parasite character analysis

Parasite is seamless in the way it shuffles moods, tones and genres, and downright Hitchcockian in the way it manipulates your sympathies. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. A third leads to the upper floor of the Parks stylish home. Guen-sae manages to get the jump on Ki-woo after he fails to murderGuen-sae with the rock given by Min. What is the movie Parasite about? has many answers. Cho Yeo-jeong Parasite Character Analysis (Avoiding Spoilers) Living in a state-of-art mansion. Down in the basement is Geun-sae, Moon-gwang's husband, who is hiding from loan sharks there. Please enable Javascript and hit the button below! Subscribe for more filmmaking videos like this. 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. After struggling to make ends meet folding pizza boxes for a local pizza restaurant, the Kims are visited by one of Ki-woo's wealthier friends, Min-hyuk, who offers to refer him to a job tutoring for a wealthy family, the Parks. Were in a golden age of TV writing and development. Min-hyuk believes that Ki-woo poses no threat to his chances of eventually connecting with his student, Da-hye, and he knows that Ki-woo needs the money, so it is a kind gesture. The Kim family lives in a semi-basement and struggles to keep food on the table. ki-woo's sister, smart and tough, gains the upper hand with mrs. park by expressing expertise and confidence, says she . The real deception is carried out by the Kims, and it works flawlessly. Characters from Parasite (2019). His decision to kill Mr. Park at the end is a shocking and perhaps poor one, but not entirely unjustified. He has held a bunch of different jobs, working as a valet and at a bakery, but struggles to provide for his family. Living in a small, musty semi-basement in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. Ki-woo hasnt yet executed the vision, recalling his fathers earlier advice that the only way to fulfill a plan is to not make one at all. For Part 3, to read the Character discussion, go here. Prior to Parasite in 2019, his most focused social commentary on class was found in his 2013 film Snowpiercer which saw the lower class positioned at the back of a train in squalid conditions while the wealthy lived large at the head of the train. They didn't fold the Pizza boxes correctly. I have so much to say about this film that I was practically overflowing with thoughts for a good 24 hours after watching it. He also meets Da-hye, the flirtatious teenager he will be tutoring, and Da-song, her younger brother, for whom Mrs. Park is trying to find an art tutor. Parasite exploded this past weekend on Oscar night when it became the first international film to win four Academy Awards, including the coup de grace, Best Picture. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Parasite by Bong Joon-ho. Its here where we can finally analyse who is the parasite in the film, and who are the antagonists? As silly an instruction this is, the Kim family respects his wishes and starts to comedically choke and cough as the fumes fill up their apartment, with only Mr Kim indifferent to the toxic fumes. The first half of Parasite plays out largely as a comedy-drama with a compelling narrative and thought-provoking themes. At some points, it seemed that the music didnt match the situation, such as instilling fear or anxiety in the listener when there was really nothing to worry about at the moment, but the sense of foreboding always pays off later in the film. This sets off Ki-taek, who stabs Park in the chest before running away and escaping into the basement bunker unseen. Grew up in a middle-class home that was neither poor nor terribly wealthy. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Parasite by Bong Joon-ho. moon-gwang's husband. And then Bong takes a hard right turn that asks us what were watching and sends us hurtling to bloodshed. The Park family is also blissfully unaware that the Kims are all related, but the observant young Park son, Da-song (Jung Hyun-joon) notices that all the new hires smell the same. She likes to play games with Ki-taek, calling him a cockroach and belittling him, as part of their marital dynamic. Although it does not seem likely, Ki-Woo claims he will get admission into an elite university and marry Da-Hye. The entire plot of the film was completely unexpected and otherworldly, giving the audience a great sense of uneasiness and formication. Over the course of a few pulse-quickening scenes, and unbeknown to the Parks, Chung-sook critically injures Moon-gwang by pushing her down the stairs, and Ki-taek traps Geun-se in the bunker. This is especially impressive given how ethnocentric the Academy Awards often unfold, prioritizing English-language films over foreign-language films much of the time. She is seamless in her execution and rarely makes a misstep. The music was truly masterful as it even manages to foreshadow later plot points that would unfold in the settings that conveyed tension or dread through its music. The musty smell follows Ki-Jung wherever she visits, revealing her poverty. To access over 70 analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here. Ill do a spoiler-free review first, followed by an in-depth analysis, so dont scroll too far if youve not caught the movie. The wide panning shots do great in conveying a sense of space in the large Park residence, and sequence shots make the viewer feel as though they are there with the characters, watching their lives unfold. 