A new director, Bong Joon-ho, conquered Hollywood. I didn’t watch the entirety of his filmography, that, by the way, is very short. Although, I could write that his stories have always a hint of fairy-tale, or at least his latest movies. Like I said, I don’t know his work in its totality.
I started to watch Parasite with some prejudices about it. I was very reluctant, but it started winning awards, so I had to watch it and understand, what makes it a movie good enough to be nominated even at the Oscars for Best Picture.
I am going to be honest.
Watching it in Korean was an effort. I tend to avoid movies in languages I am not used to. Yes, I am ignoring a whole world of beautiful movies from Asia and Africa. Now that you know the ugly truth about me, let’s get back to the movie.
It starts with a poor family, the Kims, leaving in a basement. One day a friend of Ki-Woo, the older son, asks him to be replaced as English teacher in a rich family, the Parks. In order to be hired he “just” has to lie about his identity and his degree.
As a spectator, at this point in the movie, you are likely supporting Ki-Woo. He seems like a good guy, he got rejected from university several times, but he is well prepared, so he looks justified to tell a little lie to get a better life.
He is now the amable tutor in the Parks’ house, and he manages to get his sister hired as well as an art teacher for the youngest son, with another “little” lie. Still, they both seem very professional and they actually do the work they are paid for. Here the fairy-tale part kicks in, also because the family got a present from Ki-Woo’s friend: a rock that brings luck and prosperity.
So in my mind I was like “Oh, ok. They got a magic rock, they are going to reach their goals in life, go to university, have a bigger house and not live in a basement…”.
The Kim family gets blinded by their greed.
They start to infest the rich family, like the parasites they hated much in their basement. They are the stinky insects invading Parks’ property and minds. The problem is… they are not the only ones.
The symbolism in the movie is so strong that becomes the essence of the movie. I loved the street that the Kim family followed to climb inside the Parks’ house. The strongest metaphor is, when the Kims have to run away to not be discovered: they become scared insects, sneaking down the streets to hide in their dirty nest.
They are so eager to live.
They get attacked, they bleed, but they still walk and move obsessively like smashed cockroaches.
None of the characters are good. Every single one is an antagonist driven by his own egoistic interests. The Kims become violent against the other “parasites”, they are missing any form of empathy. Only when the enemies get defeated in the Parks’ basement, in their “nest”, compassion seems to awake again. However, the fine balance is cracked; the parasites have to get back to their place.
Alessia Sorbo
2020-01-24