covered her nose because she could smell Ki-taek’s smell.

During Da-song’s birthday party, Ki-woo decided to check Moon-gwang and Geun-sae in the underground bunker while bringing the scholar’s rock as self-defense just in case he gets beaten up. Eventually, Geun-sae caught and killed him by throwing the rock on his head. Once he saw Ki-jung, he instantly stabbed her with a kitchen knife in front of the guests. During the chaos, Mr. Park was ordering Ki-taek to drive Da-song to the hospital but he couldn’t move because everything was happening too fast. As he tried to get the keys near Geun-sae, Ki-taek saw his disgusted face from the dead’s smell. Because of that, he killed Mr. Park and started to hide from everybody.

Parasite plays with our sense to tell the story.

After watching the film for the first time, I understood the main idea or message of the story. The second time I got to see it, I know that this has got to be one of the best films I’ve seen in my entire life so far. It showed the transition of the Kim family on how they tried to survive by posing as workers for the Park family. The idea of Bong Joon-ho in making the movie for two hours and six minutes (introduction and credits not included) is intentional because they are like two separated movies joined into one. Half of the film is dedicated to the dark-comedy genre while the other half is to the thriller. The first film dealt with the Kim family trying to invade the lives of the Park family by posing as tutors, a driver, and a housekeeper.

The flow of the story was going smooth, making the Kim family think that they’re already being successful in their lives. Halfway through the film, Bong Joon-ho made three different tensions of each scene to build the character over time. However, one specific symbol, which is the doorbell, signified that it was the end of the first genre. Meaning to this, the next genre will come up and represent the real start of the film. It signified that something new will happen. For me, it’s easy to understand even on your first watch because everything that’s supposed to be part of a film is in there.

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Every time there’s a highlight to the movie, the background music would be added. An example of this was when Chung-sook found out about the underground bunker. A piece of thrilling music was added as Moon-Hwang kept on screaming, “Honey!” as she went down for her husband. The facial expressions and actions of the characters were fit for the music. I also noticed that all of the background music used is performed by an orchestra in which violins, piano, and other percussion instruments. This helped the viewers feel and understand the movie more. Also, the sounds of movements, things, and actions were loud enough to hear which makes it effective for the audience.

I’ve noticed several symbols that Bong Joon-ho used to bring the message properly. He used lines in a lot of scenes, different lightings, and shadows to tell us a meaning on each. One example that we can see is that he used levels to represent different social classes to show the gap between lower and upper classes. The Park family always goes up or is always higher on shots. Their scenes also appear above the Kim family. Another one is that Kim’s house lives in a semi-basement apartment in a slum area while the Park’s house is located on a hill. If observed properly, the film always shows a lot of stairs. It is a representation of social mobility in which the Kims tries to ascend to the Park’s house.

For some scenes, Bong Joon-ho also put lines to separate the rich and poor. It’s not going to be obvious on the first watch but if you watch it for the second time, you would see some objects such as windows, walls, and tables that have lines on them. Lastly is the lights in the film. It is seen that the Park’s house is always well-lit unlike the Park’s where theirs are dark since they live in a basement. There is a huge difference between the lives of the Parks and the Kims.

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The make-up artists and costume designers did a great job in choosing what the actors had to present in the movie. According to Bong Joon-ho and Woo-Shik (who portrays Ki-woo in the film), every detail in Parasite is intentional. In the opening scene where Ki-woo and Min-hyuk went to the convenience store to drink soju, the details of each character were seen. For Min-hyuk, he was wearing a well-priced coat and pants. He also owns an expensive watch and an Italian-branded motorcycle to give an impression that he is also rich.

On the other side, Ki-woo was just wearing overused sweatshirts, a fitted shirt, and some slippers. His hairstyle was also giving a nerdy vibe in which he got the haircut on a cheap salon. In addition to this, Ki-woo’s pimples on his face throughout the film were intentional because it gives a message that he doesn’t have time to do skincare.

However, it’s not just Ki-woo and Min-hyuk who gave that kind of impression based on their clothes, but the whole Parasite actors and actresses. The clothes that were worn by the Kim family are cheaper than what the Park’s was wearing throughout the film. The Parks gave an elegant atmosphere in which they care about what they want to show in their everyday living.

When we focus on the setting, Kim’s house also easily gave an idea that they’re part of the lower class. Their house is tiny, full of things, dirty, and old-looking. On the other hand, the Park’s house looked like a house worth a million. It is a house only upper-class people can afford. It is too wide, minimalistic, and neat.