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. Parasite: Every Main Character Ranked By Intelligence, Parasite: 7 Reasons It's Bong Joon-Ho's Best Movie (& 7 It's Not), The 10 Worst Family Movies Of All Time, Ranked, 5 Reasons Why HBO's Parasite Is A Good Idea (& 5 Why The Movie Should Be Left Alone), Parasite: D&D Alignments Of The Main Characters. At the party, Ki-woo decides to head back down into the basement with the fortune rock, likely intending to end Moon-kwang and her husbands lives. More books than SparkNotes. Parasite director Bong Joon-ho became the first South Korean filmmaker to win best director at the academy awards. account. The film centers on two families, one poor and one rich and the interactions between them that end explosively. Your email address will not be published. Parallels are drawn between the two families to show that poverty and social status can sometimes really just be a matter of circumstance. Ki-Jung's family was much better off in her childhood when her father owned a cake shop. 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. Dong-Ik purchased the beautiful home from its architect some time ago. You would have never expected that the spacious, minimalist living room would having sufficient hiding spots for the Kim family, but they make do, truly living up to the cockroach analogy used by Mrs Kim earlier on as the Kims scatter and hide at the first sign of danger. Working with the incredible cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong (Burning, Snowpiercer) and an A-list design team, Bong's film is captivating with every single composition. *SPOILER WARNING* Major, major spoilers ahead! In this scene, Ki-jeong cuts her finger on a piece off glass as shes sweeping them under the couch. In a trance-like state as his daughter is bleeding out on the ground, Mr Kim is triggered by Mr Parks balking at the stench and fatally stabs him in the chest before running out the house. Living in a state-of-art mansion. Buy TVs. Electronics prices are defying inflation. The films score here perfectly uses the technique of moving up musical keys in non-linear, minor and discordant chords to instill fear and anxiety in the viewer as Moon-kwang and Mrs Kim descend down endless flights of concrete stairs, turning left and right at every corner to finally reach the bunker below. The Kims return to find that their apartment has flooded with sewage water and try to rescue whatever valuables they can, including the fortune rock gifted to Ki-woo. It is the only common factor between the Parks' young boy and Ki-Woo. The Question and Answer section for Parasite is a great The only thing I can think of is that the original housekeeper was in contact with the original tutor of the family. The characters are a reason for the success and we've ranked how smart they are. 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. Profession art tutor. Cockroaches and insects are seen around the house, and at some point, Mr Kim even flicks a stink bug off the table, foreshadowing a larger plot point further on. The musty smell follows Ki-Jung wherever she visits, revealing her poverty. Watching the poor family leave their cramped semi-basement home to overtake the. Parasite essays are academic essays for citation. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist,The New York Times, and Rolling Stone,and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association. With a run-time of 2hrs 15mins that you would barely notice due to the amazing pacing of the film, the film moves seamlessly through its different genres and settings without missing a beat. She leaves her panties behind in the Parks car as shes being driven home by their original chauffeur, causing Mr and Mrs Park to fire him on the assumption that he had been doing the deed in their car. Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. Personality cool and cynical. However, to qualify for the job, Ki-Woo must forge his identity from a man in his mid-20s with no formal education to a student studying business at an elite university. 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. Of the Kim family members, she is the most talented scammer. I noticed that the house, the main setting for the plot, is always perceived by the audience in wide shots to show the expanse of space available. Even my boyfriend, whos no cinephile, was thoroughly impressed by the film and we spent the next hour or so discussing it. 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. The metaphorical themes are presented in as literal a way as possible with the act of this stabbing. Parasite has a lot worthy of analysis and it has a lot to say. This secret basement reveals an even lower level of status below what we had thought was the floor with the Kim family. The cinematography was also amazing. To take advantage of all of CharacTours features, you need your own personal Its evident that the Kim family lives in squalor. Just trust me on this one. There are plenty of subtle, comedic moments in the film that gave me a good chuckle, and some even managed to get a LOL from me. Moon-kwang reveals that a large cabinet in the basement is actually hiding the entrance to a secret underground bunker, where her husband (Park Myung-hoon) had been living in secret the past few years. He soon discovers, however, that Mr. Park does not like his smell, and feels deflated by this insult. What an astute observation for a young child, and this was such a key detail to throw in. 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. Surprisingly, Ki-Woo turns out skilled in his artifice: as Ki-Woo explains, "I dont consider this a crime. Elevation clearly equates to status; the parks have a multi-level home at the top of the hill while the Kims live below street level in a semi-basement, and the surprise 3rd party lives deep underground in a sub-basement. 