And then Bong takes a hard right turn that asks us what were watching and sends us hurtling to bloodshed. The emotionally-affecting resonance of the ending is the perfect cap to the wonderfully layered social commentary spread throughout the film. He stands in the woods near the Parks' house, which has been bought by Germans, and observes that the censor light is turning on and off in a patternMorse Code. It's all fun and games until Moon-gwang shows up, insisting that she left something at the house. Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-contending "Parasite" masterfully explores class divisions in Korea with voyeuristic delight. When he is given the opportunity to work as Mr. Park's driver, he figures out how to be the best driver he can be, and to provide some light companionship to Mr. Park. RELATED: 5 Reasons Why HBO's Parasite Is A Good Idea (& 5 Why The Movie Should Be Left Alone). Stick with me here. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. Ki-jung is Ki-woo's sister, a smart and tough young woman who does not suffer fools. in a middle-class home that was neither poor nor terribly wealthy. Moon-gwang begs Chung-sook not to say anything to the Parks, but Chung-sook threatens to tell them. The film centers on two families, one poor and one rich and the interactions between them that end explosively. capture a large family group in a single frame. The rest of the Kims scramble to clean up the mess they had made, sweeping everything under the couch and hiding under the living room table. The visual effects Buy TVs. Electronics prices are defying inflation. It is the only common factor between the Parks' young boy and Ki-Woo. Unpacking the metaphorical ending of Parasite, See how this cruelty-free circus replaced animals with holograms, Windows 11 update brings Bings chatbot to the desktop. Profession English tutor. Challenge finding a way out of family's misfortune. Husband! as they descend into the depths of the bunker also do nothing to alleviate the building tension as we shockingly discover that her husband is in fact a mole person hiding and living right under the Parks noses and supplied food by Moon-kwang regularly, who even worships Mr Park for providing him with food and accommodation. Its here where we can finally analyse who is the parasite in the film, and who are the antagonists? After their home is flooded, Ki-taek tells his son that it is best to never have a plan, since plans never work out the way one expects. Small things, such as the Kim family opening their windows as their neighbourhood is fumigated in order to rid their own apartment of pests, or drunkards that liked to piss on their basement windows at night, were double-edged jokes that combined absurdist humour with sly details of the familys desperation and socio-economic plight. Its revealed that as Mr Kim escapes the house, he realises where he must go back into the house, into the bunker, to hide out for the remainder of his life. Script Analysis: "Parasite" Part 3: Characters | by Scott Myers | Go Into The Story Write Sign up Sign In 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. They take on odd jobs for cash like folding pizza boxes, and they rely on unprotected wi-fi networks and street-cleaning pesticides to keep their home insect-free. Living in a small, musty semi-basement in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. Working with the incredible cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong (Burning, Snowpiercer) and an A-list design team, Bong's film is captivating with every single composition. Ki-woo as the Park daughters English tutor, Ki-jeong as the Park sons art tutor/therapist, Mr Kim as the familys chauffeur, and Mrs Kim as the housekeeper. Parasite is clear-eyed about the illusions that inequality needs in order to perpetuate itself, and about the many systems that shield one-percenters like the Parks from having to get their own hands dirty while engaged in the project of oppression. With its overwhelming plot and acting, this motion picture retains a long-lasting effect and some kind of shock. Mr Parks arrogance and distaste for the smell becomes his downfall. In our Parasite movie analysis video, this mid-point scene was the focus. The contrast in appearance between the Kims semi-basement home and the lavish home of the Park family is impossible to miss. Parasite essays are academic essays for citation. Watching the poor family leave their cramped semi-basement home to overtake the. Both parties have dark secrets, and both threaten to expose the other to the Park family, who remain above all the drama, currently unaware. Da-song was so shocked at seeing a strange man creep up the stairs with his bug-eyes wide open that he suffered a seizure, and this trauma also explains for the many creepy portraits that Da-song draws. In a trance-like state as his daughter is bleeding out on the ground, Mr Kim is triggered by Mr Parks balking at the stench and fatally stabs him in the chest before running out the house. Even though the film audience is treated to a scene of this happening, it is never confirmed whether it does as we ambiguously