Faith’s Findings // ‘Parasite’

Hey friends,

This edition is going to be my first-ever movie review. As you can probably guess, my discovery of the week is a movie titled “Parasite” directed by Bong Joon Ho. I am not a huge movie fanatic, so I was hesitant to give this movie a watch since I had only heard about how cinematic and layered the film was. It seemed like one of those movies that every film major says “you just have to watch,” but in actuality, it’s hard to appreciate unless you have that artistic eye for things like scene directing, style and picture.

Yet, I’ve been trying to push myself to try new things recently, even if that new thing is just a movie on my laptop. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. You do not have to be a film major to appreciate this work of art. This is genuinely the first movie I’ve watched that so blatantly explores themes of class, society and money, simultaneously portraying those issues in multiple different genres. The amount of interwoven messages throughout the complex plot seems like too much to tackle with just one movie. But the end product is truly a masterpiece and portrays each theme with an immense amount of detail.

Before I dive into the specifics and what I liked the most about it, I wanted to give you all some background and history. “Parasite” was the first film in South Korea to receive Academy Award nominations. This 2019 film actually Best Director and Best Original Screenplay and became the first foreign film to win Best Picture. The cast includes Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong and Choi Woo-shik, who may not mean much to Americans but are well known in South Korea. 

“Parasite,” contrary to the name, is not about an infectious organism, but rather a poor family, the Kims, who find their own clever way of escaping poverty. The source of conflict centers on the means in which they go about this journey to wealth, mainly because they start to capitalize and scam an extremely rich family in unethical ways. It all started when the eldest Kim son, Ki-woo, came up with the original plan to infiltrate a wealthy family they distantly knew. His friend told him how this wealthy family needed a new tutor for their daughter, a role Ki-woo was willing to falsify credentials to obtain. 

As the story moves on, it seems to first act as a comedy. The wealthy family, the Parks, are portrayed as slightly air-headed and carefree, a direct contrast to the Kims who quite literally are just scraping by and maximizing all their efforts to afford basic necessities like food and shelter. But Ki-woo’s plan works almost too well. He accepts the tutor job with ease, lying about his experience and home life. The Parks express that they need a psychologist for their son, and with some slight persuasion, the Kims send their daughter, lying like Ki-woo. The plan snowballs after this, as a simple fib to receive a well-paying job turns into deliberate sabotage and infiltration into the rest of the Parks’ staff. 

Through questionable efforts, the Kims manage to get every worker at the Parks fired, replacing each job with a member of their own family. As comedic aspects start to become few and far between, the film slowly turns into a horror and thriller. I don’t want to reveal everything, so I’m only going to highlight certain parts so you all can watch it yourself. The Kims find themselves going to such extreme lengths to keep up their lie that the line between unethical behavior and blatantly committing crimes becomes blurred. The family struggles with not only making tough decisions between themselves but toils with how far their greed will take them. To what lengths will they travel just to keep their source of income?

I think the reason this film fascinated me so much is because I quite literally never knew what was going to happen next. Deciding to watch it with no context or idea of its genre was the right decision. I’m usually not a fan of horror or thrillers, but the way it’s executed in “Parasite” is creative enough to change my opinion. It honestly was only scary because I see this situation as relatively realistic — in today’s world where everything seems to be centered around money and wealth, it could definitely happen. 

The contrast of scenes, character framing, wardrobe and lighting contributed to the message of class and wealth. The Parks, adorned in expensive, often light-colored clothing and jewelry, were often framed in their mansion during the daytime. Soft violin and classical music plays in the background of these scenes, showing the comfortable life of the wealthy. Meanwhile, the Kims, often pictured in their rickety house at nighttime, wear dark, old clothing. Many scenes of turmoil were paired with bad weather. These subtle hints do not explicitly say that wealth is the only way to make it in society, but every sign reaffirms that message. 

Although I am trying to leave the ending somewhat of a mystery, I will say that the family’s plan does not succeed. They never actually escape their poverty — the audience sees that their complex plan and everything they risked in the end was for nothing. 

This truly creative piece of art is weird in the best way possible. It redefines the entire purpose of a film and what it should be. The messages are clear and unique, enabling it to stand out from the rest.

If you are interested in watching a film that makes you think, I couldn’t recommend “Parasite” more. It honestly inspired me to watch more of the movies I currently have on a list in my notes app. So, this week’s discovery gave me more of an appreciation for the art of film. I loved how it tackled extremely relevant social issues in a funny, exciting and clever way. Until next time, go watch a movie.