Overview of Parasite

‘Parasite’ is a South Korean dark comedy thriller directed by Bong Joon-ho which tells the story of the Kim family, living in poverty, who secure jobs with the wealthy Park family. The discovery of a secret bunker in the Parks’ basement leads to a violent confrontation ensues, changing their lives forever.

The film has garnered numerous accolades and recognition, including being awarded two world records and four Oscars. Its critical acclaim has made it a significant milestone in the history of South Korean cinema, marking a significant breakthrough in the international film industry.

Profile

• Movie: Parasite
• Genre: Thriller
• Director: Bong Joon-ho
• Writer: Bong Joon-ho,, Han Jin-won
• Producer: Bong Joon-ho
• Cinematographer: Hong Kyung-Pyo
• World Premiere: May 21, 2019 (Cannes Film Festival)
• Release Date: May 30, 2019
• Distributor: CJ Entertainment
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Cast

Kim Family:

• Song Kang-ho as Kim Ki-taek, the Kim family father who is hired as Park family’s driver.
• Choi Woo-shik as Kim Ki-woo/Kevin the Kims’ son who is hired as Da-hye’s (parks’ son) English tutor.
• Park So-dam as Kim Ki-jung/Jessica the Kims’ daughter who is hired as Da-song’s(parks’ daughter) art therapist.
• Jang Hye-jin as Chung-sook, the Kim family mother who is hired as the Parks’ housekeeper.

Park Family:

• Lee Sun-kyun as Park Dong-ik, the Park family father.
• Cho Yeo-jeong as Choi Yeon-gyo, the Park mother.
• Jung Ji-so as Park Da-hye, the Parks’ daughter.
• Jung Hyeon-jun as Park Da-song, the Parks’ son.

Others:

• Lee Jung-eun as Gook Moon-gwang, the Parks’ housekeeper.
• Park Myung-hoon as Oh Geun-sae, Moon-gwang’s husband

Plot

The movie shows the ‘Kim family’, a struggling South Korean family living in a poor neighbourhood in an unnamed city. The Kim family was having a hard time making ends meet by folding pizza boxes for a local restaurant when Min-hyuk, a wealthy friend of their son, Ki-woo, visited them. He offered to help Ki-woo get a tutoring job for the wealthy ‘Park family’.

Ki-woo then arrives at the grand mansion of the Parks under a fake name Kevin for his tutoring job. There he meets Mrs. Park, as well as Da-hye, their teenage daughter whom he will be tutoring, and her mischievous younger brother, Da-song. Recognizing an opportunity to secure a job for his artistically talented sister, Ki-jung, Ki-woo suggests to Mrs. Park that, he knows a perfect person named Jessica for tutoring their son. After Ki-jung impresses Mrs. Park as Jessica, with some fabricated insights on psychology, she is hired not only as a tutor but also as an art therapist for her son.

Ki-woo and Ki-jung manage to secure positions for their parents in the Park household as well. They get their father, Ki-taek, a job as Mr. Park’s driver by framing the previous driver with a pair of underwear in the car. Meanwhile, Ki-jung and Ki-woo trigger an allergic reaction in the housekeeper, Moon-gwang, by using peach fuzz, and make it look like she has tuberculosis. This allows their mother, Chung-sook, to take over as the new housekeeper.

On Da-song’s birthday, the Parks leave for a camping trip, and the Kim family takes advantage of their absence by moving into the luxurious house. However, their enjoyment is short-lived when the ex-house maid Moon-gwang unexpectedly shows up, claiming she left something in the house. The rest of the Kims hide while Chung-sook lets her in, and Moon-gwang reveals the hidden bunker in the basement that was built by the architect, which even the Parks are unaware of. In the bunker, Moon-gwang’s husband, Geun-sae, is hiding from loan sharks. Moon-gwang pleads to Chung-sook not to tell the Parks about the secret bunker, but Chung-sook threatens to expose it.

The Kims stumble down the bunker stairs together while eavesdropping, revealing their presence to Moon-gwang. She films them and threatens to expose their scheme to the Parks. A fight breaks out, and the Kims manage to trap Moon-gwang and her husband in the bunker. However, the Parks return early, and the Kims are forced to hide in the house. As Moon-gwang tries to come up the stairs and expose herself, Chung-sook kicks her, causing her to fall and suffer a fatal head injury, which then causes her death.

