During the 2020 award season, classicism seems to have become a new favourite genre and Parasite is one of the best films to talk about it. The film directed by Bong Joon-ho, which stars Kang Ho-Song (The Host, Snowpiercer) as Ki-taek has been in talks ever since it’s Cannes premier last year. Much like a parasite itself; it is an infiltrating and bewitching nightmare which threatens to assume a livid reality. The dark comedic take upon capitalistic sentiments with thrilling sense of mystery is beyond sensational.
The film becomes a site of collision between the rich, the poor and the poorer
The film becomes a site of collision between the rich, the poor and the poorer; where the circumstances lead to evil rather than people. On physical terms, the landscape involved in the narrative with flooded never-ending stairs, semi basements, a house out of Architectural Digest, the quiet uphill neighbourhood all become characters in themselves. Especially the house of the Park family which reveals its hidden secrets much like the personality of the characters. This is world of uncertainty and inevitability where “no plan” is the best plan because nothing and no one is as they seem.
Living in a semi-basement apartment where the Kim family is scarcely getting by, Ki-woo is visited by Min-huyk one day, who is moving abroad for his studies. He asks Ki-woo to take his place as an English tutor to Park family’s daughter Da-hye. Ki-woo then becomes Kevin and introduces his sister as Jessica to Yeon-kyo, who is looking for an art teacher for her son, Da-song. Soon after, Mr. Park’s driver is suspected of being a drug-using pervert and the housemaid, a patient of Tuberculosis. With everything working out as smoothly as “the money which irons the creases”, Da-song reveals that the new employees ‘smell’ the same.
The screenplay is elegant and clean, with brilliance unfolding in the cinematography and directorial style
The screenplay is elegant and clean, with brilliance unfolding in the cinematography and directorial style. From the design of the house to the movement of the characters and the camera, every frame adds a new set of meaning to the narrative. The satirical approach to a revolting socio-economic reality promises to make you laugh and sulk at once, but also gasp at the haunting genius of Bong Joon-ho.
Rating: 5/5