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It teaches us social issues through creative symbolism.

Parasite mainly focuses on the different social classes of a community. The Parks lived in an upper-class situation while the Kims, Moon-Gwang, and Geun-Sae are in a low-class. Based on their everyday living, the Kim family struggles to survive while the Park family is living comfortably with the help of their employees. A notable difference between them is the structure of their homes, which reflects similar to the situation in real life. In a capitalistic world, the rich and the poor lived in separated areas. The rich get more opportunities than those in need. They could not relate to how the poor struggles for their survival.

One of the most important symbols is the stairs. It represents social mobility. The Kim family used the stairs to ascend to the Park’s house. Besides, it resonates with the situation of Moon-Gwang and Geun-Sae when they stay just under the Park's household. Moon-Gwang uses the stairs from the underground bunker to the house to have access from the rich. It perfectly portrays that most of the rich go through life without thinking of those in need. It is due to them already getting what they wanted.

Some never know that the poor struggles to live their lives. It shows a lack of class consciousness. The rich tend to show arrogance and think lowly of others which could trigger the lower class. For example, Mr. Park kept commenting on Ki-Taek’s smell. After Ki-Taek saw Mr. Park’s, he has a disgusting reaction to Geu-Sae’s smell. He reached his limit and felt upset that he killed him. Social class exists because of capitalism. Besides, it is present in the real world.

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Another important symbolism in the film is the scholar rock. Min-Hyuk explained that it promises wealth and good fortune to whoever has it. The moment this rock came into their lives, the Kim family started earning enough money to survive from poverty. However, they also used the fortune to a selfish use because their employees lost jobs. During the climax, when Kim's house flooded, Ki-woo saw that the rock was floating, giving an idea that the rock is hollow. Good fortune can bring happiness to people, but not use for good. Then it could unravel back to where their journey started. The only thing that left is regret.

I think the title of this film is Parasite is the reflection of a literal parasite, an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species. Parasite benefits by sucking the nutrients at the expense of their host. It may also mean a person who habitually relies on or exploits others and gives nothing in return. In a capitalistic society, the rich are a parasite to their workers. The poor get benefits from them by having salaries, but they also have to work hard.

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Filipinos can relate to the social dynamics

The Kim family can be related to the situation of some Filipinos. According to the World Bank, it is a fact that the Philippines has a poverty rate ranging from 19-22%. It means that these Filipinos live in the poverty line or struggle financially. Some Filipinos are ready to take risks to provide something for their family or even for themselves, which other sort out to crimes or illegal activities. Some would work for other people, for the wealthy people, to make a living for their daily living.

When we look at the film, we can observe how the Kim family stayed connected with the Park family. The Kims works for them to survive. It is why they posed themselves as professional workers, pretending that they are not related to each other. If we talk about politics in the Philippines, most politicians leach the government funds to get wealthy. They would lie to people for the sake of money like the Kims did for pretending as professional workers and posing as they are not related to each other.

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It is a masterpiece.

Parasite will be considered as one of the best films in the whole film industry because it was created as something that can be analyzed by critics, movie fans, and everyone. Every scene has something to do with the ending, that's why you have to observe everything properly. I also like how Bong Joon-ho chose these actors and actresses for the film because they were able to execute the message properly by bringing the emotions and actions well.

It is why it deserved to be won because the cinematography, editing, theme, actors, and setting are perfectly planned. I’ve watched this many times already yet I’m not getting tired of it. It’s worth the watch and I consider it as one of my favorite movies. Plus, you would never really know who the real enemy is. All I can say is Bong Joon-ho created a masterpiece. A wonderful one.

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References

1. Lee, N., How “Parasite” delivered one of the best twists in cinema. Insider. United States.
2. Fogarty, P., Parasite’s Scholar Stone explained: How the strange rock is key to 2020's Best Picture winner. HITC.
3. Vanity Fair (producer). ‘Parasite’ Director Bong Joon-ho breaks down the opening scene. United States.
4. Stuckmann, C., Parasite - movie review. Chris Stuckmann. United States..
5. Bradshaw, P., Parasite review - searching satire of a family at war with the rich. The Guardian.
6. Briand, M., Review: How “Parasite” Exposes our Modern Idolatry
7. Why Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is a satirical masterpiece watered down by incongruous social optimism
8. Parasite review – a gasp-inducing masterpiece