Parasite (2019) - How the Other Half Lives

It is rare for a foreign film to so thoroughly infiltrate the zeitgeist of American cinema and become something of a pop culture phenomenon on the strength of its own merit the way Bong Joon-Ho's Palme D'or and Best Picture winner Parasite did in 2019. We've seen some foreign language pictures do plenty well in the States (Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon come to mind immediately), but the overwhelming preponderance of love and acclaim that was (rightly) heaped upon this South Korean gem is fairly unprecedented.

For this reason, there are bound to be gleeful contrarians looking for opportunities to pillory the film and its fans just because of its widespread popularity. In this social media age, these full-time devil's advocates have a much broader platform to speak their mind and tear down the things everyone else loves. Don't listen to them. Parasite unquestionably lives up to its considerable hype, transcends whatever perceived limitations or reservations American audiences may attach to foreign cinema, and genuinely deserves the accolades it accumulated on the awards circuit.

That's not to say it is in some way above critical examination. It's not a flawless movie. But be wary of trolls simply searching for ways to contradict the consensus of the masses.

I, myself, was a little suspicious of the seemingly unending praise that Parasite was receiving upon its initial US theatrical release. I am someone who actively removes myself from the practice of anticipating a film. I don't watch trailers. I don't participate in speculation. If I am even moderately intrigued by an upcoming release, I do everything in my power to avoid any and all information about that film until my butt's in the theater and I'm watching it. While I had little knowledge of Parasite's story, I was aware of how well-liked it was. For me, even this can dampen my enjoyment of a particular movie. So I was expecting to be somewhat let down.

This is a film that is impervious to expectations. There is no way, besides getting the entirety of the plot spoiled, to anticipate Parasite's trajectory or have any semblance of an idea of how it will ultimately play out. It's a movie that takes full-bodied risks with its story and it takes them with stride, twisting and turning so drastically and so confidently that it threatens to leave you reeling in the dust behind it if you don't hold on tight enough. Needless to say, I ended up liking it. And upon rewatching it, I appreciated it even more profoundly.

Our introduction to the Kim family is charming. For most of the audience, the frugal simplicity of their working-class existence will be familiar. They crouch in the corner of the bathroom to tap into their neighbors' Wi-Fi. They leave their window open when the fumigators are outside to take care of the stinkbugs that have infested their exceptionally modest semi-basement home. We are meant to sympathize with them. This is how the majority of human beings live.

Our introduction to the Park family is alluring. For a much smaller contingent of the audience, the extravagant luxury of their upper-class lives will be familiar. For the rest of us, entering their opulent abode will be like crash-landing on another planet and observing an alien life force's exotic way of life. They have a full-time housekeeper who keeps the entire place spotless at all times. They have a driver who takes them wherever they want to go at a moment's notice. Their fridge is overflowing with copious bounties of whatever foods their hearts may desire. We are meant to grudgingly admire, perhaps even envy them. This how the majority of human beings desire to live.

How are we to reconcile the disparity between these two distinct socioeconomic brackets? Should we pity the Kims? Revile the Parks?

It's not that simple, says Bong Joon-Ho. Both of these families are made up of human beings, first and foremost. They have their flaws and they have their virtues. We may initially be more inclined to align ourselves with the Kims because of the relatability of their plight. And in many ways, this is what the film wants us to do. But they are not entirely righteous. Parasite's principal story centers around the Kim family's devious plot to swindle the Parks of their wealth. They deceptively acquire employment from the well-off family and gradually attempt to drain their riches right from under their noses.

The Kims are not the villains here, however. The film treads the delicate line between commiserating with them and condemning their duplicitous schemes. Much like real life, there is an ethical ambiguity to the proceedings.

Ultimately, the Kims are a product of a society that is disgusted by their very existence. A society that smiles kindly to their faces but plugs their nose once their backs are turned. They plan and plan on ways to lift themselves from the squalor in which they are forced to dwell, but it seems no matter how hard they try, no matter how vigorously they plan, their penurious misfortune clings to them. Like a parasite.

Parasite is at once deliciously entertaining and sharply tragic. It's dark sense of humor is at times hysterically funny, and the first-half buildup to the mind-bending twists of its latter chapters is some of the most well-paced and delightfully enjoyable filmmaking of recent years. Once the screenplay gets really wild, it is in constant peril of careening off the rails, but Joon-Ho deftly keeps it on track and keeps the primary impetus of the story - the realities of economic inequality - firmly in focus.
 

This is a film that urges the viewer to consider their perceptions of the disparate social classes that characterize our world. In this way, it cuts across divisions of culture and nationality. Anyone and everyone should hear what Parasite has to say. Perhaps we can be a more compassionate and accepting society if we internalize the morals it communicates.

If you are hesitant to watch this movie because you have to read subtitles, I implore you to get out of your cinematic comfort zone and give it a shot. It is a vivid and resonant piece of storytelling, and truly an historic milestone of foreign film.

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