Parasite is a dark comedy thriller from Korea with plenty of laughs, twists, and turns. A poor family of con artists infiltrates the household of a wealthy family as they look for handouts, but they get more than they bargained for in return. Written and directed by auteur Bong Joon Ho (Okja, Snowpiercer), his constant theme of class struggle is polished and presented masterfully here. His sci-fi monsters have been traded for human monsters, which work well to drive his point home, as there is plenty that is scary about human behavior to warrant these motives. Ki-woo Kim (Choi Woo Shik) lives in a family so poor, they actually open their windows when the neighborhood is being fumigated so they can borrow some of that poison. Folding pizza boxes for a pizza delivery company to earn barely enough to eat, every member of the family could desperately use some gainful employment. Fortunately, a friend who is about to travel out of the country offers Kim a temporary job as a replacement English tutor for the Park family while he is away. However, there are strings attached: Kim must take on the moniker "Kevin" to appear more legitimate, and he must be careful to not get involved with the young Park girl he's tutoring since the friend is in love with her. Taking the job, Ki-woo enters a life previously unimaginable from his cramped, impoverished home. Unaccustomed to the luxury that his new employers take for granted, he breaks the rule of his own employment as he finds himself interested in the young girl he is tutoring. Thinking of his family, Ki-woo discovers opportunities to bring them into the Park household, posing as professionals of various natures so that they, too, can enjoy the good life. Soon the Kim and Park families are all interwoven, and all seems well. Unfortunately, while the Kim family members are sneaking crumbs from a much larger pie, there's a reason that pie exists in the first place. Often, the wealthy become rich by profiting off the labor of the poor, a timeless, hard lesson learned by the poor over and over again. The stark contrast of locations between the rich and poor not only set the tone of Parasite, but also embody a wealth of opportunity for the action to play out once the characters are in place. The drab, dimly lit scenes compile into a darker look at life in its many complex forms. Ultimately, Parasite registers on many levels: it first works its way in as a comedy, then grips the heart as an emotional piece, and finally it rips all that out as a dark thriller of sorts. Powerful visuals with a relatable struggle story are enhanced by fantastic performances and make for a memorable movie.
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