Written by Eesha Gorti
A/N: Dear readers, the following review consists of spoilers and a description of the 2019 film, Parasite.
entropy /ˈɛntrəpi/
noun
lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.
‘Parasite’, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, Bong Joon-Ho satirical thriller, set in modern-day South Korea, following a family of four, in their journey of conning their way into working for another family of four. However, the two families lie on the two opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. Putting two and two together should come really easily based off of this information - the lower-class family is leeching off the upper-class family, hence the title, right? Well, it’s not that simple.
In this review, we will go through the different possible reasons this movie’s title is frighteningly apt, and how it gets more entropic with each reason.
1. Ki-Woo (Kevin)
Ki-Woo is depicted as a well-versed, smart, strategic yet innocent character. His parasitic nature is shown when he betrays his friend’s trust. His friend, Min, who trusts him with tutoring the girl he loves, because he believes that his other friends, from university, would do anything to go out with a girl as pretty as Da-Hye. And oh how the tables turn with Ki-Woo and Da-Hye’s first kiss, which neither of them seems apologetic about.
2. The Kims
The Kims, although a low-income family, are shown to be a tight-knit, cunning, and unawarely selfish family. Although it can be argued that their selfish nature comes from their unstable professional history, that has taught them to fend for themselves, before they can start caring about humanity. Min visits their house, bearing not one, but two gifts- a job for Ki-Woo, and the rock that is meant to bring the family good luck and great wealth. While things seem to be going accordingly, this is arguable, as the
family unfairly manifested the occurrence of these events. They did not stop at Ki-Woo getting a job but moved forth to
Ki-Jung as a sophisticated art teacher for the son, Ki-Taek as the experienced, veteran driver and Choong-sook as the warm housekeeper; until the whole family was leeching off their capitalists, upper-class counterparts.
3. The Parks
Even though the Parks are not depicted as outright capitalist villains, they are naive, dep
pendant, and visibly not as smart as the Kims. The way this parasitic relationship function is shown in the inability of the rich. The inability of the rich to get things done independently, the inability of the rich to comprehend or empathize with anyone who functions on a different wavelength, beyond the surface level, and in this case, the inability of the rich to be aware of the fact that they have had a stranger residing in their basement for over four years! This brings us to the next point, the basement-dwellers.
4. The Basement-Dwellers
The former housekeeper’s - Moon-Gwang- husband had been residing in the protection chamber (which they did not know existed) of the Parks’ house, to escape from debt collectors who had been hunting him down tirelessly. What is ironic about this unsolicited residence, is two things. Firstly, the husband’s gratitude towards an unaware Mr. Park. He would send him gratitude notes in Morse code through the lights in the living room, whose controls were in the basement. Secondly, the couple’s thought process that this was somehow justified. Moon-Gwang explicitly stated that she bought food for her husband with her own money, which makes the fact that she hid another human being, in her boss’ home, okay.
5. Being Their Own Hero
Each character in this story seems to think that they are the one’s on the right side of the situation that they are in, which is amusing because as vie
de of this situation. Everybody is functioning on their own path of greed and selfishness. Speaking of which, Bong Joon-Ho also sneaks in a representation of all the seven deadly sins in this masterpiece of a film, adding to the chaotic and disorderly characteristic of the movie.
Contrary to popular opinion, good acting, and a good plot are not the only things that constitute an unforgettable film.
This film outdoes itself in every aspect - from set design to production value, to the colour gradient, to costume design, to the phenomenal, ties-everything-together soundtrack. The unpredictability and the build till the climax are what make this cinematic masterpiece what it is.
This film will pave its way into your top ten and will leave you hungover for two-three days. It was well deserving of the recognition it received and should be on your watchlist! It will captivate you and drag you into a spiral of disorder, and send your thoughts off on hundreds of different tangents. And therein, lies its beauty.
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