When Da-song insists on camping outside, Mr. and Mrs. Park keep watch over him from the couch. Ki-taek overhears Mr. Park commenting on his odor while hiding under the table. The Kims manage to escape but return home only to find their apartment flooded. At Da-song’s birthday party the following day, Ki-woo pays a visit to the basement and is viciously attacked by Geun-sae. After, Geun-sae emerges onto the lawn party, and stabs Ki-jung in the chest with a knife, causing chaos. As Da-song faints in fear, Mr. Park yells at Ki-taek to throw him the car keys. When Ki-taek throws the keys, they land under Geun-sae, who is fighting with Chung-sook.

Chung-sook stabs Geun-sae with a meat skewer, and Mr. Park grabs the keys from him. However, Mr. Park scowls at Geun-sae’s smell. This offends Ki-taek, who stabs Mr. Park in the chest, and then flees.

After several days, Ki-woo awakens in the hospital and discovers what has happened. Ki-woo visits the Parks’ former home, which has been sold to a wealthy German family. From a distance, he notices that the lights in the house are flashing in a pattern that he recognises as a morse code. He translates the message and realizes that it is coming from his father, who is still alive and hiding in the secret basement bunker. Ki-woo writes a letter in response, expressing his desire to buy the house and reunite his family.

Ending Explained

The ending of the movie ‘Parasite’ is bleak and realistic, highlighting the harsh reality that economic mobility is dead. In the ending scene, Ki-woo expresses his desire to buy the mansion to reunite his family, but the truth is that he will never be able to earn enough money to buy the house. The film depicts the Kims as a family that is not lazy but they can only come close to the wealth of the Parks through duplicity. In contrast, the Parks are wealthy but dependent on the lower class and do not care about anyone other than themselves.

The Kims’ socio-economic status is fixed, and there are no viable means of liberating Ki-taek from the basement. Economic immobility is the new normal, and the movie argues that those who are born poor will die poor, and those who are rich will die rich. The fantasy of upward economic mobility is Ki-woo’s fantasy, but it is never going to happen. The movie shows that wealth is a fantasy and a prison for the Kim family, and they are all trapped where they are.

Title Explained

In ‘Parasite’, the title refers not only to the Kim family’s metaphorical ‘parasitic’ relationship with the Park family but also to the larger themes of class and capitalism explored in the film. The Kims, who are living in poverty, are depicted as the ‘parasites’ who attach themselves to the wealthy Parks in order to survive and thrive. Their position as the ‘parasite’ reflects their economic status and the social systems that create and perpetuate poverty.

Throughout the movie, we see the Kims strategically and surreptitiously enter the Park family’s life, each job allowing them to gain access to the Parks’ lavish lifestyle and wealth. However, this infiltration and manipulation eventually take a dark turn as the Kims find themselves spiralling into a web of lies, deceit, and violence. The film ultimately critiques the societal systems that create and perpetuate this kind of parasitic relationship between the rich and poor.

The title also reflects the idea that the wealthy often rely on the labour and resources of the poor to maintain their wealth and privilege. The Parks’ comfortable lifestyle is built on the labour of their housekeeper, driver, and tutors, all of whom are from lower-class backgrounds. The movie highlights the dangerous consequences that can arise when one group is entirely dependent on another.

Moreover, the film explores the idea that social mobility is limited and difficult to achieve, with the Kim family finding it almost impossible to climb the social ladder and break free from their lower-class status. The title ‘Parasite’ thus underscores the deep-seated class inequalities and systemic issues that pervade society, making it difficult for those at the bottom to rise up and succeed. To summarise, ‘Parasite’ critiques the exploitative nature of capitalism and the dangerous consequences that can arise when one group is entirely dependent on another for survival.

Awards

World records

• Guinness World Records 2020
  The first film to win both the ‘Best International Feature Film’ and ‘Best Picture’ Awards in ‘Oscar'(2020).
  Most Oscars win for an international feature film (2020).

Others

• BFE Cut Above Awards 2021
  Best Edited Single Drama (Yang Jin-mo) (2021)
• Blue Ribbon Awards 2021
  Best Foreign Film (Parasite) (2021)
• Japan Academy Film Prize 2021
  Outstanding Foreign Language Film (Parasite) (2021)
• Kinema junpo Awards 2021
  Best Foreign Language Film (Parasite) (2021)
  Best Foreign Language Film Director (Bong Joon-ho) (2021)
  Readers’ Choice Best Foreign Language Film Director (Bong Joon-ho) (2021)
• Mainichi Film Awards 2021
  Best Foreign Film (Parasite) (2021)
• Saturn awards 2021
  Best International Film (Parasite) (2021)
• AACTA Awards 2020
  Best International Film (Kwak Sin-ae and Bong Joon-ho)
• Academy Awards 2020
  Best Director (Bong Joon-ho) (2020)
  Best International Feature Film (South Korea) (2020)
  Best Original Screenplay (Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won) (2020)
  Best Picture (Kwak Sin-ae, Bong Joon-ho) (2020)
• Alliance of Women Film Journalists 2020
  
