Parasite Movie Review

Parasite [Gisaengchung] (2019)

Rent Parasite on Amazon Video
Written by: Bong Joon Ho (story),  Bong Joon Ho and Jin Won Han (screenplay) 
Directed by: Bong Joon Ho
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Jo, Woo-sik Choi, So-dam Park
Rated: R
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Plot
A poor family, the Kims, con their way into becoming the servants of a rich family, the Parks. But their easy life gets complicated when their deception is threatened with exposure.

Verdict
Parasite doesn't waste anything. Each prop, setting, and every line of dialog has a purpose. It's well made, but knowing that Korea's middle class is eroding adds a lot of depth to the movie that is focusing on class struggle. A sharp script punctuates the message with a lot of subtle comedy. This is an impressive movie that deserves all of its accolades. I kept thinking what a smart script. It's a great movie, that adds a poignant message that is apt not just for Korea, but everyone.
Watch it.

Review
I've been hearing about how good this movie is for months. It won the best picture Oscar, the first time a foreign language film managed the feat. I've been waiting for this to hit Redbox kiosks, but it hasn't, maybe due to international rights, so I paid to stream it from Redbox. I had to see it.

I didn't know much about the movie going in, having been warned to go in unaware. I won't divulge any major spoilers, but I will discuss various aspects of the movie.
I did know the classism aspect. Korea's middle class is falling into the lower class as the upper class distances itself from everyone else. That is the main message of the movie, packaged into a script that merges various genres. Bong Joon Ho's does that very well, see The Host or Okja.

The Kim family is scraping to get buy, relegated to a cramped basement apartment and searching for free wi-fi. The divide between the haves and have nots is quickly developed with the Parks in a huge house.

Kim Ki-woo played by Choi Woo-shik.

The thread of internet access is woven through the movie very well. It's a near constant companion for the Kims as they use it to convince others and learn skills. It helps them figure out everything. I expected Ki-woo/Kevin to be less than convincing as a tutor, but he does a great job. The Kims are struggling to survive, they have to succeed in their plan. The internet is a resource they use to great effect. The Kims have a plan to better their situation. Most movies would focus on the plan and spell everything out, but Parasite gives us just enough. The script is sharp.

The Kims are putting on a charade, but they're always so confident. I wondered if they had done this before, but desperation breeds determination. The humor isn't in whether they can succeed, but how parents over rate their kids. Miss Park thinks her nine year old is an art genius and Ki-woo has to play along while using it as an advantage.

Ki-woo's plan just keeps expanding. There's certainly dark comedy, but this is a family using their resources to survive. A character casually mentions the competitiveness of the job market, and that plays right into the widening of the class divide. With all of the setup I wondered where this goes. Is it maintaining the ruse? Is there a confrontation? There's such a precision to everything. There's a detail about smell that comes that is just so ingenious and sets up confrontations at the end. The movie is so smart that I bet there are a bunch of details I missed on my first watch.

The father, Kim Ki-taek played by Song Kang-ho.

The Kims take a risk, but that's not what puts them in jeopardy. The system got them, a system that forces the middle class lower and lower. The movie doesn't portray the Kims as heroes. They're devious and the father Ki-taek has a disregard for someone he considers a lower class them himself. That mini-arc in the movie is powerful.

The Kims had a plan for a better life, but the best laid plans... This movie ends with this dream that the class divide can be overcome, but the movie has shown us that divide can't be conquered. It's a seemingly hopeful ending that reads as facetious. This doesn't waste a thing. Everything from dialog to props has a point. The movie completely lived up to the hype. It deserves every away it got and then some.