Living in a small, musty semi-basement in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. Parasite Character Analysis (Avoiding Spoilers) Grew up. Very soon, the Kims also manage to displace the longstanding housekeeper to make room for Mrs Kim to join the operation. Their quest for upward mobility is futile. Characters from Parasite (2019). NEXT: Parasite: D&D Alignments Of The Main Characters. The film was, for lack of better descriptors, a fucking wild trip. Mr Kim, already an accepting and adaptable character, was unknowingly triggered by Mr Parks reaction to Moon-kwangs husband as his pent-up resentment comes crashing through. This was foreshadowed early in the film when Mr Kim flicks a stink bug off the table in his house he is the stink bug to Mr Park, a smelly, insignificant insect that is unwelcome, and it is ultimately his stink that triggers his aggression towards Mr Park. Living in a state-of-art mansion. Master the art of visual storytelling with our FREE video series on directing and filmmaking techniques. Stay up to date on the news from Silicon Valley, and how to take back control of your data and devices. Armed with a knife, he makes a beeline for the first member of the Kim family he can see Ki-jeong, as shes delivering Da-songs birthday cake to him on the lawn. How to Capture the Perfect Light. The friend is in love with the young girl and doesnt want another tutor slavering over her. When the Kims move into the Parks' house, Ki-woo notes that Ki-jung seems to fit in well with the trappings of wealth, and can carry off a luxurious lifestyle naturally. The entire Kim family, beginning with Ki-woo, soon scam their way into different jobs for the Park family. In his art, Da-song perfectly captures the mans relentless gaze, and even his receding hairline. He also does a great job in coaching his father's performance for Yeon-gyo so that she will get rid of Moon-gwang. Unpacking the metaphorical ending of Parasite, See how this cruelty-free circus replaced animals with holograms, Windows 11 update brings Bings chatbot to the desktop. But rather than leaving viewers in this dreamy state, Bong pinches them and returns to the apartment. For Part 2, to read the Plot discussion, go here. The characters are a reason for the success and we've ranked how smart they are. The rest of the family hides as Chung-sook lets her in and Moon-gwang reveals a bunker in the basement of the house, a lair that was installed by the architect who built it, and which even the Parks have no knowledge of. And then everything changes. When the architect sold the mansion to the Park family, Moon-Gwang survived a change of ownership. Parasite Analysis: Navigating the Shift At its exact mid-point, Parasite undergoes a massive tonal shift. When a writer does their best, digging deep into their characters, tapping into their souls, the players in our stories magically lift up off the printed page and come to life in a readers imagination. And theres a reason the Kim apartment is halfway undergroundtheyre caught between worlds, stuck in the growing chasm between the haves and the have nots. And, if you would like a deep-dive into the inner workings of the screenplay, be sure to read our Parasite script teardown. as Chung-sook ( Ki-taek's wife ), Berlinale 2023 Highlights, Part Two: Reality, Manodrome, The Adults, Inside, Golda, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson Feted at SBIFF 2023, Revisiting Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Tragically Common: Jamie Dack, Lily McInerny and Jonathan Tucker on Palm Trees and Power Lines. Get entertainment recommendations for your unique personality and find out which of 5,500+ 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. *SPOILER WARNING* Major, major spoilers ahead! He soon discovers, however, that Mr. Park does not like his smell, and feels deflated by this insult. On that fateful day, he ran from the backyard with blood on his hands not Mr. Parks, as one might assume, but his own daughters. These two powerhouse awards ceremonies rarely overlap and are comprised of entirely different audiences and judges and with entirely different viewing criteria and preferences. Brian Tallerico is the Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. Bong has made several films about class (including "Snowpiercer" and "Okja"), but Parasite may be his most daring examinationof the structural inequity that has come to define the world. If you are interested in reading through the rest of the script, you can find it below. Husband! as they descend into the depths of the bunker also do nothing to alleviate the building tension as we shockingly discover that her husband is in fact a mole person hiding and living right under the Parks noses and supplied food by Moon-kwang regularly, who even worships Mr Park for providing him with food and accommodation. He is traumatised not once, but twice at the sight of Moon-kwangs husband, and is also the youngest and most innocent character. 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. Parasite study guide contains a biography of Bong Joon-ho, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. That he also manages to go into hiding in the Park's basement as did Geun-sae is pretty impressive given all the people that had to be going in and out of the house. characters are most like you. Cho Yeo-jeong Ki-jung gets the job after impressing Mrs. Park with some pseudo insights about psychology, and Mrs. Park hires her as both a tutor and an art therapist. Moon-gwang may first appear as an easy person to take advantage of, but when she returns to the Park family's home to care for her sick husband, we see that she didn't get to where she is by chance. Honestly, it may be a tie between Dong-ik and Yeon-gyo here as they both fall for the deceptions of Ki-jeong and the rest of the Kim family. A tonal shift this extreme could easily take viewers out of the film or feel like a jumping-the-shark moment, but in the hands of Bong Joon-ho, this shift is portrayed in a way that not only feels effortless but greatly enhances each half of the film that preceded and follows it. Thats all I can say without giving away major spoilers! Once the entire Kim family is employed in the Park household, the lower-class con-artists begin to assume more and more of this fabricated identity of wealth. Da-song was perhaps the only hope the Park family had and still they collapsed. 