[Review XN] Film 25: PARASITE

"Does Oxford have a major in the forgery document? Your sister would be top of the class. "

In his latest work titled Parasite, which was awarded the Palme d'Or (highest award) at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Bong Joon-ho seeks to produce a realist approach with close proximity and close to the daily lives of the audience. There are no more aliens as in The Host (2006) or Okja (2017) or future foreign situations such as Snowpiercer (2013) which are positioned as metaphors for class disagreements between the rich and the poor, this time there are only ordinary humans as the main highlight. Humans who struggle to survive in the midst of hard modern civilization with all its demands for perfection and great achievements. Hmmm ... sounds like a form of anxiety overflow huh? Yes, as with previous works, Bong Joon-ho still maintains his passion in making comments containing his concerns about society today, especially related to social inequality. What distinguishes Parasite from the series of titles in the filmography of the director besides the rolling of the story which is conditioned to be more down to earth is the tone of the narration set. Away from the impression of bombastic or moping, Parasite tends to flow lightly in line with the abundance of humor in it. In the first hour, you might be fooled to think of it as a comedy presentation about the actions of con artists.

An inevitable impression given the main character in this film, Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), puts his family on a mission based on fraud against one rich family. For a moment, the audience will suspect the word "parasite" embedded in the title refers to Kim Ki-taek and his wife and children. We know Kim Ki-taek and his family members consisting of Choong-sook (Jang Hye-jin) his wife, Kim Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) the boy, and Kim Ki-jung (Park So-dam ) the daughter, as a poor family living in a cramped apartment in a densely populated settlement. Considering the head of the family is no longer working, this family provides their daily needs by folding pizza boxes and stealing wifi from the next door neighbor. They look like families who have no hope in embracing a bright future until then the boy's best friend offers Kim Ki-woo to replace his position as an English tutor for the eldest daughter of a CEO, Mr. Park (Lee Sun-kyun). An offer that was seen as an opportunity to "grade up" at the same time out of the abyss of poverty by Kim Ki-taek. What later made this family deserved to be called con artists - and parasites - was the fact that Kim Ki-woo falsified all his documents including his educational history so that he was welcomed with open arms by the Park family.

Not only that. After Kim Ki-woo was declared accepted, the Kim family then drew up a larger plan so that all family personnel were able to get a position in the Park family's home. Since the hostess, Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong), is quite naive, it is easy for Kim's family to execute the plan. In an instant, Kim Ki-jung was trusted to teach art to the youngest, then Kim Ki-taek got a job as a family driver, and Choong-sook succeeded in getting rid of loyal household assistants. Up to this point, Bong Joon-ho still conditioned the audience to view the Parasite as a light comedy dish and believe that parasites were the definition for the Kim family. But is that right? Well ... in reality Parasite doesn't move that simple. The director's special request not to expose the plot after the Kim family's invasion - evidently from a trailer that tends to be mysterious - actually has given a clue: there is something hidden behind the Park family's mansion. I certainly will not reveal the mystery in order to maintain your enjoyment in watching. But one thing is clear, the existence of this mystery changes the "game pattern" that gives birth to two questions: should we really hate the Kim family because they are nothing more than a bunch of con artists? And is the Park family who is wallowing in wealth really a victim who deserves sympathy?

From here, Parasite feels increasingly biting to be followed. From the beginning it was tinged with scoffs and situations of inviting laughter that were not a few of them criticisms of social inequality, film by step began to show its intensity after a mystery revealed. Through one great moment marked by the emergence of heavy rain, we find that the power has experienced an escalation that raises other feelings of anxiety and curiosity to know what will happen next. There are concerns Kim's family secrets revealed, there is also a desire to see them fail in "burdening" the Park family. The resentment I was aiming for the Kim family turned toward the Park family, well ... not as good as we thought and hypocritical. As Choong-sook alluded to on one occasion, "if I have as much money as I have, I will also have a good heart." Yes, the Park family is like the image of the bourgeoisie who assesses that all matters can be solved with money. They consider themselves to have acted nobly by giving high salaries to subordinates so that they do not feel the need to treat workers humanely. The language is really cool, middle class. The audience was also made aware of the fact that there are no completely pure and innocent white characters here and that both parties are basically parasites for the other party. What we consider to be a parasite seems to have a reasonable motive behind their actions, while what we consider to be victims is neither the saints. It is also difficult to blame each party because they are actually in the same position as victims. Victims of capitalism and victims of social expectations who demand perfection, success along with great achievements, like all of us. It is not like that?

Outstanding (4.5 / 5)