Parasite - Review

A comedy without clowns, a tragedy without villains – a review of Parasite. 

It’s very rare that I’ll see a film in the cinema more than once, especially on its original release. Usually, I’ll watch a film on the big screen once, and then if I like it, I’ll wait for it to appear on streaming services to watch it again. Parasite is the exception to this rule, which I saw at the cinema twice.

Parasite is an absolute masterpiece. The film focusses on class, social differences and poverty and wealth. Two families at different ends of the spectrum collide in what is a sometimes funny, sometimes moving and often shockingly dramatic set of circumstances.

The Kim’s are a poor family, living in a tiny apartment struggling to earn enough money to survive. They seem to take odd jobs to get by, such as folding pizza boxes, and are living in abject poverty. On the other hand, the Parks live a privileged existence, living in a remarkably modern home and never really wanting for anything. When the Kim family manage to secure jobs at the Parks residence as a tutor and art therapist, the Kim’s hatch a plan to fully infiltrate the home and move on from their life of poverty into one of luxury.

On the surface, the title of the film could merely be seen as referring to the Kim family. They set about to slowly remove current staff from the household from their roles in order to replace them with members of their own family. However, the Park family could be seen as parasites in their own right, relying on the labour of lower classes to enable their luxurious lifestyle.

Tension builds amongst the two families as the social inequalities and power balance becomes more and more apparent. The two families come from completely different worlds, and the power dynamics are clear; despite this, the Kim family aren’t unintelligent, their plan being remarkably clever as they talk and act their way out of their squalid apartment with views of people urinating and drunks stumbling home into a life that seemed to be completely beyond their reach.

The acting throughout is outstanding, and the score matches the fast moving and clever plot. Bouncing between drama, slapstick comedy and horror, this film is remarkably good at keeping an audience engaged and enthralled with the bizarre events unfolding on screen.

One of the clever things about this film is the lack of clear antagonists and protagonists. No one involved is completely good or bad, guilty or innocent. Instead, they’re all victims of the social inequalities in society. Injustice, hunger for power and wealth, and harmful stereotypes lead to the destructions of families and lives being completely ruined.

Parasite won multiple awards, including four Oscars, and it’s clear to see why. When I watched it, I heard other audience members gasp more than once. This is a really special film, a tragicomedy with a difference, and one that should be seen by everyone at least once.

Gut wrenching, funny and tragic all at the same time, Parasite deserves all of the hype it received. Thought provoking, moving and brilliantly acted, with stunning cinematography, Parasite is unlike anything I’ve ever watched before. Usually, I’d speak a little about the flaws of the film, but here I am struggling to think of any. In my opinion, Parasite is a perfect film, and I would urge anyone who didn’t experience it upon its release to watch it now. I promise you; you won’t regret it.

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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