#da-hye

[marisramblings]

Yes, The Kims are the Bad Guys: A Review of Parasite

(This is click-bait, please read my review)

Quick thoughts:

The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous. There many stylistic choices that add to the overall atmosphere. The flooding scene with Ki-woo watching the water rush over his shoes. The water filling up their home as we watch the couple trapped in the bunker desperately trying to survive. The silence as Ki-taek realizes that he stabbed Dong-ik.

The movie is beautiful to watch and there are little touches here and there that make the experience even more enjoyable.

South Korea’s Culture:

I’m not South Korean, so there is a lot of cultural context I don’t have. There may be some critiques that come from this ignorance, so I would love to have an explanation. I think I caught most of it, but I know I’m missing information.

Why the Kims are actually bad people

I’m not starting with what they did to the Parks, but instead with Moon-gwang, her husband, and the driver. These people were also working class and had their lives completely upended due to the Kims. What I like about this, is that the Kims do feel some guilt but try to ignore it. It’s realistic and gives depth to our “parasites.” Purposefully aggravating someone’s allergies can be life-threatening. Planting the idea that someone’s driver may have assaulted someone is horrific. They manner in which these people were let go, may well affect their chances at finding other employment. Would you give a recommendation to a housekeeper you think is negligently spreading a serious disease or a driver that may fuck in your vehicles?

Ki-woo starting a romantic relationship with a high school sophomore is absolutely sickening. Min implying that he did the same? Also sickening. No one reacting properly to this? Makes me wonder if this is a common issue in South Korea. Not to mention, he attempted to murder the couple they trapped downstairs. Good on the husband for hitting Ki-woo. I also disliked Ki-jung manipulating a child’s trauma. She’s a cold one, for the most part.

Returning to Moon-gwang and her husband, I have to give the Kims some grace here. Their meeting and confrontation was an incredibly tense scene. Imagine finding out the previous housekeeper kept her husband in a secret bunk. Chung-sook could’ve accepted her deal, but chose to threaten her. A bucket of crabs situation, if you will. I love the parallels from this portion. They discover people doing what they’re doing and quickly work to secure their positions. The Kims attacked these people, attempted to cause anaphylaxis, and kicked Moon-gwang downstairs. Ki-taek finds blood on this unconscious woman and leaves her alone. Also, ties her up and locks them inside.

Why the Kims’ actions are understandable i.e. why they are great characters

The Kims depict the reality of poverty in SK. I assume it’s hard to get jobs unless you go to college. There’s a line about 500 graduates fighting over a security job. I think that paints a clear picture of how competitive the job market is. Ki-woo couldn’t pass what I assume were difficult entrance exams. Ki-jung has amazing talent with editing but probably can’t get a job for the same reasons. This family is barely scraping by. I have no qualms about lying about qualifications to get a job. Use that connection and make some coin.

The flooding scene and its aftermath are fucking amazing. Seeing them run in the rain just to find their only home covered in sewer water. Their few meager possessions are wrecked and they spend the night in the shelter. I think it’s a nice contrast to the warm and cushy night they were originally having. They’re living a fantasy and reality will fuck you over at any point in time.

I understand why Ki-taek lost it and stabbed Mr. Park. I don’t think the Kims are irredeemable monsters and Ki-taek crying over the man he killed shows that. They’re people living with shit circumstances trying to survive. They’re “bad people” in this movie, but they aren’t the bad guys.

No, the Parks aren’t bad guys, they aren’t good, but they aren’t bad.

I honestly want to delve into the minds of the people who think there are “good guys” and“bad guys” in this film. Where do they get this conclusion? The movie did not strike me as anti rich nor did it strike me as painting the Parks as these sweet, innocent protagonists.

The Parks seem like the average upper-class family. What surprised me was how often Mr. Park was home. I thought he would be more absent but he is involved with his family, minus his daughter.

Ahh, Da-hye. I assume SK also has this thing where sons are favored over daughters. She’s clearly looking for attention through her “trysts” with her tutors. I hesitate to fault the parents for not noticing her being groomed by two men because that shifts blame away from this fucking pieces of shit. She’s neglected and overlooked but because her base needs are met, the pain she’s going through is ignored.

I avoided parasite twitter to not see spoilers, but I saw the “hysteria” around Ram-don. Is sirloin expensive in SK? Could it be that the kind of steak doesn’t translate well in English? I get what it’s supposed to symbolize, but I can’t draw up too much rage at adding $10 steak to ramen.

The Park family crime is ignorance. They are shielded from the dark realities of the world by their money. When Ki-taek drives Mrs. Park around to prepare for the party, the stark reality of how different their experiences are is heartbreaking. The Parks don’t know what happened, the rain was just a nice bookend to the night. They don’t think about what a torrential rain can do to those that literally live below them. It’s like a snow day. Part of me is happy because I love the sight of snow and it often meant no school, but I think about the homeless people who are stuck outside in freezing temperatures. I can’t fault the Parks, but I understand Ki-taek’s frustration.

Class struggle(s)

Our three families represent the complexities of social classes and their struggles. Choong-sook said it best, the rich can afford to be nice because they have money. The Kims aren’t nice, but that’s the point. Their lives suck. When you’re siphoning wifi, folding pizza boxes, and watching drunkards piss outside your window, you’re not going to be super generous. We see that when they fight with Moon-gwang and her husband.

