'Parasite' Review
BY SYDNEY SALK
Parasite (2019) is a film best watched cold. The more you know going in, the less you get out of the experience. If you must scour the internet for information before you go, keep it minimal. Watch the trailer, which is just vague enough to give you a notion of the film’s tone without revealing the plot. Know that it was created by Korean auteur Bong Joon-Ho, who has amassed a cult following after the success of his past two English-language films, Snowpiercer (2013) and Okja (2017). Know that it won the coveted Palme D’or at the Cannes Film Festival, which is the highest award in the global film industry. Know that it has made over $70 million in the South Korean box office, certifying what would usually be a sparsely-attended indie film as a blockbuster. Know that it has impressed casual movie-goers and elitist film critics alike. Don’t know much else. If you want to be genuinely surprised, I suggest you see the film before you read the rest of this review. If you have already seen it, don’t ever plan on seeing it, or love spoilers, read on.
Enter the Kim family. Huddled in their grimy basement apartment, they’re unemployed and out of luck with nothing to do but fold pizza boxes for cash. There’s the patriarch, Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho, phenomenal), a figure of sedentary laziness. There’s his enthusiastic wife, Chung-Sook (Jang Hye-jin), and his cynical daughter Ki-jung (Park So-dam). And then there’s his opportunistic son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-sik), who is offered a job opportunity that will change his life: tutor the daughter of a wealthy businessman and make a lot of money. There’s just one catch, he needs to lie about his credentials. Just one little white lie; what could go wrong?
Enter the Park family. They are living out a dream of unparalleled wealth. Lush greenery, modernist architecture, a fridge full of Voss water. Their stiffly posed family portrait hangs on the wall. There’s the imposing patriarch, the clueless wife, the neglected daughter, and the uncontrollable son. They have a housekeeper, a driver, and three tiny dogs (the true stars of the film). Unbeknownst to them, there are secrets hiding below their beautifully designed home. They’ve just hired a new tutor who came highly recommended to them. Everything about their lives is perfect; what could go wrong?
Both the critical and audience acclaim for Parasite is undeniable; from the camera-work to the performances to even the choice architecture, there is hardly an aspect of this film that isn’t perfectly crafted. Every shot is gorgeous and every twist leaves the audience genuinely shocked. Even the social commentary on class relations is both timeless and fresh when most other film’s attempts at messaging feel forced. Parasite is dramatic, thrilling, terrifying, and surprisingly comedic. If one were to classify it as just a “thriller” they would be doing it an injustice. This breach of genre norms, more common in films that come from outside of the U.S. market, allows Parasite to break new territory by testing our preconceived notions. Whenever you start to think the film is going somewhere, it takes a left turn so sharp that you can do nothing but gasp. These states of shock take various forms. There’s the wide-open smile that comes from seeing the Kim family’s plan come together perfectly and the jaw-dropping terror that comes from the fast-paced bloodshed of the birthday party. I swear my mouth has never done such intense aerobics. Beyond technical aspects and genre conventions, it is the experiential aspect of the film that has allowed it to astound so many, bringing emotion back into movie-watching.
The foreign-language film’s place at the Oscars has never been an easily-accepted one. Usually, they are set aside in their own category where only a few watch them and even less care about them. Roma changed that for contemporary audiences. Its Netflix release made it accessible to an American audience, enough so that it was a frontrunner not only for the foreign-language category but also for Best Film. It won the former, beating the Palme D’Or winner of the year, Shoplifters, as well as two others, but it lost out on the big award to the controversial Green Book. It was considered a disappointment for cinephiles everywhere. Parasite might be able to avenge Roma as the next big foreign-language film with Best Picture potential. It may not have the Netflix release but it does have the buzz. Experts are already claiming it to be a potential frontrunner due to its acclaim. It’s the perfect type of film to win an Oscar as well, sitting between high art and lowbrow entertainment. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bong Joon-Ho got a Best Director or Best Screenplay nod in there as well. There’s just one question, is the Academy ready for a foreign-language film to be America’s favorite?