Parasite (2019) Review: A Violent Collision of Two Worlds
Directed by Bong Joon-ho, Parasite (2019) is a Korean dark comedy-drama that masterfully exposes the reality of class division, following two families whose worlds violently collide as one infiltrates the life of the other. Beyond the narrative, Bong employs visual architecture and beautiful camera movements to emphasize the contrasting worlds of these families.
Parasite begins as a light-hearted comedy. We are introduced to the Kim family and their life in a cramped semi-basement (banjiha) in Seoul. The family earns a living assembling pizza boxes for a delivery company. Bong humorously shows us the Kims welcoming “free extermination” through their window as a passing exterminator fumigates the street. The camera captures their struggles to catch a WiFi signal from their bathroom, leeching internet from the neighboring café. Despite their hardships, we can’t resist smiling at their cramped little life.
The sense of confinement in the semi-basement, combined with the family’s closeness, is magnified as the camera frequently captures the Kims together in a single shot, often with one member squeezed out of the frame. In these shots, the slow camera movements gradually make the visual space seem smaller. These slow motions also create a sense of progression; whenever the camera slowly zooms in on a character, it signals an important plot point.
The family’s fortune changes when the son, Ki-woo (Choi Woo Shik), lands a job as an English tutor for the teenage daughter of the wealthy Park family. The contrast between the Parks and the Kims is immediately evident: the Kims’ cramped semi-basement is starkly different from the spacious Park house, designed by a famous Korean architect. The visual space of the camera also becomes more expansive, with the Parks rarely seen together in a single frame.
Inspired by Ki-woo’s infiltration, the Kim family schemes to get each member a job with the Parks, replacing the Parks’ current employees. Midway through the movie, we see the Kim family comfortably drinking in the Park house living room while the Parks are on a camping trip. The tone remains light-hearted. The Kim family laughs, and so do we. We are inclined to support their scheme, with little thought given to how their actions impact the Parks. Only the father, Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), voices empathy for the Park family, noting that despite their wealth, they are nice people — a sentiment quickly dismissed by his wife, Chung-Sook (Jang Hye-jin), who suggests she would be nice too if she were rich.
The turning point comes when the Parks’ old housekeeper unexpectedly appears. The light-hearted tone begins to transition to a grimmer one, and the slow camera movements diminish, allowing the characters to drive the plot. Bong unflinchingly portrays the disturbing reality of inequality through the contrasting perspectives of the Park and Kim families and the violent collision of their worlds. His visual language effectively creates contrasts that reflect their different lives.
Bong also explores the unpredictability of human nature and life, sparing neither the Parks nor the Kims. This culminates in one of the film’s final scenes during the birthday party of the Parks’ son, Da-Song (Jung Hyeon-jun), where the two families’ worlds ultimately break down.
Parasite is rich with detailed symbolism and metaphors that subtly convey stories of inequality and the Kims’ parasitic traits. Paired with Bong’s brilliant visual architecture, the film’s themes are delivered in a foreboding yet beautiful manner.
