Never Retallack  | Entertainment Editor

It’s hard to really capture the brilliance of the 2019 South Korean film, “Parasite” within one article, with the cleverly constructed dialogue written and directed by Bong Joon Ho, as well as the striking filmography and acting.

The plot follows the impoverished family of dad Kim Ki-taek, his wife Chung-sook, son Ki-woo, and daughter Ki-jeong living in a small semi-basement apartment where they struggle to make ends meet.

Ki-woo has a friend Min-hyuk who is leaving his tutoring job with a wealthy family to study abroad, and asks Ki-woo to take over for him. While he is not in a university and has no classical training, he gets the job by lying.

This is the start of the journey as the Kim clan infiltrates the influential Park family slowly, with an almost eerie precision. The stark contrast between how the Kim family lives versus the Park family calls into question issues of class in a satirical way. 

While the film feels generally unnerving, it takes a complete 180 to shock audience members and become completely unsettling and disturbing. The harmless and functioning relationship between the Park and Kim family becomes strained as judgment and ignorance pierces through.

The film does an exceptional job in showing the ways that those who are impoverished are treated poorly in subtle ways, and the effect that it has on them is greater than many would assume. The film also calls to question how money influences the way people behave and addressing the advantages it gives the wealthy.

After the film ended, I sat there wondering how realistic a plot like this would be in real life, the dramatic and violent turn it took was so shocking, but with the strain of poverty, wealth and social interactions it is a haunting tale of what people can be pushed to do.

Overall Rating: “Parasite” is now one of my favorite films I have ever seen, it was well-crafted, intelligent and kept me on the edge of my seat. Joon Ho takes current issues of socioeconomic class and put together an entertaining and shocking masterpiece. I highly recommend this film to anyone in need of watching something new with an exciting twist.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu