• Parasite

12/27/19 (Fri)

Did the reviewers see the same movie I did? This Korean film has won rhapsodic praise as a social satire and is being talked about as an Oscar candidate, but it seemed to me an overblown attempt at farce relying on impossible situations and questionable characterizations.

The desperately poor Kims and their two children, posing as acquaintances, wangle their way separately into the employ of a wealthy family by driving out the previous workers through various tricks, such as implicating the driver in a sex scandal (replaced by the father) and lying that the longstanding housekeeper has tuberculosis (replaced by the mother). They quickly settle into their roles, duping their employers at every opportunity; the son, in a betrayal of the friend who recommended him to the job in the first place, aims to lure the daughter into marriage to gain the riches for himself. At the same time, the family soon discover how low they truly rank on the social totem pole through the unintended cruelties of their employers, who clearly view them as a lower life form. Even the child notes their off-putting smell. When the employers leave for the weekend, the Kims sneak in and make themselves at home, wining and dining and living the life. Suddenly, the former housekeeper returns and begs to be allowed to retrieve a forgotten item. The wary mother lets her in – bad idea. When the family give a garden party a few days later, pent-up emotions among the staff and complications involving a man living secretly in the basement lead to a gruesome fate.

You have to accept some pretty unlikely developments, like the poor father, frantically trying to save his dying daughter after a bloody stabbing, being commanded by his rich employer to drop her and take care of the household’s passed-out son, or the Kim son obtusely bringing a lucky rock into the dark cellar despite the obvious danger. Logic seems less important here than getting a laugh or forcing the story into a predetermined path however improbably, marring its potential as a commentary on the rich-poor divide. I’m not sure what the film wanted to say about the willingness of the struggling family to displace other struggling workers to get their way – maybe the dehumanization of poverty? I just found it irritating. The twist toward tragedy was odd but at least made some sense in context.

On the plus side, the acting was generally fine, especially the members of the Kim family, and the direction lived up to its billing. The highlight was a terrifying rainstorm that flooded the Kims’ semi-basement home, showing their dire circumstances. Still, bending reality is not the same as ignoring it, and we can only suspend disbelief so far. Not recommended, though I seem to be the only one who think so.