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. Improving the family's financial situation is the most important goal for Ki-Woo, and he remains hopeful of his future. Moon-kwangs constant wails of Husband! This is especially impressive given how ethnocentric the Academy Awards often unfold, prioritizing English-language films over foreign-language films much of the time. As we enter the house, we see that the same design sensibilities are used the house has plenty of wide, open spaces and minimalistic furniture. Character Analysis. ki-woo's sister, smart and tough, gains the upper hand with mrs. park by expressing expertise and confidence, says she . Ki-woos friend is actually in love with the Park daughter, proclaiming that he would officially date her once she enters university, and that he trusts no one else to be her stand-in tutor except for Ki-woo. The first half of Parasite plays out largely as a comedy-drama with a compelling narrative and thought-provoking themes. He almost outs the Kim family on their scheme when he realizes that both Ki-taek and Chung-sook smell the same. The clean, empty spaces of the Park home contrasted against the tight quarters of the Kim living arrangement isnt just symbolic, its visually stimulating without ever calling attention to itself. Please enable Javascript and hit the button below! Managing to never get caught up to that point, though, was definitely a feat on its own merits, even if it was in a basement. Writers can shade and shape a storys character in limitless ways. Maybe you're the one who isn't a good judge of character, Min. The film is packed with social commentary, thrilling moments, and plenty of meaty writing worthy of a full Parasite movie analysis. The Artist, a French and Belgian production, won best picture at the 2012 Academy Awards but was ineligible for the best foreign language film category as it is a silent film. Parasite dominated the Academy Award, including a Best Picture win. Parasite is Bong Joon Ho's newest flick, and it's dark, twisted, and totally fascinating. account. The musty smell follows Ki-Jung wherever she visits, revealing her poverty. We even learn that Moon-kwangs husband, like Mr Kim, also had a failed business venture in a cake shop. 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. He works as a list writer for Valnet, Inc. covering Screen Rant. The Kims soon settle into their comfortable new life working for the Parks. After Geun-sae bludgeons him with it, Ki-woo emerges from a coma all the more motivated to ascend the class ladder, buy the Parks' home, and reunite with his father, who is living in the subterranean bunker. Can the poor really just step into the world of the rich? All three families at play are damaged by this explosive act of violence. Moon-kwang eventually succumbs to a concussion, leading to her husband desperately smashing his head into the light switches in the bunker to signal Help me in Morse code. The real deception is carried out by the Kims, and it works flawlessly. Chung-sook, the Kim family matriarch, not only knows how to be a good housekeeper but also knows when to call her family members out when they're full of it. More importantly, his failure to dispose of Geun-sae with the rock eventually proves to be not only his undoing but both the Park and Kim families alike. 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. The local pizza shop informs the Kims that one in four of the pizza boxes they folded were faulty and could not be used. 31 Parasite Character Analysis (Avoiding Spoilers) Grew up. 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. 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 family seems to be a tight-knit, supportive group. When folding the pizza boxes during the fumigation, he is the most determined (cockroach-like behaviour, as explained above) but also the most careless with his actions. One clear way to explain the movie is: Parasite is about class. Class is the primary target of social commentary within Parasite. Interests scouting. The two teenage children, Ki-jeong (Park So-Dam) and Ki-woo, are scrambling around the house trying to get a WiFi signal as the neighbour that they usually leech WiFi off had wised up and made it password-protected. I interpreted the fortune rock as a satirical symbol of the Kim familys burdens and guilt at the circumstances, literally weighing down Ki-woo and revealing his presence as he drops it when sneaking up on Moon-kwang and her husband. Not affiliated with Harvard College. It seemed intentional that the director lingered on this frame for a moment, hinting at a more sinister development to come. She is seamless in her execution and rarely makes a misstep. Profession English tutor. We can't blame him too much for developing such trust in Ki-taek that he doesn't see his impending death coming right for him. For Part 3, to read the Character discussion, go here. The Kim family lives in a semi-basement and struggles to keep food on the table. Hes going to get his whole family into this house. Ki-woo makes some rather poor choices, too, though. The musty smell follows Ki-Jung wherever she visits, revealing her poverty. 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