end the film back in the Kims tiny basement apartment and Ki-woo writing the letter. After being added Hulus catalogue for exclusive streaming, it became the platforms most streamed film in both the independent and foreign film categories, reaching even more audience members and wowing them with its immaculate presentation and resonant themes. Parasite is seamless in the way it shuffles moods, tones and genres, and downright Hitchcockian in the way it manipulates your sympathies. Please go catch the movie in the cinema before it ends its run. Mrs Kim jokingly taunts Mr Kim, comparing him to a cockroach that would run and hide at the first sign of danger. This review was filed from the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7th. The brilliant set dressing of Parasite combined with the striking architectural-design choices perfectly reinforce the themes of the film, but more on the themes after we finish our Parasite summary. Ki-woo makes some rather poor choices, too, though. Review: Class warfare is on full display in director Bong Joon-hos provocative Parasite. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene BreakdownTuesday: PlotWednesday: CharactersThursday: ThemesFriday: DialogueSaturday: Takeaways. As with every film, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so my interpretation here may be different from yours. Read the script for the award-winning foreign film and analyze all week. The Kim family moves in for the weekend and luxuriates. Ki-woo is the son of the Kim family, a smart and ambitious young man who feels held back by poverty. 21st Century Haves, Haves-not: Bong Joon-Ho's Commentary on Contemporary Class Divide in Parasite Wikipedia Entries for Parasite Introduction Plot Cast Production Themes and interpretations A tonal shift this extreme could easily take viewers out of the film or feel like a jumping-the-shark moment, but in the hands of Bong Joon-ho, this shift is portrayed in a way that not only feels effortless but greatly enhances each half of the film that preceded and follows it. Staircases are among the many things in Parasite that could be considered metaphorical, as becomes a refrain of the Kims son, Ki-woo (Choi Woo Shik). One of the main reasons why Parasite was such a massive success around the whole world in 2019 is because of its themes and messages of classism and the wealth divide, which are truly universal. He has always been fascinated by pop culture and film. It is a tonal juggling act that first feels like a satirea comedy of manners that bounces a group of lovable con artists off a very wealthy family of awkward eccentrics. Interests smoking. For additional insights into director Bong Joon-hos creative process, listen to him discuss his decisions and directorial style with the other 2019 DGA nominees for best director including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, and Sam Mendes: Power shifts from Moon-gwang and her incognito husband to the Kim family as both lower-class families fight for leverage over each other. Parasite is a South Korean movie from 2019 filled with numerous themes, all being the fault of a patriarchal and hierarchical society we have created. Maybe its the crazy eyes, the receding hairline, the fact that he manually presses buttons on the bunker wall to turn on individual lights on the entrance staircase into the house (to show his gratitude towards Mr Park for providing for him, but giving the Parks the impression that the lights at the staircase were always sensor lights), or just plainly the fact that hes a fucking mole person hiding out in someones house. The Question and Answer section for Parasite is a great If he is ever caught, he may suffer the death penalty for committing a murder. These themes cross all cultural-barriers and can speak to the 99% anywhere in the world. They didn't fold the Pizza boxes correctly. "Parasite" concludes where it begins, in the semi-basement apartment. I finally caught the highly raved-about film, Parasite, after hearing nothing but praise for the movie from anyone who watched it. Each family has a symbiotic relationship with one another; the Parks need their employees to keep their house and family up and running, and the Kims and Moon-kwangs family leech off the wealth of the Parks. Following the films major twist, Parasite continues in a far darker tone until its ending. This causes Da-song to faint, and Mr. Park (Lee Sun Kyun) immediately demands that Ki-taek drive them to the hospital instead of tending to Ki-jung. It is his success in passing as a competent English tutor that allows him to invite Ki-jeong into the home and so on. The film is obviously a social commentary on the class divide in South Korea, but its so much more than that. