It's all fun and games until Moon-gwang shows up, insisting that she left something at the house. Ki-jeong is usually one step ahead of Ki-woo and really solidifies getting the Kim family into the Park family home. Chung-sook, the Kim family matriarch, not only knows how to be a good housekeeper but also knows when to call her family members out when they're full of it. For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here. A highlight of the film for me that cannot go uncredited was the music and score. "Parasite"is so perfectly calibrated that theres joy to be had in just experiencing every confident frame of it, but then thats tempered by thinking about what Bong is unpacking here and saying about society, especially with the perfect, absolutely hauntingfinal scenes. When Ki-woo goes into the basement, Geun-sae attacks him and bludgeons him in the head with the rock. Not only does he have to create suspicion about her, but he has to then convince Yeon-gyo to dispose of Moon-gwang without actually advocating for it. Of the Kim family members, she is the most talented scammer. At the start of the film, we are introduced to the Kims, a family struggling to live under impoverished conditions. Official synopsis: Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan. The Kims soon settle into their comfortable new life working for the Parks. Well be taking a look at all of the ingredients to made Parasite one of the best films of 2019 and one of the best South Korean films ever made, but first, lets get started with a Parasite synopsis. Ki-woo Kim (Choi Woo-Shik) is a young man living in poverty in the slums of a nameless South Korean city with his family - father Ki-taek Kim (Song Kang-ho), mother Chung-sook Kim (Jang Hye-jin), and sister Ki-jung (Park So-dam). Yeon-gyo is a well-meaning mother and wife, but she's rather gullible. I would LOVE to hear from other viewers on their theories on the film, so please feel free to share them with me. Living in a small, musty semi-basement in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. And then Bong takes a hard right turn that asks us what were watching and sends us hurtling to bloodshed. Writing Exercise: Think about each character. If not for the homicidal tendencies of the Kim family, she may well have lasted longer. Ki-taek, the father, begins working as the Park family chauffeur after the Kims have removed their previous chauffeur from his position, and similarly Chung-sook, the mother, replaces Moon-gwang, the housekeeper who has served the home longer than the Parks have even lived there. Character Analysis. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The Question and Answer section for Parasite is a great In his art, Da-song perfectly captures the mans relentless gaze, and even his receding hairline. Parasite is directed by the South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho, who also directed the sci-fi action film Snowpiercer (which was among the highest-grossing films of all time in South Korea) and Okja (which has won multiple film awards and was also nominated for Palme dOr in 2017). Living in a musty semi-basement in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. *MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!! Mr Kims face as he picks up the tissue stained with blood from the dustbin. to infiltrate rooms in . Guen-sae may not be the brightest of the bunch, but he's not entirely an idiot either. He has the hardest part to play in getting rid of Moon-gwang. After their home is flooded, Ki-taek tells his son that it is best to never have a plan, since plans never work out the way one expects. In this scene, Ki-jeong cuts her finger on a piece off glass as shes sweeping them under the couch. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. For more Parasite movie analysis, check out our article on how Bong Joon-ho creates meaning through set dressing. Be sure to watch our video essay on the scene for more detail and deeper Parasite analysis. To download a PDF of the breakdown for Parasite, go here. Geun-se, driven mad by his own situation, smashes Ki-woo over the head with the rock and runs upstairs to the backyard, where he then stabs Ki-jung. Brian Tallerico is the Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. The Kim father and children quickly take cover as Mrs Kim decides to let Moon-kwang in. When a fluke of luck gets the son, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), a job as an English tutor for the wealthy Park familys daughter, the lives of the two families start to intertwine in comedic, dramatic, and eventually, disastrous ways. Even though the film audience is treated to a scene of this happening, it is never confirmed whether it does as we ambiguously end the film back in the Kims tiny basement apartment and Ki-woo writing the letter. Parasite catapulted him to a different level of fame, earning him not only the first Academy Award for Best Picture to go to an international film, but also a unanimously-decided-upon Palme d'Or at Cannes. After getting referred for a tutoring gig, he orchestrates a plan in which his whole family begins working for the same wealthy family. Get entertainment recommendations for your unique personality and find out which of 5,500+ Parasite dominated the Academy Award, including a Best Picture win. Scott Myers 41K Followers Follow More from Medium Scott Myers in Go Into The Story Da-song was so shocked at seeing a strange man creep up the stairs with his bug-eyes wide open that he suffered a seizure, and this trauma also explains for the many creepy portraits that Da-song draws. Mr Kim and his children continue to hide under the living room coffee table as Da-song camps outside in the lawn, determined to have his birthday camping trip and probably fearful of returning to the house on his birthday. A tonal shift this extreme could easily take viewers out of the film or feel like a jumping-the-shark moment, but in the hands of Bong Joon-ho, this shift is portrayed in a way that not only feels effortless but greatly enhances each half of the film that preceded and follows it. I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this weeks script: Parasite. (Note: One of these ranked characters is a huge spoiler for one of the plot's biggest twists, so if you still haven't seenParasite, get on it and then come back and read this!). The film begins with the Kim family at home in their tiny, cramped basement apartment. The Park daughter is not entirely faultless; she seduces Ki-woo and her previous English tutor as well (Ki-woos friend), with Ki-woo even proclaiming the same pledge made by his friend that he would officially date her once she enters university. Armed with a knife, he makes a beeline for the first member of the Kim family he can see Ki-jeong, as shes delivering Da-songs birthday cake to him on the lawn. Parasite director Bong Joon-hos insightful and engaging comedy/thriller became one of the most talked-about films of the year and set a new precedent for the mark a South Korean movie can leave on United States movie-going audiences. For a moment, it seems as though the jig is up for the Kims as Mr Park is suspicious about the entire situation, but he foolishly chalks up the forgotten panties as a result of the chauffeur taking illegal drugs. Perhaps he had just gone crazy, but choosing to go after more of the Kim family guaranteed that he would either be killed himself or that he'd land behind bars. The script for "Parasite" will get a ton of attention as it's one of those clever twisting and turning tales for which the screenwriter gets the most credit (Bong and Han Jin-won, in this case), but this is very much an exercise in visual language that reaffirms Bong as a master.Working with the incredible cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong ("Burning," "Snowpiercer") and an A-list . The young man changes his name to Kevin and begins tutoring Park Da-hye (Jung Ziso), who immediately falls for him, of course. The Analysis of the Oscar-Winning Movie: Parasite Parasite is a 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller movie directed by Bong Joon-ho and is the first film with a non-English script to win Best Picture at the Oscars in 2020. Yeon-Kyo enjoys a calm and relaxing life in the mansion. characters are most like you. Mr and Mrs Park make themselves comfortable on the couch as our protagonists nervously wait for an opportunity to sneak out. Suffice to say, the wealthy in any country survive on the labor of the poor, whether its the housekeepers, tutors, and drivers they employ, or something much darker. Same thing with script and movie analysis: Look at each character and think about why they exist and what their function is. At the party, Da-song falls into another seizure upon the sight of Moon-kwangs husbands bloodied face (from when he tried to signal Help me through the light switches), and the Park family summon Mr Kim to drive Da-song to the hospital while Ki-jeong bleeds out on the lawn and Mr Kim attempts to stop the bleeding. She gains the upper hand with Mrs. Park by feigning extreme expertise and confidence, and insisting on very specific ways to educate and take care of Da-song. The films accolades speak for itself it won the prestigious Palme dOr award at this years Cannes Film Festival, which is an award of the highest order at one of the worlds most renowned film festivals. As Ki-woo first arrives at the Park house, were treated to an awe-inspiring view of the front lawn an immaculately manicured space with trimmed hedges and trees surrounding the perimeter. The film starts with the Kim family, a South Korean family struggling with poverty in a poor neighborhood in an unnamed city. It's a movie of extraordinary cunning and devastating . When the architect sold the mansion to the Park family, Moon-Gwang survived a change of ownership. director Bong Joon-hos insightful and engaging comedy/thriller became one of the most talked-about films of the year and set a new precedent for the mark a South Korean movie can leave on United States movie-going audiences. How to Capture the Perfect Light. It's unclear how the parasites would tie into the Dominion War, but perhaps the show could do a bit of retcon to make a connection like season 2 did by connecting the Travellers with Gary Seven. Chung-sook is the matriarch of the Kim family. He writes his own letter back, in which he dreams about buying the house for himself and reuniting his family. Unpacking the metaphorical ending of Parasite, See how this cruelty-free circus replaced animals with holograms, Windows 11 update brings Bings chatbot to the desktop. Its no accident that the lower-class protagonists happen to have the single most common surname in South Korea. It seemed intentional that the director lingered on this frame for a moment, hinting at a more sinister development to come. The Parks are not immune to Bongs scrutiny though the mother (Cho Yeo Jeong) is portrayed as a truly kind woman whose naivete befalls her, Mr. Park, her husband, can be quite horrible but this is a moment of clarity for Ki-taek, who realizes his family will always be seen as less than by people like the Parks. The films social commentary on class is at its strongest in this depiction of the lower classes fighting against each other rather than against the 1% who truly hold more accountability. The thought that the panties were placed their intentionally to sabotage the chauffeur did not even cross Mr Parks mind. account. In our Parasite movie analysis video, this mid-point scene was the focus. After expressing some doubt at the lies he would have to sell to land the tutoring gig, Ki-woo enlists the help of the artistic Ki-jeong to forge university papers for him in order to land the job. You can download the script here. After Geun-sae bludgeons him with it, Ki-woo emerges from a coma all the more motivated to ascend the class ladder, buy the Parks' home, and reunite with his father, who is living in the subterranean bunker. Though Parasite cannot be confined to a single genre, it centers its focus on class struggle, a sort of precursor to the warfare of Bongs 2013 thriller Snowpiercer. The staircases represent divisions of class and power the Kims wonder upon wandering upstairs whether, in a just world, they would also belong among the rich, so far above ground; upon descending to their flooded apartment in a storm that merely