Parasite (2019, R)

Managed to get in just under the wire on this one, four days before the Oscars. It’s the last one I’m expecting to be able to see before the ceremony, and since it’s been at the top of my to-watch list ever since the nominations came out, I’m glad I was able to work it out (premise spoilers.)

The poor but ambitious Kim family is prepared to do anything to turn their fortunes around, and when an opportunity comes, they grab at it with both hands. The son, Ki-woo, gets a hook-up from a friend to take over tutoring for the daughter of the wealth Park family when his friend gives up the job to study abroad. The Kims quickly scheme to find ways for the rest of the family to con their way into other well-paying jobs in the Parks’ household, going to incredible lengths to get their step up in the world.

Really great movie. Having seen it, I now agree that classifying the film as horror or a thriller seems off the mark. There are definitely disturbing moments and scenes of high suspense, and using those kinds of beats as a means of dramatizing social commentary may be reminiscent of films like Get Out, but really, this is more of an intensely-dark comedy with tinges of psychological/social thriller thrown in. It’s hard to describe what it is and what it does in simple labels, but it undeniably does its thing fantastically well.

I love watching the machinations of the Kim family, lying and cheating to make it off the bottom rung of the ladder. All of them are unscrupulous and self-serving (and, it needs to be said, desperate,) looking out for themselves at the expense of others, and yet they’re also so smart and enterprising about it that you can’t help rooting for them to pull it off without getting caught. Meanwhile, the Parks aren’t bad, but they’re fairly oblivious. They reap the benefits of their wealth seemingly unaware that that hold other people’s livelihoods in their hands.

The messages about class and income inequality resonate strongly in a variety of ways. There’s of course of visual dichotymy of the Kims’ dirty, cramped semi-basement apartment contrasted against the Parks’ gorgeous, expansive home designed by a renowned architect. There are lines like, “It’s not, ‘She’s rich, but she’s nice.’ It’s, ‘She’s nice because she’s rich.’ If I was that rich, I could be nice too!’” and recurring dialogue about the “smell” of poverty. It’s a film where every aspect of every moment feels planned out, arranged for maximum effect.

The whole cast shines. My favorites include Park So-dam as the Kims’ conniving daughter Ki-jung, Cho Yeo-jeung as the naïve Mrs. Park, and Song Kang-ho as the beaten-down-but-not-beaten Mr. Kim. Really, though, everyone is so good and gives you this crystal-clear window into what their characters are about.

Six Oscar nominations feels like too few for this movie, even though it’s up for some major ones. It’s nominted for Best Picture, Direction and Original Screenplay (both recognizing Bong Joon Ho,) Foreign Film, Production Design (so good!), and Editing. The lack of any acting nominations feels particularly egregious, and I would’ve liked to see its cinematography recognized as well.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements, violence, sexual content, language, drinking/smoking, drug references, disturbing images, and gross-out scenes.