Top 10 Reasons Why Parasite is the Best Movie of the Year

While many movies feature elaborate scams, it’s the execution that makes “Parasite” so interesting. The natural way that Ki-woo and later the rest of his family ingratiate themselves into the Park household feels very much plausible. The underdogs of the story, the Kim family are impossible not to cheer for and laugh along with, as they pull off each new victory. However, the poverty they’re struggling to escape, and the glaring social divisions that the movie makes evident, projects their story upon an emotionally devastating backdrop. Given these layers, the straightforward concept becomes fresh, and leaves the audience nervous, engaged, and hoping desperately for the best.

It is hard to create a suspense film and not be compared to the master of the genre himself. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Bong Joon-Ho said that elements of Hitchcock’s work, particularly the Bates family home in “Psycho”, served as inspiration for “Parasite”. Like the suspense auteur, Bong Joon-Ho has proven to be a master of subverting expectations, and taking things we typically rely on - home, family, the trust of friends - and turning them on their heads. By doing so, he forces the audience to wonder how much they truly know about what goes on in their own homes.

Film is a visual medium - as much and more about HOW something is shot as what’s in front of the camera. Bog Joon-Ho’s subtle direction ensures that the audience fully relates to the Kim family and their predicament. The frequent use of stairs, basements, and other subterranean dwellings add to this sense of divide; so too do the partitions often deployed between characters, and the characters and the audience. With all the thoughtful blocking, lighting, and pacing, what seems simple at first gives the audience more and more to unpack with each viewing. That delicate touch is the mark of a director at the height of their skills.

Like any good suspense film, “Parasite” keeps you guessing. Not only does it disrupt expectations, leading the audience to expect one thing but delivering another, but several times it flat-out changes genre. Incredibly, none of it feels unnatural. It’s not often a movie can go from comedy to suspense to human drama to horror and back, and actually work! They say to go into this film knowing as little as possible, and we agree that’s the best attitude. However, no matter what you go in looking for, you’ll definitely be getting a lot more!

Terrible dialogue can kill a movie, no matter how excellent the performances or direction. Fortunately, not only was “Parasite” directed and co-produced by Bong Joon-ho, he also came up with the story and co-wrote the screenplay. Inspired in part by his time as a tutor to the son of a rich family, Bong Joon-ho was able to draw on real-life experience. In fact, the basic premise of the movie was dreamt up all those years ago, so the plot has been simmering quietly for some time. The dynamic of each family feels real and no conversation seems wasted, only ever advancing the plot towards its shocking conclusion.

“Parasite’s” opening act introduces two very different families: the wealthy Parks and the impoverished Kims. Mr. Park is a businessman and Mrs. Park is a content housewife; their children want for nothing. In contrast, Kim Ki-taek and his wife Chung-sook live in a small semi-basement with their two adult children. They’re perpetually out of work, struggle to make ends meet, and dream of a better life. As such, it’s easy to side with Kim Ki-taek’s family. But still, heroes and villains aren’t immediately apparent. The Parks are kind, yet oblivious to the harsh world around them; the Kims are swindlers, but with the odds stacked against, meaning they do what they have to to survive.

Most of “Parasite” takes place at the Park family’s mansion in an unnamed city (likely Seoul) in South Korea. Located on a hilltop, their home is spacious and angular, their backyard picture-perfect and almost dreamlike. Juxtaposed with this is the crowded and subterranean Kim family home, located at the bottom of many, many stairs, and prone to flooding. Unlike the Park family, the Kims are seldom apart, and do everything together in these close quarters. Each home becomes a character in its own right, and a symbol for each family. Looking up and out their window, the Kims can’t help but see the grim realities on full display. Meanwhile, in the airy Park home, nature becomes surreal, with dark secrets hidden deep down, out of sight.

One of the most prevalent themes in “Parasite” is the divide between classes. The difference between the two families’ worlds is evident in everything from the sets to the way each experiences a single rainstorm. Even during the film’s comedic scenes (which are many), the contrast between the Parks and Kims is apparent and devastating. These divides are explicitly brought up by Mr. Park on several occasions, as he frequently notes that despite friendliness between classes, certain lines are not to be crossed. Only, he doesn’t know how deeply they’ve been crossed already. It’s a movie designed to make viewers rethink their place in the world.

Despite the intense suspense and gut-wrenching moments, “Parasite” is also frequently laugh-out-loud funny. And these laughs are never forced; there’s no slapstick antics, or over-the-top gags to wedge levity into the film (the comedy equivalent of jumpscares!). The humor comes naturally, often at the expense of the oblivious Parks, and through the increasingly audacious ploys of Ki-woo and his family. The line delivery and direction gives even the bleakest moments surprising comedic timing. The humor is dark (given the subject matter) but never truly gallows humor, alleviating the tension without taking away from it and even helping to build it back up.

Indiewire’s David Ehrlich called “Parasite” a “magic trick”, and that’s an apt description. Packing in humor, suspense, and even horror - often within the same scene - the film should feel bloated and overwrought. Yet, somehow, it all works in sharp focus. It’s a fun film telling a serious story, just as Kim Ki-taek’s family are sweet people living in a harsh reality. As Chung-sook points out, the wealthy can afford to be nice, to be unaware, but most people don’t have that luxury. This balancing act at the center of the story, plumbing the ambiguity of what makes people good or bad, is what makes the film so thought-provoking and enjoyable.