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. Subscribe for more filmmaking videos like this. Yes, he receives help from Ki-jeong and Ki-woo with the peaches, but he is the one who must do the talking afterward. When the architect sold the mansion to the Park family, Moon-Gwang survived a change of ownership. The film begins with the Kim family at home in their tiny, cramped basement apartment. The film continues with Ki-woos narration. Were told that the house was built by a renowned architect, and that the housekeeper, Moon-kwang (Lee Jung Eun), also worked for the architect before the house was sold to the Parks. A knocked-out Moon-kwang soon gains consciousness and tries to flee up the basement stairs just as Mrs Park arrives back home, but Mrs Kim deals a deft kick to Moon-kwangs chest, sending her tumbling down the stairs and landing in the basement with a sick thud of her head against the concrete wall. Synopsis. For his family members' employment, Ki-Woo manipulates the Parks into firing their original chauffeur and housekeeper without much thought about what will happen next. Director Bong Joon-Ho himself has described Parasite as a cross-genre film, dipping its toes into the regions of dark comedy, satire, thriller and family drama. as Ki-jung ( Ki-taek's daughter ), Chang Hyae-jin Ki-woo wakes up in the hospital and learns about what happens. Dont buy eggs. The Kim family is destroyed; Ki-jung is killed, Ki-woo is left brain-damaged, and Ki-taek is forced into hiding after he snaps and acts out a classism-driven murder in the chaos of the birthday party. But that he doesn't press Yeon-gyo for replacing Moon-gwang, who has been with the family for quite some time is really when his fate is sealed. Ki-woos friend is actually in love with the Park daughter, proclaiming that he would officially date her once she enters university, and that he trusts no one else to be her stand-in tutor except for Ki-woo. But if you dig down deep enough, you can find each characters narrative function, and that can become a lens through which you develop the players in your stories. The film was, for lack of better descriptors, a fucking wild trip. But, probably because of his age, his parents don't take his observation very seriously, to their ultimate doom. Moon-gwang may first appear as an easy person to take advantage of, but when she returns to the Park family's home to care for her sick husband, we see that she didn't get to where she is by chance. The musty smell follows Ki-Jung wherever she visits, revealing her poverty. Lee Jeong-eun, who plays Moon-Gwang the housekeeper, also provided the vocalization for Okja the super pig in Bong Joon-hos previous film. He is a generally congenial but snobbish man. In our Parasite movie analysis, we found that although the tone and style change, the themes at play remain consistent from the first half to the second half, and continue to be developed further as the film progresses. The Analysis of the Oscar-Winning Movie: Parasite Parasite is a 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller movie directed by Bong Joon-ho and is the first film with a non-English script to win Best Picture at the Oscars in 2020. Ki-woo pens a letter to his father, fantasizing about his plan to go to college, secure a well-paying job and buy the Parks old house so that his father can live freely. TURN BACK NOW IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE FILM PLEASE!*. He fatally wounds Ki-jeong, stabbing her through the chest as the party guests erupt into panic and scatter. Maybe you're the one who isn't a good judge of character, Min. The Kim father and children quickly take cover as Mrs Kim decides to let Moon-kwang in. open/close all folders General The Kim family The Kim family as a whole Kim Ki-taek Kim Chung-sook Kim Ki-woo Kim Ki-jeong The Park family The Park family as a whole Park Dong-ik Park Yeon-kyo Park Da-song Park Da-hye Other characters Min Moon-gwang Geun-sae Yoon Previous Index Next The rock is ultimately Ki-woos downfall. The only truly faultless character in the film is the young Park Da-song. Stay up to date on the news from Silicon Valley, and how to take back control of your data and devices. "Parasite" is a film that follows 10 main characters up close (8 of whom are shown below - the other two are not shown for obvious reasons which will become apparent after you have witnessed the movie) with 10 different "characteristics" that need to be captured in the frame - the looks, the personality, the deep pathos that oozes from each character's situation and by giving us . Grew up as an art student at a middle-class family. *MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!! Parasite catapulted him to a different level of fame, earning him not only the first Academy Award for Best Picture to go to an international film, but also a unanimously-decided-upon Palme d'Or at Cannes. Armed with a knife, he makes a beeline for the first member of the Kim family he can see Ki-jeong, as shes delivering Da-songs birthday cake to him on the lawn. When a fluke of luck gets the son, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), a job as an English tutor for the wealthy Park familys daughter, the lives of the two families start to intertwine in comedic, dramatic, and eventually, disastrous ways. Be sure to watch our video essay on the scene for more detail and deeper Parasite analysis. Once the entire Kim family is employed in the Park household, the lower-class con-artists begin to assume more and more of this fabricated identity of wealth. RELATED: Parasite: 7 Reasons It's Bong Joon-Ho's Best Movie (& 7 It's Not). He soon discovers, however, that Mr. Park does not like his smell, and feels deflated by this insult. Its at this stage that the film makes you realise that no matter how low on the ladder of destitution the Kim family was (before they got employed by the Parks), there is always someone on the rung below you. It also makes perfect sense to me that a family would have the same smell as they live in the same house and use the same soaps and detergents. As silly an instruction this is, the Kim family respects his wishes and starts to comedically choke and cough as the fumes fill up their apartment, with only Mr Kim indifferent to the toxic fumes. