Parasite Review (Film, 2019)

Content warning: violence against women

There’s a word I use a lot in my writing, especially when it comes to auteur directors. The word is “accessible.” For me, an accessible film is one that invites in the audience. Whether that’s through character, storytelling, or design, an accessible film is one where the director has opened the door and invited the audience in. Parasite is accessible in a way Bong Joon Ho’s work often isn’t.

Accessible feels like shorthand for so much, so I want to be clear in my intentions with the word. For one thing, I do not mean it in a negative way. I like to be challenged, but I also enjoy seeing a director confident enough in their style and themes to apply those techniques to a simpler story. Bong Joon Ho’s films often deal with grotesque or fantastic scenarios that defy what we know or understand about dramatic storytelling. Parasite is a more realistic story, or at least one grounded in reality, but that doesn’t mean Parasite is any less creative or innovative than Mother, Snowpiercer, or Barking Dogs Never Bite. It means the story is a little easier to get into, a bit more digestible for a wider audience.

For another, it does not mean that the film is easy. It means that there is a way in. For Parasite, we have the foundation of a family drama, a satire of class, and a crime/con story combined into a single plot. We recognize these story elements, and nothing particularly upsetting or cruel happens for the first act of the film. Joon Ho has crafted an opening act that invites the audience into his world, then starts layering in his more challenging storytelling tropes (specifically slapstick violence and cruelty). The opening acts as a simple introduction to themes and content so that the wilder ambitions of his work can be tapped into and grappled with in a new way. Parasite is not an easy film, but it is a film that guides you through its more challenging moments unlike any other Bong Joon Ho has written and directed.

So what is Parasite about? A family of four is struggling to get by. They’re all in between jobs and willing to do anything, even fold pizza boxes, to keep the phone on in case one of their job applications actually succeeds. Son Ki-woo is offered the chance to tutor the daughter of an extremely wealthy family in English and jumps at the chance, complete with photoshopped degree and references. The money is great, but the opportunity is greater, as Ki-woo learns the family wants an art tutor for their other child. Ki-woo’s sister Ki-jung, the mastermind behind the forged documents, poses as a friend of a cousin who studied art in America. The film is a long chain reaction of the family doing whatever it can to fail upwards. They’re great at planning their next move but horrible at actually functioning in the real world.

Even in that brief summary of the first act, Parasite has a lot going on. We believe the family to be smart but struggling. They put up a strong front, but as a whole, they can’t even pull it together enough to fold pizza boxes without looking up a video tutorial; they still fail, then fight with their freelance boss to get more money than they’re worth. Parasite is very clearly a drama at the end, but the opening half of the film is equally successful as a dark comedy, pulling you in even when things start getting dark and cruel.

How cruel are we talking? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a film where a medical condition is intentionally weaponized against someone else. The cruelty is there from the beginning: the family is not nice to each other (and understatement) and downright hostile to anyone they’re not related to. They’re all quick to abusive language and quicker to a physical reaction to any confrontation. Imagine your strongest quality being a ruthless disdain for anyone or anything that stands in your way. Now you see why the intelligent, clever, and adaptive family really struggles to maintain steady work.

While watching Parasite the first time, I just kept waiting for the drop. Bong Joon Ho’s films never take an expected path. The result is usually quite dark and upsetting, but the journey there is wild. I’m a fan of his style. Even for me, that spin into utter despair and destruction can be overwhelming. Parasite, especially, hits hard because the rest of the film is comparatively calm. It’s also the most realistic turn since Mother.

Parasite is a great film with a very clear vision of what it wants to be. It is the product of a master working at the height of his craft. No detail is too small to be overlooked. Even little flourishes like a framed Olympic medal hanging on the wall have a payoff later on in the film. Everything matters and has a purpose, meaning the stranger things you notice along the way will be addressed, but not necessarily explained.

Parasite is currently playing in theaters.