Notable Mentions: Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won's Genius, Le Jung-eun as the Housekeeper, Park Myung-hoon as the Housekeeper's Husband
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Simply genius through and through. Parasite is a thoughtfully crafted masterpiece packed with literary devices and foremost a message about the economic inequality in South Korea all while done in a comedic and entertaining manner.
There are many aspects of the film that I love. Below are a couple of the highlights.
1) "Parasite", the film's title. With a single word, "Parasite" perfectly summarizes the film without spoiling any of its juicy bits. The film's title brilliantly gives everything and nothing away.
2) Set design. First, the Park family house and the bunker. The bunker where the housekeeper hides her debt ridden husband is located beneath the Park family house. In the basement, behind one of the shelves is a long, windy staircase. The bunker is located at the bottom of the staircase. The bunker is long and narrow, like a worm. The bunker itself also represents a parasite. The staircase represents a tether that attaches the parasite to its host, the Park family house above. The Park family house keeps a roof over the bunker and supplies its inhabitant, the housekeeper's husband, with resources to live.
3) Second, location of the Park family house vs. location of the Kim family house. Toward the beginning of the film, Kevin was seen walking up a hill on his way to the Park family house. The Park family house is located on a hill, whereas it was revealed during the first scene of the movie that the Kim family lives in a semi basement apartment unit. The difference in elevation between the two homes was further accentuated during the rainstorm scene. After escaping the Park family house, the Kim family ran down many hills and stairs to return to their home. Bong Joon-ho dedicated approximately three minutes of screen time following the Kim family's escape to the trio running downgrade to emphasize that difference in elevation. The difference in elevation between the two homes represents the economic disparity between the rich and the poor in South Korea. How the economic disparity affects the two groups was demonstrated by the aftermath of the rainstorm. The rich Park family woke up the next morning completely unscarred, while the Kim family's basement home was flooded and damaged. The Kim family resorted to take shelter at a local gymnasium for the night.
4) The poor fighting the poor. When the Kim family Mom discovered the bunker and that the housekeeper had been hiding her husband in the bunker for years, the Mom threatened to call the police. The housekeeper, on her knees, begged the Mom to not expose her and her husband, saying, us needy should look out for each other. The Mom harshly rejected the plea. I'm not needy, the Mom exclaimed. A minute later, during the same scene, the housekeeper unraveled that the Kim family are frauds and counter-threatened to expose the Kim family to the Park family. The table had turned. The Mom is now begging the housekeeper to keep the Kim family scheme a secret. The housekeeper, now holds the power, sternly said no. Then, there is also that physical fight scene that followed in the living room. The lack of sympathy the two low class families have for each other felt too real. While the poor are tearing each other down, the riches are going about their lives unbothered. The fight scenes between the two families gave the same energy/ reminded me of low and middle class folks that get mad at laws that raise minimum wages, in other words, minimum wage earners making a little more money, a livable income, while silent towards those at the top of the money pyramid, who are hoarding the bulk of the wealth pie and influencing finance laws to make themselves even richer.
5) The rich does not care about the poor. First, the Kim family daughter, Jessica, was stabbed by the housekeeper's husband. The Park family son, Da-song, witnessed the attack and fainted. The Kim family Dad, Mr. Kim, and the Park family Dad, Nathan, rushed to their respective child's side. Mr. Kim knelt by Jessica, putting one hand on her wound to keep pressure. Blood was gushing. The Kim family Mom, Chung-sook, charged into the scene and is now fighting the housekeeper's husband. Nathan picked up his unconscious son and ran toward the Park family Mom, Madame. Upon reaching Madame, Nathan turned around and yelled at Mr. Kim, get the car. While Nathan doesn't know that Jessica is Mr. Kim's daughter, regardless, there is another human lying on the ground, stabbed and losing blood quickly. Jessica was in critical condition. Nathan's son, on the other hand, merely fainted from shock. Nathan and Madame's expectation was for Mr. Kim to leave Jessica, get the car and drive the Park family to the hospital. This scene exemplifies the rich's lack of consideration for others, especially the poor.