  Best Film (Parasite) (2020)
  Best Director (Bong Joon-ho) (2020)
  Best Original Screenplay (Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won) (2020)
  Best Non-English Language Film (Parasite) (2020)
• American Cinema Editors 2020
  Best Edited feature Film-Dramatic (Yang Jin-mo) (2020)
• American Film Institute Awards 2020
  AFI Special Award (Parasite) (2020)
• Art Directors Guild Awards 2020
  Excellence in Production Design for a Contemporary Feature Film (Lee Ha-jun) (2020)
• Asian Film Awards 2020
  Best Film (2020)
  Best Screenplay (Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won) (2020)
  Best Editing (Yang Jin-mo) (2020)
  Best Production Design (Lee Ha-jun) (2020)
• Austin Film Critics Association 2020
  Top Ten Films of the Year (2020)
  Best Film (2020)
  Best Director (2020)
  Best Original Screenplay(2020)
  Best Foreign Language Film (2020)
• Australian Film Critics Association 2020
  Best International Film (Foreign Language) (2020)
• Belgian Cinematographic Press Union 2020
  Grand Prix (Bong Joon-ho) (2020)
• Baeksang Arts Awards 2020
  Grand Prize (Daesang) (2020)
  Best Film (Parasite) (2020)
  Best New Actor (Park Myung-hoon) (2020)
• Bodil Awards 2020
  Best Non-American Film (2020)
• British Academy Film Awards 2020
  Best Original Screenplay (Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won) (2020)
  Best Film Not in the English Language (2020)
• César Awards 2020
  Best Foreign Film (Parasite) (2020)
• Chlotrudis Awards 2020
  Best Movie (2020)
  Best Director (2020)
  Performance by an Ensemble Cast (2020)
  Best Original Screenplay (2020)
• Chunsa Film Art Awards 2020
  White Crane Award (2020)
• Cinema Writers Circle Awards 2020
  Best Foreign Film (2020)
• Columbus Film Critics Association Awards 2020
  Best Film (2020)
  Best Foreign Language Film (2020)
  Best Director (2020)
  Best Original Screenplay (2020)
• Critics’ Choice Movie Awards 2020
  Best Director (2020)
  Best Foreign Language Film (2020)
• David di Donatello Awards 2020
  Best Foreign Film (2020)
• Denver Film Critics Society 2020
  Best Foreign Language Film (2020)
• Dias de Cine Awards 2020
  Best Foreign Film (2020)
• Dorian Awards 2020
  Film of the Year (2020)
  Director of the Year (2020)
  Supporting Film Performance of the Year — Actor ( Song kang-ho) (2020)
  Foreign Language Film of the Year (2020)
  Screenplay of the Year (2020)
• African-American Film Critics Association 2019
  Best Screenplay (2019)
  Best Foreign Film (2019)
  
• AACTA Awards 2019
  Best Asian Film (Bong Joon-ho) (2019)
  Best International Film (Kwak Sin-ae and Bong Joon-ho) (2019)
• Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2019
  Best Feature Film (Kwak Sin-ae and Bong Joon-ho) (2019)
• Bandung Film Festival 2019
  Honorable Imported Films (Parasite) (2019)
• Calgary International Film Festival 2019
  Fan Favourite Award (2019)
• Cannes Film Festival 2019
  Palme d’Or (Bong Joon-ho)(2019)

Interesting Facts about Parasite

1. The script of ‘Parasite’ is based on Bong’s source material from a play written in 2013.
2. Bong, the director of ‘Parasite’ was inspired by the 1960 Korean film ‘The Housemaid’ and by the Christine and Léa Papin incident in the 1930s.
3. Parasite won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. It became the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
4. The film was made on a budget of $15.5 million and grossed over $263 million worldwide.

FAQs

1. How many world records does ‘Parasite’ have?
   Two.
2. How many Oscars does ‘Parasite’ have?
   Four.
3. Who is the director of ‘Parasite’?
   Bong Joon-ho.
4. What is the instagram ID of Choi Woo-shik?

   dntlrdl is his Instagram ID.