throws off the Parks camping trip, the Kims are reminded of the disparities between the two families. But that he doesn't press Yeon-gyo for replacing Moon-gwang, who has been with the family for quite some time is really when his fate is sealed. Parasite study guide contains a biography of Bong Joon-ho, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. She is seamless in her execution and rarely makes a misstep. Hes skewered classicism in all of his films to some degree. Director Bong even uses a wider aspect ratio of 2.35:1 to not only capture a large family group in a single frame, it also gives the viewer the impression of wide spaces that dont allow for hiding spots. The brilliant set dressing of Parasite combined with the striking architectural-design choices perfectly reinforce the themes of the film, but more on the themes after we finish our Parasite summary. This same subject of class is less overt in Parasite but far more grounded and effectively subtle to the point of never overshadowing the story being told for the sake of its themes. To take advantage of all of CharacTours features, you need your own personal What ensues from this point on is a chaotic, discordant frenzy, where the tension set from the moment we discover the hidden bunker never eases. Parasites ending features a sequence of Ki-woos plan to work hard, buy the house under which his own father now hides, and reunite the family but this plan is nothing but a fantasy. They take on odd jobs for cash like folding pizza boxes, and they rely on unprotected wi-fi networks and street-cleaning pesticides to keep their home insect-free. Parasite study guide contains a biography of Bong Joon-ho, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The clean, empty spaces of the Park home contrasted against the tight quarters of the Kim living arrangement isnt just symbolic, its visually stimulating without ever calling attention to itself. as Ki-woo ( Ki-taek's son ), Park So-dam After the run-in with Moon-gwang and her husband, Ki-woo becomes exceedingly attached to the lucky rock that his friend gave him, and carries it around as a totem. When Da-song wants to sleep in a tent outside, Mr. and Mrs. Park sleep on the couch to watch over him. GradeSaver "Parasite Summary". Whats their function? The argument between the two families becomes violent, with the Kims temporarily coming out on top. Living in a small, musty semi-basement in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. The family seems to be a tight-knit, supportive group. Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho and Jin Won Han, story by Bong Joon Ho. For example, Mr Park making callous comments at the expense of the Kim family which eventually lead to him getting stabbed, Mr Park pressuring Mr Kim to make a fool of himself at Da-songs birthday party with the threat of money, and the Parks only concerning themselves with Da-songs seizure despite the fact that Ki-jeong, someone who works for the Park family, had been stabbed at the birthday party. Personality cool and cynical. describe ki-woo. All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident. Now that he is both her tutor and her boyfriend, he dreams of an affluent future as her husband. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. In the good ol' days, her husband Ki-Taek owned a chicken shack, then a Taiwanese Castella shop. Each has their own distinct backstory, personality, world view, and voice. Moon-Gwangs return to the house and eventual reveal of the secret basement keeps us on the edges of our seats as viewers and seamlessly blends from the drama/comedy centered first half into the thriller/tragedy centered latter half. Nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards, this Korean film certainly has a wide fanbase all over North America. Mr Park runs over to Moon-kwangs husband and pushes his body aside to retrieve the car key, but not before he wrinkles his nose at the smell that Moon-kwangs husband exudes. The local pizza shop informs the Kims that one in four of the pizza boxes they folded were faulty and could not be used. His thoughtless comments were slowly building up resentment in Mr Kim, and further amplified the divide between the two families. If he is ever caught, he may suffer the death penalty for committing a murder. Your email address will not be published. The emotionally-affecting resonance of the ending is the perfect cap to the wonderfully layered social commentary spread throughout the film. Ki-jeongs death was also foreshadowed when she was the only one who got injured in the process of hiding their house party from the Parks as they returned from their failed camping trip. Mrs Kim calling Mr Kim a cockroach, which we all understand is a relentless survivor that not only 1) runs and hides at signs of danger, but also 2) is literally a parasitic insect that doesnt contribute to the ecosystem. Profession English tutor. The film was, for lack of better descriptors, a fucking wild trip. He takes a liking to Ki-jeong and trusts her, but unjustifiably suffers the most at the hands of Moon-kwangs family and the Kim family, suffering two seizures resulting from shock. "Parasite" is a film that follows 10 main characters up close (8 of whom are shown below - the other two are not shown for obvious reasons which will become apparent after you have witnessed the movie) with 10 different "characteristics" that need to be captured in the frame - the looks, the personality, the deep pathos that oozes from each character's situation and by giving us . "Parasite" concludes where it begins, in the semi-basement apartment. Reading scripts. ki-woo's sister, smart and tough, gains the upper hand with mrs. park by expressing expertise and confidence, says she . Geun-sae is Moon-gwang's husband, who is living in the bunker underneath the Parks' house, hiding out from the loan sharks who want to kill him. The film is obviously a social commentary on the class divide in South Korea, but its so much more than that. Just as he called Snowpiercer his film about class revolution set in a dystopia his "hallway movie," he has called Parasite his "stairway movie." 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