Parasite

I've seen five films by Bong Joon-ho. Previously, the four films I'd seen by him weren't much alike: The Host, a monster movie; Mother, a psychological drama; Snowpiercer, a sci-fi film (in English); Okja, a children's film about the environment; and now Parasite, which takes his game to a higher level.

The film begins by introducing us to the four members of a family who live in a basement apartment. They are just scraping by financially, as we watch them trying to steal wi-fi. But they are an affectionate family, if a bit brash in their attempts to get things for free.

The son, Choi Woo-shik, has a friend who works as an English tutor for the teenage girl of a wealthy family. He's going abroad to study and recommends Choi to replace him, as even though Choi does not have a university degree, he's a whiz with English. He gets the job, as the wife of the wealthy family is excessively naive. When he hears that his student's younger brother needs an art teacher, he gets his sister (Park So-dam) the job, though they keep their sibling relationship a secret. Then, they plot to get their parents' jobs, as a driver and housekeeper respectively, by removing the people already in those jobs.

Thus the family insinuates themselves into the rich family's life, living as the title suggests, without that family knowing that they are related. This is a metaphor, and Choi uses that word often. When the rich family goes camping, they all move into the house and live the life of luxury. But then the old housekeeper comes back, and reveals something that changes everything.

Parasite works on many levels, and to Bong's credit it doesn't settle into one particular genre. It's very funny in spots, but will end up with several murders committed. It examines class, which is interesting given that it's a Korean film, as the class divisions are very Western in nature (Mr. Park, the rich guy, likes his driver, but thinks he smells like an old radish).

The acting highlight of this film is Song Kang--ho as the patriarch of our parasitic family. He is a man who does not shirk work--he has had many jobs--but seems to be tagged with bad luck. He nevertheless has a joie de vivre that makes him charismatic. He loves his family, and struggles to maintain his dignity (at the end of the film he will be wearing an Indian headdress at the request of his employer) and always has a plan. But he reveals to his son, after things have gone downhill, that the only plan that always works is to have no plan.

Parasite is full of surprises, so don't read any spoilers. It will surely be a contender for the International Film Award at the Oscars this year, and may be a contender for Best Picture as well.