Bong Joon-ho’s latest film Parasite (2019) was all the craze when it won the prestigious Palme d’Or award during this year’s Cannes Festival. The commercial release of said movie internationally only made it much more famed, and it should be. Many critics calls Parasite brilliant and it’s true. It’s Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece since Snowpiercer (2013).
Parasite tells the story of two families who lived at the extreme ends of the Korean society. We were introduced to the destitute Kim family, occupying a semi-basement home. They seemed content with their situation and knew how to play it out. But they still had plans and dreams of success and such an opportunity was given to them by the son’s, Ki-woo, friend, Min. Bestowing a lucky, special stone to the Kim family, Min also gave the son his job tutoring the daughter of a wealthy family. Thus, Ki-woo met the Parks who lived in a much grander street, in an automatic-gate-protected home. While the Kims crouched and fit themselves underground, the Parks enjoyed the vast, manicured space above-ground. And this meeting was the beginning of the story between the two households.
I am utterly fascinated by this film. It was a thrilling, entertaining black comedy and a scathing satire about the class struggle and inequality. I love how films reflect the social issues of the country it came from. And with Parasite, Bong Joon-ho did all that and more.
Bong deftly directed the movie based on a script he co-wrote, while Hong Kyung-pyo, who was his partner with Mother (2009) and Snowpiercer (2013), shot the cinematography. The film is ripe with visual metaphors and allegories that one cannot simply watch this once. I'm sure upon second and third viewing, some hidden details would reveal itself. Lights played a significant role in Parasite, as it did with his previous works (remember that pitch-black scene in Snowpiercer? Yeah, I have never forgotten that) but the light thing stuck out with me because it became a confirmation of just how naïve the Park family was (see: seemingly flickering and motion-sensitive light bulbs as deceptive Morse code). It’s absolutely one of my favorite details, and along that list was the “ram-don”.
Having had their camping day ruined by the heavy rain, the Parks decided to go home instead and called the housekeeper to prepare ram-don with sirloin meat. The housekeeper did not have any idea what a ram-don was. Turned out, it was a combination of two instant Ramen and Udon noodles. What mesmerized me with this sequence was the decision to put sirloin meat in the instant noodles. It was one of the most hilarious and filthy rich scenes I have ever seen. It was pure genius.
Now, the cast. Both families embodied their roles fully and embraced every idiosyncrasy that not only defined their characters, but widened the already gaping gap between them. The scene that’s the most prime example of what I’m talking about was the “Mr. Kim’s smell” sequence. Husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Park were sleepily talking on the living room couch, keeping an eye on their young son who decided to camp in their yard. Mr. Park made a comment that it smelled like Mr. Kim, their new driver, and it should be because the driver was hiding under the coffee table by the couch. Confused as always, Mrs. Park asked to describe him what the smell was. “An old man smell?” asked her. “Like an old radish? No. You know when you boil a rag? It smells like that,” Mr. Park commented. And these comments were heard by Mr. Kim and these became the time-bomb that ultimately exploded during the gruesome denouement.
What started out as a humorous scam, ended up being a heart-wrenching reality check. It began when the Kim family returned to their home and found it flooded by the storm. And was concluded with the letters father and son shared. The scenes shed the satire and finished the film with the actual reality that people like the Kim family lives in. But minutes before that closing was the sequence where the pristine orderliness of the Parks’ lives and homes collided with the chaos of the people living in basements. It was horrific and bloody and absolutely cathartic. As of this writing, I believe that many would deem it as one of the greatest scenes of all time.
Superbly acted and directed, Parasite (2019) works so well as a family drama, as well a social commentary about the Korean elites and the people they barely had the opportunity to meet, much less interact with. It is deserving of all the accolades it garnered so far. With the movie being South Korea’s official entry to the Best Foreign Language category for the 92nd Academy Awards, I’m sure that Palme d’Or is not the only prestigious award this film will get.
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