PARASITE’S MASTERFUL SCRIPT
Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-Bound Film
The Kim family lives in a basement in South Korea. They’re down on their luck, unable to make a living wage and are trying to survive by doing odd jobs. Their socks hang to dry by their window, which a drunk man pees in front of, most nights. They are at the bottom of society, but Ki-woo (Woo-sik Choi) has an opportunity to change all that.
This is the premise of Bong Joon Ho’s award-winning film, Parasite. After earning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, the “tragicomedy,” as Joon Ho calls it, the movie has been scooping up awards and is well on its way to becoming the first Academy-nominated film from South Korea. It’s even in contention for Best Picture, an award that isn’t usually given to foreign-language features.
But Parasite is different. And at the heart of it all is a well-crafted screenplay.
The film opens in the Kim family’s basement apartment. It showcases the cramped lifestyle and struggles the family endures.
“We’re screwed. No more free WiFi” are the opening lines, uttered by the protagonist, Ki-woo. The first few minutes of Parasite are spent trying to access WiFi. On paper that might seem boring and drawn out, but those who can afford to pay their bills don’t have to worry about accessing WiFi — it’s usually a given in today’s society. Ki-woo tries every corner of the small, dingy apartment, until he finally settles on the toilet to connect to free, nearby WiFi.
From the get-go, Joon Ho has everyone hooked. We’ve met the whole Kim family. And, as the plot unfolds, we’ll meet their foils: the Park family. On the outside, the families are similar — a mother, father, son and daughter. The only difference between them is how much money is in their bank accounts. The Park family lives above ground, in a swanky home that becomes the setting of the film. One by one, Kim family members infiltrate the Park family’s house staff. It starts with Ki-woo, who becomes a tutor for the daughter. As the Kims’ become ingrained in this family’s daily life, they become parasites that feed off the wealth of the clueless Park family.
Every line, every metaphor in Joon Ho’s narrative is necessary and purposeful. The film starts as purely comedy, then it takes a quick turn toward tragedy. It’s the most provocative film of the year as it examines the wealth gap and greed, both common themes in the director’s filmography (Snowpiercer, Okja). You will engage in a movie experience unlike any other and we here at PROVOKR cannot recommend it enough.