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. This review was filed from the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7th. Kevin has a much deeper plan. She does an excellent job getting the house back in order before the Park family returns and discovers Moon-gwang and her husband, but she's unable to stop what's coming by then. "Parasite" is a marvelously entertaining film in terms of narrative, but theres also so much going on underneath about how the rich use the poor to survive in ways that I cant completely spoil here (the best writing about this movie will likely come after its released). Bong Joon-ho displays a mastery over genres and tones with this mid-point shift. The young man changes his name to Kevin and begins tutoring Park Da-hye (Jung Ziso), who immediately falls for him, of course. Ki-woo pens a letter to his father, fantasizing about his plan to go to college, secure a well-paying job and buy the Parks old house so that his father can live freely. Bonus points: sharing my fave moments only, because every scene in the movie is priceless. The second half of Parasite is one of the most daring things Ive seen in years narratively. Just as he called Snowpiercer his film about class revolution set in a dystopia his "hallway movie," he has called Parasite his "stairway movie." It is an upstairs-downstairs film that. The film is obviously a social commentary on the class divide in South Korea, but its so much more than that. Get entertainment recommendations for your unique personality and find out which of 5,500+ The Kims soon settle into their comfortable new life working for the Parks. It is somehow, and Im still not even really sure how, both joyous and depressing at the same time. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Parasite represents the most focused and refined approach to class as a subject that Bong Joon-ho has achieved, and thats certainly saying something given his impressive body of work. Yeon-Kyo enjoys a calm and relaxing life in the mansion. Its revealed that as Mr Kim escapes the house, he realises where he must go back into the house, into the bunker, to hide out for the remainder of his life. It is a tonal juggling act that first feels like a satirea comedy of manners that bounces a group of lovable con artists off a very wealthy family of awkward eccentrics. Kim Ki-woos life changes when a friend offers to recommend him as an English tutor for a girl hes been working with as the friend has to go out of the country for a while. Staircases are among the many things in Parasite that could be considered metaphorical, as becomes a refrain of the Kims son, Ki-woo (Choi Woo Shik). Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Director Bong Joon-Ho himself has described Parasite as a cross-genre film, dipping its toes into the regions of dark comedy, satire, thriller and family drama. The family lives in a garden unit where they struggle finding a Wi-Fi signal to sneak into in order to get . At its exact mid-point, Parasite undergoes a massive tonal shift. As she cynically comments, "It's the basement smell. Profession English tutor. as Ki-woo ( Ki-taek's son ), Park So-dam As the end credits began to roll, the tension in the cinema was palpable. Each family has their own desperate reasons to continue leeching off the wealth of the Parks, and both would stop at nothing to do what is best or necessary for their family. One set of stairs descends to the central Kim familys dingy semi-basement apartment in modern-day Seoul, while another ascends to the front door of the ultrawealthy Park family, for whom the cash-strapped Kims work. Ki-taek and Chung-sook, the patriarch and matriarch, are having trouble finding employment, and their children, Ki-woo and Ki-jung are trying to help in whatever way they can. Each character inParasiteis unique, but they definitely differ in levels of intelligence. Parasite concludes where it begins, in the semi-basement apartment. Min-hyuk offers Ki-woo his tutoring job while he's away noting that the family of the girl he tutors is not necessarily the best judge of character. However, she makes a grave mistake by letting Moon-gwang back into the Park family home, thereby unleashing a Pandora's box she can't close. Small things, such as the Kim family opening their windows as their neighbourhood is fumigated in order to rid their own apartment of pests, or drunkards that liked to piss on their basement windows at night, were double-edged jokes that combined absurdist humour with sly details of the familys desperation and socio-economic plight. Mr Kims face as he picks up the tissue stained with blood from the dustbin. 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). How could they possibly compare to a couple leeching off the Parks like this? The sense of dread that the husband instills doesnt pay off until the end of the movie. It is his success in passing as a competent English tutor that allows him to invite Ki-jeong into the home and so on. Were here to help. When he is given the opportunity to work as Mr. Park's driver, he figures out how to be the best driver he can be, and to provide some light companionship to Mr. Park. Thats all for my in-depth analysis! The topic of class is one that Bong Joon-ho has a clear fascination with. As the night wears on, the Kims manage to escape, running through the torrential downpour to reach their basement apartment in the slums. Reading scripts. Moon-kwangs constant wails of Husband! Given how ethnocentric the Academy Awards often unfold, prioritizing English-language films over foreign-language much... 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