There is a scene in Joon-ho Bong’s new film Parasite that speaks so loudly that it will leave you looking at the world in a different way all together. The scene involves a heavy rain storm and its aftermath, which attempts to prove you may in fact be the product of your situation. That is what is at the heart of Parasite, a look at class unlike I have ever seen on film that shapes your view of the world by giving a perspective that may not be your own.
Kim Ki-woo (Woo-sik Choi) and his family live a life where they are doing all they can to make ends meet. When a friend of his presents an opportunity to take over as an English Tutor for a well off family he takes the chance. Once there he sees a way to get his sister Kim Ki-jung (So-dam-Park) in as well, as he presents her as an art teacher for the family to employee for their other child. Seeing how the wife, Mrs. Park pick’s the people she hires by relying solely on recommendations from people she has already employed, Kim and Ki-jung set in motion to get both of their parents hired as well. Kim Ki-taek (Kang ho-Song) and their mother Choong-sook (Hye-jin-Jang), become the driver and the housekeeper respectively. Things seems to have worked out perfectly, as they are all employed, but everything takes a turn when the family is all out of town and they are at the house when the old housekeeper returns for something she left behind. Soon things are set in motion, and the uncovering of their ruse will change them all forever.
There are not many better filmmakers than Joon-ho-Bong (Okja) and he just delivered his masterpiece so far. Parasite is so many things, it’s a drama, a comedy, but most of all it’s a report on where we are in our current society, as the gap between the upper class and the lower class widens every year. The thing is it doesn’t hit you over the head with that message, but uses just a scene to explain it to you, as just the way the world is viewed after a disaster says so much about where the characters are in their life.
Joon-ho- Bong doesn’t just tell you though, he shows you as well as everyone’s view of the bottom can be so different because of where you come from. This is a perfect movie and the places it takes you, will depend entirely on your state of mind, which is what a good piece of art should do, it should speak to everyone differently. I hope anyone who can see this film, will, because even if it opens only a few eyes and ears, what it’s trying to show you and say is worth seeing and hearing.
