A family who doesn’t have a lot of money or opportunities in life, starts working for a wealthy family. But will this change the life of the poor family?
Parasite is directed by one of the best directors in the world, Bong Joon Ho (Memories of Murder, The Host). We know that he always delivers the goods, and I always look forward to seeing if he can surpass his great masterpiece, which is Memories of Murder.
In the movie, we follow the Kim family who doesn’t have much money. By chance, the son in the family starts working for the wealthy Park family. He teaches their daughter English.
Now the rest of the family sees opportunities to make money, and they have a plan to remove the rest of the staff who work for the wealthy Park family and then take the jobs themselves.
As usual, Bong Joon Ho addresses deeper themes, but he always manages to create entertainment and some surprising scenes that bring out the smile. The movie is mostly charming until the Kim family discovers the big secret of the house.
Then the movie starts to get darker, and it explodes into a wonderful finale where we see and understand the message of the movie. The title of the movie turns things on its head. Because what I thought to be quite obvious at the beginning of the movie is turned upside down and I got an aha experience. Parasites are found in all classes of society.
The cinematography is, of course, world-class. Bong Joon Ho never disappoints with the esthetics. There are so many beautiful scenes in the movie, and it’s pretty well done considering that most of the action takes place inside the big house and the not so big garden.
My favorite sequence is when the Kim family has to run home when the rain is pouring down, and you feel like they’re on board the Titanic. They must run from the top and down to the engine room. What a wonderful sequence, and it’s so beautiful to watch!
Parasite is a very good movie, but it’s not my favorite movie by Bong Joon Ho. The rewatch value isn’t as high as in movies like Memories of Murder and The Host.
Now I just hope Bong Joon Ho can make a pure horror movie. He can make movies in most genres, so it would have been interesting to see what he can do if he tries to make a pure horror movie.