Parasite

Parasite, South Korean thriller and black-comedy film, released in 2019, that was the first Korean film to win the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival and the first foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for best picture. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho, Parasite was praised for its sharp writing, memorable performances, and layered satire of social classes.

Background and story development

Director and screenwriter Bong came up with the idea for Parasite after a friend suggested that he try writing and directing a play. Thinking of a storyline that would make good use of the limited space of a stage production, Bong decided on a story with a setting that requires only two houses—one rich, one poor. To write the script, he drew on personal experience: when he was in college, his girlfriend (who became his wife) had helped him get a job as a math tutor by recommending him to a wealthy family whose son she was tutoring in English. Bong was hired despite his lack of math skill. As he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019, “That’s how it works with those jobs. It’s not as if they put out lots of ads looking for domestic help—you’re introduced.” While working for the family, Bong was struck with the feeling that he was infiltrating other people’s lives, and he began to develop an idea around this feeling. Years later, when devising the story that became Parasite, his work on the science-fiction film Snowpiercer (2013) as well as recent global economic turmoil caused him to think about a story addressing economic disparities. He realized that the story had great cinematic potential and that he wanted to make it as a film.

Premise and plot

The film follows the Kims, a poor family comprising father Ki-Taek (Song Kang-Ho), mother Chung-Sook (Jang Hye-Jin), son Ki-Woo (Choi Woo-Shik), and daughter Ki-Jung (Park So-Dam). The family members live in a bug-infested semi-basement apartment in Seoul, where they struggle to pay their bills doing menial work such as folding pizza boxes for a delivery company. An opportunity arises when a friend of Ki-Woo’s tells him about a position tutoring the child of a wealthy family, the Parks, who have a teenage daughter who is learning English in high school. However, to qualify for the position, Ki-Woo will have to pretend to be a college student even though he has never been able to afford to go to college. Ki-Jung, a gifted artist, helps her brother forge the necessary credentials, and Ki-Woo presents himself as “Kevin” at the Parks’ elegant, spacious home. But before giving Ki-Woo the job, the tightly wound Mrs. Park, Yeon-Kyo (Cho Yeo-Jeong), wants to sit in on a lesson with her daughter, Da-Hye (Jung Ji-So). Ki-Woo impresses them both with his teaching style, and Yeon-Kyo hires him.

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Immediately, the Kims scheme to insert themselves into the Park household one by one, pretending to be unrelated to each other. Ki-Woo recommends Ki-Jung as an art teacher for the Parks’ son, Da-Song (Jung Hyeon-Jun). After being hired, Ki-Jung (going by the name “Jessica”) convinces Yeon-Kyo that Da-Song requires expensive art therapy and tricks Mr. Park, Dong-Ik (Lee Sun-Kyun), into firing his driver, who is quickly replaced by Ki-Taek. The Kims then target the Parks’ housekeeper, Moon-Gwang (Lee Jung-Eun), who worked for the original owner and architect of the house and stayed on after he sold the house to the Parks. Exploiting Moon-Gwang’s allergy to peaches, the Kims lead Yeon-Kyo to believe that Moon-Gwang has tuberculosis. In perfect accordance with the Kims’ plan, a worried Yeon-Kyo fires Moon-Gwang and replaces her with Chung-Sook.

All seems to be going smoothly, and, while the Parks are away on a camping trip, the Kims take advantage of their absence to stay in the Parks’ house, eating their snacks and drinking their alcohol. However, just as the Kims are enjoying the fruits of their scheme, Moon-Gwang returns, claiming that she has left something in the basement. The Kims reluctantly let her in, and, once inside, she goes to a secret bunker in the basement and reveals that her husband, Geun-Se (Park Myeong-Hoon), has been living there for several years, unbeknownst to the Parks. This discovery plunges the Kims into conflict and threatens not only their scheme but their lives. Meanwhile, the Parks return home early from their trip, further complicating matters. The film’s climax comes during a birthday party for Da-Song, which devolves into a scene of shocking chaos and violence, followed by a final plot twist.

Accolades and awards

Parasite garnered near-universal critical acclaim, with many critics calling it a career high for the already well-regarded Bong. The film’s combination of dark humor and piercing social critique allowed it to delve into disturbing themes and scenarios while still being enormously entertaining. Critics praised the layered representation of class conflicts, suggesting that the film’s title—which refers to an organism that benefits at the expense of a host—could apply to virtually every character. It was also hailed as a virtuosic work on a technical level, with particular praise being given for the production design that contrasted the Kims’ cramped, rundown apartment with the Parks’ pristine mansion.

The film won a number of major awards, including South Korea’s Grand Bell Award for best film, and it was the unanimous winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes. It received six Academy Award nominations in 2020, which was the first year in the history of the awards that South Korean films were recognized with Academy Award nominations (a South Korean documentary short was also nominated that year). It won in the categories of directing, original screenplay, international feature, and best picture, marking the first time in the history of the Oscars that a foreign-language film took home the top prize. Its other Academy Award nominations were for production design and film editing.

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Production credits

• Production companies: Barunson E&A and CJ Entertainment
• Director: Bong Joon-Ho
• Writers: Bong Joon-Ho and Han Jin-Won
• Music: Jung Jae-Il
• Cinematographer: Hong Kyung-Pyo
• Editor: Yang Jin-Mo

Cast

• Choi Woo-Shik (Kim Ki-Woo)
• Park So-Dam (Kim Ki-Jung)
• Song Kang-Ho (Kim Ki-Taek)
• Jang Hye-Jin (Kim Chung-Sook)
• Cho Yeo-Jeong (Park Yeon-Kyo)
• Lee Sun-Kyun (Park Dong-Ik)
• Lee Jung-Eun (Gook Moon-Gwang)
• Park Myeong-Hoon (Oh Geun-Se)
• Jung Ji-So (Park Da-Hye)
• Jung Hyeon-Jun (Park Da-Song)