{From Oxford Dictionary, parasite is 'an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense'.}
I have not watched the rest of the 2020 Oscar best film nominees so my review of the movie is just solely based on the parasite movie alone.
When I first heard that 'Parasite' won the award for the Best Film, I was intrigued. I mean I have never heard of any foreign language film take home the title of 'Best Picture'! So it was with great expectations that I went to watch the film.
The question now is whether the film actually lived up to the expectations and hype it has generated.
Well let's see...
Will it give people something to think about and hopefully discuss.
Definitely!
And to me, a great movie should do this while making the watch enjoyable. And Parasite was undoubtedly an enjoyable watch, especially in the second half. Parts of the first half felt like it could have been sped up but it more than made up for it in the later parts.
Parasite provides an impressive social commentary of the divide between the rich and poor 'class'. For those who have no idea what the story is about because like me you prefer not to watch the trailer before the movie then let me provide a brief summary of it.
A poor family, the Kims, cunningly finds employment one member at a time in the rich Park family's household. It's here that differences between the lives of the two families starts coming to light. We notice how they might be sharing the same space/world but somehow there will always be that line that divides them. The line that the Kims 'should never cross', in the words of one of the characters.
The film chose to remain neutral throughout, never truly taking sides. Whether it's between the rich and poor or between characters, the movie's sole purpose was to tell a story. Opinions and judgments are for us, the audience, to make. You may or may not agree with the choices the characters make but the movie never helps you decide. It shows you the repercussions of those choices but doesn't nudge you to take any particular side.
At the end of the day, you may feel annoyed, dejected, disgusted, confused. But feel something you will.
Before I move on to other points that could serve as major spoilers, I wish to say that I absolutely love some of the shots in the film! Really makes me want to head back to Korea!
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| Still from the movie |
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| One of the creatively done shots |
Director Bong Joon Ho impressively frames the shots with much thought and details, creating a visually stunning movie. It's probably also one of the reasons why the movie moves along so smoothly and enjoyably.
And yes, seems like a lot of the shots I love are at night. Pardon the rather dark pictures.
Major Spoilers Up Ahead... Absolutely Do Not Read Beyond This Point If You Don't Wish To Be Spoilt!!!
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| Another shot I really liked but it's a little dark. Also I inserted this in as a safety space for people who don't want to be spoilt by the text following this... Run while you still can! |
It started on a rainy night. The night the Kims were taking full advantage of the absence of the Park family from their home, somewhere at the midway point in the movie. We hear a 'ding dong' that resonates throughout the house and within us, the audience.
That was a superb cue that signaled the start of some of the best portions in the film. It's from then the film actually took off for me.
Soon after, we are face with the biggest twist in the movie - Moon-gwang's secret. The secret that shockingly gave us the full extent of the 'parasites' within the Park household! Not just one but two families of them.
To make the following discussion flow better, I have represented the characters in the three families as below. After all it took awhile for me to keep track of all the Korean names...
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| Blue and Orange ovals represents Male and Female characters respectively. The poor couple consist of the ex-housekeeper, Moon-gwang and her husband, Guen-sae. |
Something that really disturbed me was the initial reaction of Chung-sook towards Moon-gwang and her husband, Geun-sae. That of disgust, which came swiftly.
Why the disdain one might question. If Chung-sook could feel that way about a fellow poor human being, then is Dong-ik's disdain of the poor, more specifically their smell, truly deserving of Ki-taek's anger in the end, when in a fit of rage he stabbed Dong-ik leading to his demise.
Right there, in the basement, is the moment when the two poor families could have found common grounds and solidarity with each other and together carry on exploiting the Parks' ignorance of the 'parasites' within their home. A lot of unnecessary violence could have been avoided if they had reached some sort of agreement then itself.
Instead what ensues is a struggle for dominance in order to lay claim their parasitic rights over the Parks household, that later led to very dire consequences for every character.
I believe Director Bong Joon Ho mentioned the Papin sisters' case was one of the inspiration for this film but let's examine if they are truly similar in context? In the sisters' case, their work conditions were truly dismal - long hours and low wages, employers treating them badly, etc. But here I don't see any evidence of that.
In fact, one could easily point out that the Parks were truly the victims from start to end. Da-song's childhood convulsions/seizures and continual fear of ghost was caused by one of the 'parasites'. Dong-ik ended up losing his life which left Yeon-kyo a widow and the kids, Da-hye and Da-song, fatherless.
And for me, it was difficult right from the beginning to empathize with the Kim family knowing that they not just conned their way into the Park's household but also caused two people to get fired in order to usurp those jobs for themselves. Their greed truly know no bounds.
Perhaps some might be of the opinion that I should get off my moral high horse and look at it from their perspective. In this dog eat dog world, one must do what one can to survive.
True...
But does that mean we leave our humanity out of it? And were the Kims really in such desperate need for money? I believe Moon-gwang and her husband were but they at least seem to be the lesser of the 'parasites'. What the Kims were afflicted with was greed and chose instead to take short cuts in life.
Let us also examine it another way.
Is there a guarantee that if the Kim family should experience a sudden windfall that they will treat their poorer employees better, should they be able to afford one?
There is some hope that might happen when we see Ki-jung wanting to bring food down to the couple locked in the basement or Ki-woo bringing the rock down to extend a hand of friendship to reach a mutual understanding to co-exist together in the Parks household (if we assume that to be his motive for bringing the rock to the basement).
As Chung-sook said at one point, 'They (the Parks) are nice because they are rich'. A great observation to be sure. But are they good? That's the more important question. It's easy to be nice when you are not faced with the daily burden of struggling to put food on the table.
I guess that's the crux of the issue. Is it enough to be nice? Can they be good too? Will they be willing to contribute more to help society especially when they have the means to do so.
Or will they just spend their time frivolously organizing garden parties while others elsewhere are trying to sort their lives and find a place to live because a flood has destroyed their homes and belongings the night before.
In a world where income/wealth inequality is at its highest, this movie couldn't have come at a more opportune time. The portrayal of the class divide between the rich and poor will speak to many on a personal level. For me, it is something that I have often thought about.
Ultimately though one is left feeling slightly hopeless and dejected by the end of the movie about this whole social strata. What then is the solution?
The film doesn't provide one. It is not that kind of film after all. But it does force one to think deeply about the issue and if nothing else, that is exactly what we need of society today. To not remain blind at the plight of others.
Meanwhile, most of the world will just carry on. With their hustling through life.
**Did this movie provoke you to think? What are your thoughts on the situation portrayed in the film?
If you are interested in dabbling more into foreign language films, I highly recommend watching One Cut of the Dead. A slightly different genre from parasite.
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