“Parasite” crawls into the spotlight
“Parasite” has grabbed attention for being the only foreign film to have won “Best Picture” at the Oscars. The South Korean movie, directed by Bong Joon-ho, seemingly rose from the dark and has earned critical acclaim, currently holding a 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. After watching the suspenseful trailer, we entered the movie theater with absolutely no expectations. It’s safe to say that “Parasite” is the most intense film we have ever watched, deserving every award it receives and more.
“Parasite” starts out as a comedy, as we were introduced to the unemployed Kim family. The opening scene features the whole family frantically trying to connect to free Wi-Fi from a local cafe. Ki-woo, the son of the family, is visited by a college friend, who tells him that he needs someone to take his position as an English tutor for the wealthy Park family. Ki-woo takes the opportunity and is amazed by the Park family’s affluence, eventually duping them to get his whole family employed. From there, the movie morphs into a horror film, as a series of unfortunate events makes life a living hell for the Kim family.
The plotline of “Parasite” is extremely well-developed and original. The movie is made in a way that it is able to transcend multiple genres, so we had no idea what was going to happen next throughout the movie, and various plot twists are incorporated keeping us on our toes. There were many complex subplots and details that were introduced during the first leg of the film, but they all melded together to form an enriching, complicated story.
The performances from the actors were impactful and made “Parasite” come to life. Each character is multi-dimensional and offers moments of comedy, notably Yeon-kyo’s gullible personality as the mother of the Park family. We clearly felt the struggles that the Kim family dealt with in the last half of the film because of the tension and stress that the actors displayed.
We would say more, but as Joon-ho said on the Tonight Show, “Parasite” is best when you walk into it cold. This movie was so mind-altering that it is hard to put our thoughts into words. Trust us when we tell you to be prepared for a two hour roller coaster and to not take the R rating lightly. Buy tickets or stream “Parasite” as soon as possible; if you don’t, you have missed out.
