All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Parasite leeches onto societal dissociation to create a thrillingly hilarious satire on capitalism. “Rich people are naive. No resentments. No creases on them.”. “It all gets ironed out. Money is an iron. Those creases all get smoothed out by money.”. The Kim family, residing in the secluded darkness of a semi-underground basement apartment, acquire limited income. Jaggedly folding pizza boxes for an independent takeaway chain, with the already low-paying income reduced as a consequence of poor workmanship. They, much like the bottom-feeders of South Korea’s working class division, struggle to survive. Consuming rotting food. Hijacking neighbouring paid Wi-Fi services. Residing in potentially diseased sub-urban streets. Ultimately aspiring to achieve the lofty heights of upper-class formalities. Conceptualising the popularised term “Hell Joseon”, a critique on the current socioeconomic declining trajectory of South Korea. As the Kims tucked into their minimised dinner, son Ki-woo’s university friend gifts the family a scholar’s rock. Traditionally granting the bearer a promise of wealth. Swiftly after, he offers a proposition to Ki-woo. To continue his vocation as an English tutor for the elegant daughter of a wealthy family, the Parks. Ki-woo ponders, fabricating a plan that would seize this opportunity for beneficial gain. A chance to relish in the opposing scale of unequalised capitalism. After a successful lesson, Ki-woo insists his awareness for an art therapy teacher at the behest of the gullible Choi Yeon-gyo for her son. Ki-woo, unbeknown to the Parks, invites his sister Ki-jung to provide these lessons. Gradually, the Kim family, one-by-one, assimilate themselves into the lives of the Park family, pretending to be unrelated. The poor draining the wealth and opportunism from the rich.
Before tackling this critically lauded feature, which has now grown to be one of the highest-rated productions of all-time in such an inconsequential amount of time, the black humour of director Joon-ho’s filmography acted as preparation for what was to be expected. Providing critiques on sociopolitical endeavours that overburden an OECD nation. Predictably, yet efficiently, Joon-ho’s darkly comedic satire on class conflict manages to succinctly tackle the enragement of allocated resources that supplies social inequality and wealth disparity through the microcosmic insight of two opposing families. Not just in prosperity or affluence, but in temperament. A reflection of late-stage capitalism where the enticingly inviting wealthy superfluously ignore the difficulties of life for the remaining population. Youth unemployment at the expense of extortionate higher education fees. Affordability for shelter and essential food items rapidly dissipating along with the lower class. The Kims perpetuate these foreboding crises, utilising fraudulent and forgery crimes to attain the standard of living that many aspire to achieve. Yet, beneath the sharply hilarious foundations of Joon-ho’s screenplay, which confidently satirises the naivety and credulity of opulence whilst embedding thought-provoking themes of affirmative contemplation and economic disassociation, is a visceral vision of palpable colonialism.
The Parks original housekeeper Gook Moon-gwang imitating North Korea’s dictatorial leader, whom openly yearns to invade South Korea, mimicking the voice and mannerisms of a propagandist news reporter. Before engaging in a fight with the Kims for social dominance, a microcosm for the poor fighting the poor. The Parks’ son, Da-song, frolicking in the freshly sprinkled garden in an “Indian” outfit, memorialising colonial occupation. Whilst these are included as surface-level replications, the contextual substance beneath these depictions hark back to the economic order of capitalism. The poor decline, and the rich rise. The latter viewing the former as parasitical microbes feeding off of their principled success. Staircases acting as prominent motifs to accentuate economic disparity, with Kyung-pyo’s clinically precise cinematography emphasising their thematic purpose through extensive shots from banished basements and luxurious lounges.
Coincidentally, Joon-ho intelligently avoids assigning protagonists, rather viewing the perspectives of both social classes as unethical divisions of society, with the “upstairs/downstairs” ideology implying this viewpoint. Each cast member supplying bountiful amounts of energy and deliverance in depicting the social divide. Kang-ho and Yeo-jeong especially, with their eccentric portrayals of two parents from each end of the divide. The onscreen chemistry between Woo-shik and So-dam also enhanced the close familial bonds within the Kim family, working as a crime syndicate rather than individuals.
Every technicality and thematic endeavour was on course for perfection. From Jae-il’s orchestral score to Jin-mo’s precise editing. All Joon-ho had to do, to truly finish with finesse, was solidify a resonant conclusion. For a moment, with Ki-taek rampantly abandoning Da-song’s birthday party, he did. Fade to black. A statement on everything that was depicted previously was conceptualised in these final moments. Perfection! Alas, the feature resumed, and it kept going. The aftermath of the party, narration included, and the proceeding weeks unfortunately quelled the outstanding momentum that preceded the lavishly wrapped conclusion. In spite of the proposed incalculable unlikelihood of the climactic fantasy scenario, heavily inferring the inescapable boundaries of the proposed “coup de grace” for a particular individual, it was too immaculate. Heavy-handedly providing implications in a film that astoundingly dealt with nuanced subtextual thematic representations.
However, despite the agitated reservations for Joon-ho’s embellished ending, Parasite is a dramatic journey that is boundless in scope. Seamlessly blending genres through prosperous performances and luxurious direction, Joon-ho fully realises the dual meaning behind the feature’s title through sheer confidence. The poor infiltrating the wealthy, and the rich leeching off of the working-class’ labour. Society is self-parasitical. No grand life plan will change that. “You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all”.