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Blood is shed and deaths are cast at the birthday party of the Park familys youngest child. As Da-song faints in fear, Mr. Park yells at Ki-taek to throw him the car keys, so that they can take Da-song to the hospital. Min-hyuk is a friend to the Kim family, primarily Ki-woo. Couldnt she have chosen to do so in broad daylight? Its evident that the Kim family lives in squalor. He even tells Ki-woo that the best plan is to have no plan, because then you will never be disappointed when the plan doesnt play out the way you wanted it. The crime of the Park family is being unsympathetic, rude and selfish, despite their niceties and naivety. Ki-taek, who is hiding under the table, hears Mr. Park discuss his unsavory smell. Hes skewered classicism in all of his films to some degree. The neighbourhood fumigator arrives, and Mr Kim instructs his family to leave the windows open to enjoy a free fumigation for his house. Hes going to get his whole family into this house. as Yeon-kyo ( Mr. Park's wife ), Choi Woo-shik The young man changes his name to Kevin and begins tutoring Park Da-hye (Jung Ziso), who immediately falls for him, of course. This is especially impressive given how ethnocentric the Academy Awards often unfold, prioritizing English-language films over foreign-language films much of the time. Well be taking a look at all of the ingredients to made Parasite one of the best films of 2019 and one of the best South Korean films ever made, but first, lets get started with a Parasite synopsis. The films score here perfectly uses the technique of moving up musical keys in non-linear, minor and discordant chords to instill fear and anxiety in the viewer as Moon-kwang and Mrs Kim descend down endless flights of concrete stairs, turning left and right at every corner to finally reach the bunker below. Get entertainment recommendations for your unique personality and find out which of 5,500+ After he gets the job, Ki-Woo proceeds to fetch employment for the rest of his family members--sister Ki-Jung as an art tutor, father Ki-Teak as a chauffeur, and lastly mom Chung-Sook as a housekeeper. Its perfectly ironic how the film has come full circle, with Mr Kim taking the place of Moon-kwangs husband in the bunker. The films accolades speak for itself it won the prestigious Palme dOr award at this years Cannes Film Festival, which is an award of the highest order at one of the worlds most renowned film festivals. Can the poor really just step into the world of the rich? Ill do my best because Bong Joon-hos Parasite is unquestionably one of the best films of the year. The wide panning shots do great in conveying a sense of space in the large Park residence, and sequence shots make the viewer feel as though they are there with the characters, watching their lives unfold. The thought that the panties were placed their intentionally to sabotage the chauffeur did not even cross Mr Parks mind. He also does a great job in coaching his father's performance for Yeon-gyo so that she will get rid of Moon-gwang. Chung-sook takes over as the housekeeper. You would think that maybe before you hire someone else, you stop to think if maybe your household staff is disappearing faster than usual? The crimes of the Kim family are evident they are scammers, inserting themselves into the lives of the Parks to take advantage of their wealth. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Parasite by Bong Joon-ho. The characters are a reason for the success and we've ranked how smart they are. Geun-sae then emerges onto the lawn party, stabbing Ki-jung in the chest with a knife. At some points, it seemed that the music didnt match the situation, such as instilling fear or anxiety in the listener when there was really nothing to worry about at the moment, but the sense of foreboding always pays off later in the film. Ki-jung begins working for the parks under the guise of an art-therapy teacher. Suffice to say, the wealthy in any country survive on the labor of the poor, whether its the housekeepers, tutors, and drivers they employ, or something much darker. Profession stay-at-home housekeeper. Bong's designs included many staircases in the home that help the wealthy characters disappear off into their own spaces or can be used by the members of the poor family. