*SPOILER ALERT* (Spoilers related to the film)
This is my first time writing a movie review. I’ll admit to having polished my language by reading several different reviews. So, if I throw some fancy-schmancy words around, you know where they came from.
Let’s begin.
I succumbed. I had to watch 'PARASITE'. Yes. I did want to watch it because it won the Oscars.
My friends had hyped it up so much for me; I did have certain expectations from the film.
The film certainly takes you on a rollercoaster of a journey. Like all rollercoasters, you truly start to contemplate what happened after it is finished.
CHARACTERS:
The story revolves around the Kim family, who is poor and wish to acquire more money. The family devises a scheme to work for the rich family- Park.
DIALOGUE:
As the original version is in Korean I missed grasping the impact of the dialogue delivery. English subtitles hardly make up for the authentic impression that dialogues create in another lingo. Nevertheless, I think the most popular scene/dialogue delivery is the one where Jessica poses as an art teacher and quickly revises with her brother the fabric of lies that she has to weave. I just checked. It’s popularly known as the ‘Jessica Jingle’.
Another deep dialogue that struck me was when Mrs. Park was praised for being kind and nice even though she’s rich. To this, Mrs. Kim states, “She is nice because she’s rich. If I were rich, I’d be nice too.”
TECHNICAL EXECUTION:
My favorite part of the movie is its technical execution. This was the thing I focused on most while watching the movie, even more so than the screenplay.
The editing is crisp and clean. Cinematography perfect. I admired the way they chose such unique angles to tell the story. I know nothing about movie critique but it must be really good if a noob like me liked it. My logic.
The soundtrack/background score compliments the movie and ties all the scenes together like glue. They’ve made smart use of some no sound moments as well, for example, the first time when the son of the Kim family Ki-Woo enters the Park residence, the score is silent except for the pleasant sound of the garden sprinklers.
ACTING:
The acting was definitely on point. It was par excellence. The personalities of the characters flowed naturally through all of them. My favorite character is Da-Song, son of the Park family. His role is played effortlessly by the child-artiste Hyun-jun Jung. I’ve always wanted to say this to sound all fancy like a film connoisseur- ‘the performances were truly nuanced’.
SCREENPLAY:
About the screenplay, there were two scenes where I figured what was going to happen. It was a bit obvious that Mr. Kim, the father would end up in the basement of the residence at the end of the film. The second one was when the Park family went out for a trip for Da-song’s birthday, the whole Kim family crashed the place and had a gala time. I figured something would definitely go wrong and the Park family would come home early. I think it was genius, however, the way they introduced the secret bunker storyline. That changed everything. No one saw it coming.
OVERALL:
Though Bong Joon Ho’s parasite fits more in the theme of a black comedy than traditional mainstream cinema, it is surprisingly entertaining for an unsophisticated, common viewer like myself.
The contrast between the ‘Princes and the Paupers’ (rich and poor) is shown evidently. From all that I’ve read about Parasite, it’s a social satire. The challenges that are thrown towards all the characters are as unpredictable as life, contributing to the realistic factor of the film.
All the scenes of the Park family are highlighted in bright, sunny light. The surroundings are beautiful and aesthetically pleasing.
The scenes of the Kim household are a little dark, the living environment grimy.
The scenes in the bunker however are downright grotesque, rightfully so.
These three setups are excellent graphic depictions of societal boundaries.
Ingeniously, the screenplay amalgamates all three of these worlds in the scene where bloodshed occurs. In broad daylight, there is the startling contrast of the ballerina music score and the bloodcurdling graphic of murder.
PARASITE INTERPRETATION:
According to the director, the poor family (Kim) is a parasite to the rich family (Park) which leads to collateral damage.
According to me, one more thing in the film fits the description of a parasite. The human that lives in the secret bunker of the house, is a parasite in the truest sense. Quite literally, like a parasite, he is dependent on the food and the people that are living in that house.
It evokes a thought, in different stages of life, you’re either the HOST or the PARASITE. Which one are you right now? ;)
Commentaires