Movie Review : Parasite

 

The Oscar winning film Parasite is  a great film and not only is it entertaining but it is also very deep and philosophical. Though it came out in 2019 I am embarrassed to have only watched it recently in 2024. I must have been living under rock. And anyone who has not seen it should drop whatever they are doing and watch Parasite.

Here is the problem I have with Parasite. There are no parasites in the film. It is a film about a poor family who connive their way into the good graces of a rich family in order to... work for them. Though it is a great movie to call Kim Ki-taek parasites is an injustice. They do honest work for the most part. In the beginning, yes they use other people's wife but at the same time they actually fold pizza boxes for a living and that is not parasitical. Later on the father becomes a driver, the mother a house cleaner, the son and daughter become tutors. In what way are they parasites? Even the rich family Park family are not parasites. The father is an architect and the wife is a stay at home mother who looks after the children. Even the guy trapped in the basement is not a parasite, he bangs his head and turns on the lights for Mr Park and thus is not a virus on society.

It would have made sense for the film to be about politicians or criminals who are the real parasites on society. Perhaps there can be a Parasite 2 where the son Ki-woo does some criminal activities to get rich and purchase the house his father is trapped in. Maybe a Parasite 2 could be about the criminal underworld, the corrupt political class and how they intertwine. 

One other thing I did not like was why the daughter Ki-jung had to die. It made no sense to the overall story in my opinion. What did she do to deserve death? I think they just killed her off for the shock value.

In any event South Korean television is slowly surpassing Hollywood in my opinion. I enjoyed Squid Game, Jewel in the Korean palace and Parasite as well. South Korean story telling is unique and authentic. The only film I did not like from South Korea is Old Boy which I thought was nonsensical and vulgar. Fathers sleeping with daughters, brothers romancing sisters is revolting and does not make good story telling in my opinion.

Anyway, if you have not watched Parasite do give it a chance. And I hope one day they make Parasite 2, because the story of Ki-woo is still unfinished.

Lessons 

The lesson to be learned from the movie is that be grateful for what you have. In the beginning of the movie the Ki family was poor but at least they had each other. They envied the Park family and wanted to be rich but in the end the Ki family was left devastated. The daughter lost her life and the father lost his freedom. In the end the son and mother were left alone. In life you don't know what you got til its gone. The Ki did not appreciate that they had each other. In life there are things more important than money. Family and relationships are way more important than material possessions.

The second lesson of the movie is that the truth always comes to light. Secrets will always be revealed no matter how much we try to hide them. In the movie the Ki family thought they were clever and could get away with lying but in the end all was revealed. What a tangled web we weave when we conspire to deceive!

Thoughts

Like I said before, I dont think they are any parasites in the movie. The Ki family actually worked for the Parks so in what way were they parasitic. Even the guy in the basement turned on the lights with his head so he was no parasite.

However, the western world is full of parasites. In places like America, criminals sit around in prisons eating and sleeping whilst law abiding citizens have to work to put a roof over their heads. At the bottom you see homeless people who contribute nothing to society but beg and steal. At the top there are old geriatric politicians who do nothing but lie and steal. On one had the west aborts and kills millions of innocent fetuses and on the other hand you allow murderers to live in prisons for the remainder of their useless lives all on the citizen's expense. In Europe you have an assortment of ceremonial parasitic monarchs who do nothing but wave at people and smile whilst doing nothing to justify their allowances. And there is also a coterie or sexually frustrated priests who wear strange robes and pastors in outlandish suits promising an afterlife whilst robbing church members blind. The royalty and the priests are both disgusting parasites too who feed on society whilst contributing nothing. Western civilisation truly has a parasite problem! The West is now a fool's paradise or better yet, a parasite's  paradise. The solution would be to introduce the death penalty for murderers and violent criminals as well as cutting off the leeches from the welfare system. In any event it would be interesting to see a movie that really looks at parasitic behaviour, perhaps a movies about the homeless, corrupt politicians and the criminal underclass.