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Parasite director Bong Joon-ho became the first South Korean filmmaker to win best director at the academy awards. Profession art tutor. moon-gwang's husband. There is more to Da-song than meets the eye. He is traumatised not once, but twice at the sight of Moon-kwangs husband, and is also the youngest and most innocent character. As mentioned, the film contains a huge, exciting twist that drives the plot ahead at full speed, so do yourself a favour and DONT spoil it for yourself! The entire Kim family, beginning with Ki-woo, soon scam their way into different jobs for the Park family. She does an excellent job getting the house back in order before the Park family returns and discovers Moon-gwang and her husband, but she's unable to stop what's coming by then. Min-hyuk offers Ki-woo his tutoring job while he's away noting that the family of the girl he tutors is not necessarily the best judge of character. Wealth has rendered her completely helpless, and she often spends her days napping on the couch or purchasing items for the house. When Da-song wants to sleep in a tent outside, Mr. and Mrs. Park sleep on the couch to watch over him. No. This vertical comment on status is illustrated cleanly in this alternate poster for the film, without spoiling the sub-basement reveal. Chung-sook is the matriarch of the Kim family. After Geun-sae bludgeons him with it, Ki-woo emerges from a coma all the more motivated to ascend the class ladder, buy the Parks' home, and reunite with his father, who is living in the subterranean bunker. describe ki-woo. With Ki-jeong dead, Ki-woo, recovering from brain damage, obsessively returns to observe the house from afar. Reading scripts. Major kudos to Olivia Ramirez for doing this weeks scene-by-scene breakdown. After hearing about the peach allergy of the housekeeper, Moon-gwang, Ki-jung and Ki-woo trigger an allergic reaction and make it look like she has tuberculosis. Da-song was perhaps the only hope the Park family had and still they collapsed. Thats all for my in-depth analysis! These steps are involved in many of the films pivotal moments, including those in the gruesome final act. (Note: One of these ranked characters is a huge spoiler for one of the plot's biggest twists, so if you still haven't seenParasite, get on it and then come back and read this!). Has also tied the record with Walt Disney for most Oscars awarded to an individual at a single ceremony. We can also see small hints at each of the Kim family members background, such as Chung-Sook aka Mrs Kims medal for hammer-throw hung on the wall. account. characters are most like you. Improving the family's financial situation is the most important goal for Ki-Woo, and he remains hopeful of his future. It is the only way Ki-Jung relieves her stress from the reality. To access over 70 analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here. Mr Kim is even needlessly proud when he discovers his childrens deceptive skills. I left the cinema with my heart racing thats just how impactful this movie was. The Parks suddenly call, informing Mrs Kim that they would be arriving home in 8 minutes. The patriarch of the Kim family. However, if I had to pinpoint one member who would be the eponymous parasite, it would have to be Mr Kim. Relationship Status involved with his student Da-Hye. Let me know if, like me, you wanted to re-watch the film from the top immediately after it ended. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. Living in a state-of-art mansion. Ki-woo prepares a letter in response, swearing that he would work hard to earn enough money to eventually buy the house and free his father. Mr Kim is the most nonchalant about their misfortunes, even as their house is flooded, leaving the Kims homeless. GradeSaver, 21st Century Haves, Haves-not: Bong Joon-Ho's Commentary on Contemporary Class Divide in Parasite. The family also laments that the rich are only nice because money is like an iron it irons out all the creases in your life, making life smooth and untainted. It speaks wonders to Parasites accessibility that it was received so well with such widely varying viewers. characters are most like you. At the party, Da-song falls into another seizure upon the sight of Moon-kwangs husbands bloodied face (from when he tried to signal Help me through the light switches), and the Park family summon Mr Kim to drive Da-song to the hospital while Ki-jeong bleeds out on the lawn and Mr Kim attempts to stop the bleeding. He is obsessed with keeping his employees controlled and hates nothing more than when one of his charges "crosses the line." The Question and Answer section for Parasite is a great Ki-woo and his sister Ki-jung forge credentials for the job, and thus begins the long-con that sees each member of the Kim family infiltrating the upper-class Park family one-by-one. Geun-se, driven mad by his own situation, smashes Ki-woo over the head with the rock and runs upstairs to the backyard, where he then stabs Ki-jung. The main themes are capitalism, deception, and violence. Parasite dominated the Academy Award, including a Best Picture win.
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