All unemployed, Ki-taek’s family take a peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
“Every man has inside himself a parasitic being who is acting not at all to his advantage.” — William S. Burroughs.
A parasite uses its host to fuel its life cycle. The impoverished protagonists of Bong Joon-ho’s latest study of class disparity develop an ingenious scheme to infiltrate and take over the lives of the privileged, using them as hosts to fuel their lives. By turns uproarious, heartbreaking and relentlessly tense, “Parasite”’s perhaps most impressive quality is how assured it is, handling tonal shifts smoothly, deliberately. It functions as a sad allegory, an eccentric pseudo-heist thriller, and a brilliant dramedy — a concoction only Jooh-ho, one of the best filmmakers currently working, can conjure. You are unlikely to see a more visceral cinematic experience this year.
Kim Ki-Taek (brilliantly played by Joon-Ho regular Song Kang-ho) is the patriarch of a destitute family. They live in a tiny, ramshackle basement. A homeless person regularly pisses on their window. Their toilet is elevated so that it’s inches away from the ceiling. An exterminator comes by to spray for bugs, and Ki-Taek — despite the poisonous fumes — urges his family to keep the windows open (to get rid of the pests invading their abode). But then he and his family hatch a scheme to gradually invade the glamorous Parks’ family. To reveal how Ki-Taek’s crew goes about their plan would be doing the film’s intricate plot a major disservice — let’s just say that before the Parks know it, they’ve fired their entire house staff and replaced it with our “heroes.”
The purposeful ambiguity when it comes to certain elements plays in the film’s favor, infusing it with an alluring quality. “Parasite” is chockfull of subliminal levels that go as deep as the horrifying basement in Parks’ home. Is there really a romance blossoming between two young people, whose backgrounds are so inherently different? How does Ki-Taek’s family truly feel about what they’ve done to the people they’ve replaced? Does the filmmaker indict the privileged or the system that spawns such inequality — or both? Without providing easy answers, “Parasite” never frustrates, gripping your heart and shredding your nerves with every meticulous twist and turn.
An unforgettable flood sequence renders our hapless protagonists temporarily homeless. A midway close encounter between two families will have you on the edge of your seat, not knowing whether to laugh, shriek, or cry. Comparisons to Jordan Peele’s silly “tethered” in “Us” may arise, and while it aimed for similar themes, Bong Joon-ho’s feature wipes the (basement) floor with Peele’s overwrought effort. It’s about what it means to be human, and humane, and what happens when one’s driven to extremes by circumstances… but it’s so much more. With references to Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino, Luis Buñuel, and David Lynch, “Parasite” is its own, utterly unique entity that must be seen to be believed.
In Theaters Friday, October 11th
