Admittedly, this was the second time I watched this movie Parasite.

It was a hard one to get into, and I’m normally someone who watches movies with the subtitles.

I wasn’t really hooked on the beginning of the film and it is a slow burner, but one well worth re-watching as it did grow on me.

This film, like Joker and Sorry We Missed You, were some of the most damning social commentary movies that have stemmed out of the last decade, all of which released in 2019. It’s a sign of the times.

Scenes I didn’t like

The opening scene was very quirky. I get the symbolism, and understand the character revelation “parasitical leeching of WiFi, utilising the poison to kill the bugs in the apartment” but I felt that it didn’t quite catch my mind.

Maybe I’m the victim of a short attention span, but it would have been nice to see a bit more of the families motivations and aspirations in the beginning. Start the movie off by dumping the family in a problem, and showing how their character flaws get in the way.

Scenes I liked

Admittedly, I love two scenes. The penultimate scene at the birthday party - and the rain flood scene - but I will focus on the rain flood scene as it is less of a spoiler - and admittedly, I thought you would pick the party scene!

Rain flood scene - The former home… the nest if you will, is the final link to their previous lives in the lower class. It is where the delusions of grandeur manifested themselves first. When it floods, we realise that there is a sense of finality to their journey, where they cannot go back to their previous lives - The family have crossed the rubicon here. There is no going back to the former lives.

All of their precious belongings have been damaged - the materialistic wealth & memories lost forever, where their identities in their new roles have encapsulated large portions of their lives.

Now the cinematography here - phenomenal. I still don’t know how they did it. It must have been a nightmare to work with so much water on the set - or at the very least.

The use of water - spilling over the tungsten lit scenery is superb. The blocking and choreography of the extras throwing buckets of water adds much needed kinetic energy which adds to the tension & immediacy of the moment - mixed in with the music. Sublime.

As you see the poorest of the underclass, try desperately to save their meagre possessions, the rich, the wealthy, have no such issue, with their homes being safe from the elements at large.

Bong Joon Ho uses metaphor quite a bit. The moment where the the sister in the family, clamps down on top of a toilet lid as it sprays waste everywhere, whilst the bathroom is flooded with water, is rich with allegory to their own plight. Acceptance of the shitty situation. Trying to make the most of it, but never quite being in a position to completely get out of it. This says a lot about social mobility - of themselves, and the Western world at large.

Seeing Ki-Taek moving through the water flooded apartment, with a float box of possessions, looking around with tears in his eyes, is incredibly moving, and solidifies his decision to seek shelter for his family and into their employers - the Park family home.

Parasite works well as you can see this movie in many different lites. It is easy to crucify the Kim family as being parasites, but the same is true of the Park family, who exploit labour by their hoarding of wealth, and using it as a way to shirk their responsibilities of handling any dirty work.

I loved this film, and whilst I don’t think this is an appropriate format to discuss it’s winning of best film at the Oscars, I feel the competition was strong this year and a case could be made for any of the nominated films (including the critically acclaimed Uncut Gems). It definitely wasn’t an upset and a case can be made for it deserving the award. No one should be disappointed that Parasite won outright this year.

Overall Score

8.5 out of 10