Parasite

 

Ever since Parasite was awarded the Palme D’or back in May 2019, it had become the film to see. Rave reviews, excited buzz and Oscar nominations led to Parasite become the first ever film not in the English language to win the Best Picture. Even before this historical moment, the screening I went to was packed, save for the first few rows, and the audience gasped at the right moments, laughed at the right moments and seemed to be genuinely into the film with one remarking “that was intense”. I, obviously, don’t know how often the patrons attend screenings of foreign movies, but Parasite’s incredible victory may inspire them and others to see other foreign films if the likes of Vue and Odeon show them outside London.

It’s probably best to go into Parasite knowing as little as possible but it’s relatively harmless to know it’s about a poor family infiltrating a rich family. Like some of Bong Joon Ho’s previous work (like Snowpeicer and Okja) Parasite is a film about social structure, class and poverty. The train carriages in Snowpeicer (Joon Ho’s first English language film) represent social classes and divisions within society with the residents at the back of the train having to fight their way to the front. Whilst Ojka and Snowpeicer has exaggerated depiction of the wealthest class, Parasite is far more ambiguous and layered in its depiction.

It’s ambiguity stems from asking the question “who is the parasite?” Is it the poor family who have infiltrated their way into the nice, decadent home of the rich family or is it the rich family that live off the backs of the hardworking lower classes who do everything in the house? It’s a open question, but Joon Ho does lean to one side and he does a remarkable job at making the viewer empathise with the Kim family even though their selfish actions cost the livelihoods of innocent people caught in the crossfire.

Whatever you make of their actions it’s undoubtedly a scathing satire of the Korean class system and the barely concealed contempt among these classes. The wealthy Park family often remark on the distinctive working class smell and perhaps their ‘crossing the line’ comments refer to any working class person breaking the glass ceiling. The cinematography completely captures the stark contrast between decadence and beauty of wealth and ugliness and grimness of poverty.

Brilliantly acted (particularly by Kim So Dam and everyman actor Song Kang-ho), sharpish funny and tightly plotted, Parasite is superb, thematically rich, throught-provoking film