Moon-gwang and Guen-se are in similar circumstances, arguably worse since he has to hide from loan sharks. (I have questions around SK’s banking system. Loan sharks act like mafia and the Parks are paying their staff in cash and not via bank account). The Kims think they’re on the lowest rung and here are people even lower. Choong-sook tries to have them arrested to keep this newfound life of theirs. It’s selfish, they’re only focused on benefitting themselves. Still, the next day most of the Kims try to aid them. Too late, admittedly.

It says a lot that the Mr. and Mrs. Park expect Ki-taek to let “Jessica” and their other staff die to focus on saving their son. On one hand, I understand that the Parks were focused on saving their kid, like any decent parents, and that they didn’t know their staff was related. On the other hand, maybe have a little more concern for the people being attacked? I can’t fault Ki-taek for wanting to save his child too. Like I stated previously, the Parks, and by proxy the rich, struggle from ignorance. I’m not saying there aren’t rich people who actively revel in ruining others lives for their benefit, but some are just living. Am I really going to fault Mr. Park for living a comfortable life? No.

I like the imagery of the lower class characters having their issues downstairs. The Kims live below street level. Moon-gwang and Guen-se live in a bunker. They are situated even lower than the Kims. The Parks live uphill and upstairs, safely tucked away from the brutal realities of the world.

So what’s the point?

I’m not an economist, capitalist, communist, socialist, anarchist, etc because these theories hurt my brain. Money is fucking fake and people die due to greed.

This movie is sad. I felt for all the families in this movie. There are no good guys or bad guys, just people. People trying to live their lives. For me, this is the point. The Parks aren’t going to solve poverty. Ki-woo probably won’t get the money to free his dad. Moon-gwang and her husband are dead.

This movie critiques everyone. If the Kims had worked with Moon-gwang, they’d (might) still be living a cushy life. Mr. Park and Ki-jung wouldn’t be dead. Hell, they might’ve even gone home in time to close their window and hold down the toilet. The Parks' ignorance led to them getting conned and acquiring squatters. These are individuals in a fucked up system that propagates their mentalities.

Yes, I know this film is anti capitalist. I just hate economics.

Rating:

7.5/10

I wish the pacing was a little quicker since a good chunk of the movie is just the Kims getting their jobs. Besides that, I liked parasite. Great movie.

[yuki-chan23]

Why is the Korean movie Parasite so popular?

Why is the Korean movie Parasite so popular? Is it actually good and worth watching? What is it even about?

Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, is the kind of film that would normally be a hidden gem. It’s a Palme D’or winning foreign film that pulls no punches in being insane in every way.

For some reason, everyone and their grandma decided to see this movie.

It’s a testament to the power of word of mouth. This movie had no business making 250 million dollars. Bong’s last foreign film, Mother, made 17 million worldwide, but Parasite killed because everybody who saw it told others to go see it.

So why did Parasite take the world over quicker than the Kim family took over the Park’s?

Because it’s a great movie.

Without great characters, a film like Parasite would be boring. Luckily, Parasite has a better ensemble of amazing characters than any film in years.

We have 8 main characters, not all of these characters are fascinating and three dimensional, but they are all relatable, likable, and add to the story.

We have Ki-jung. She's cunning, that’s her character. We enjoy watching her because we all want to be like her. She’s a power fantasy. There’s nothing wrong with that when used well in a movie, it can be really cool. Tarantino has used this archetype to create some of the best characters in fiction, like Jules in Pulp Fiction.

Then there’s Da-hye. She’s stupid and horny. We’ve all been stupid and horny at one point, so we enjoy watching her. She is also used to great effect to change Ki-jung’s character.

Next is Da-song, he is an immature kid. We’ve all been around immature kids, so we understand the frustration the other characters feel at this little boy.

There’s my personal favorite character, Mrs. Park. She’s gullible, naïve, and probably incapable of doing anything. It’s funny to watch the Kim family run circles around her, even if she is a good person. It’s like watching Wipe out. When incompetent people fail, it’s fun.

Her foil is the matriarch of the Kim family. She is brutal and competent, she takes the whole willing to do anything for the well being of her family to a whole new level. But we all have points where we want to be brutal and unforgiving. She is probably the worst person in the film, but we understand why.

The two fathers also contrast. Mr. Park is interesting because he’s a man consumed by his own privilege. You can tell if this was some stupid American Movie he would be running around screaming “Oh my god look at those poor people why don’t they just make money” He’d be a villain so the audience was happy with his ending. Instead, because this movie isn’t fucking stupid, we have a rich guy who is a real person.

He cares about his family and he doesn’t go out of his way to hurt anybody, but he’s also kind of a dick. His ignorance is shown by the singular way which he looks at his servants. That’s what makes him interesting. You can’t blame him for being ignorant, but you also can’t help but dislike him because of it.

Then there is Mr. Kim. The buildup to his murder of Mr. Park is one of the most fascinating parts of this film. I didn’t notice it on the first viewing, but the second and third time watching I realized these moments in Song Kang-ho’s performance that telegraph this moment far in advance. Little things like how upset he gets at Mr. Park talking about his smell shows this.

He is the one that is the most pissed off that these idiots are the ones who are rich, so it makes sense that he’s gonna snap when he’s under the emotional stress of his daughter just getting killed. I realized this doesn’t come out of nowhere, it’s a last straw.

The character sort of is an audience stand in. He gets as pissed off as we do with Mr. Park’s ignorance, everyone else in the film accepts what Mr. Park feels as a fact of life.

Finally, the closest thing to a main character, Ki-woo. He is the man who sets the story in motion by getting the tutoring position. He is governed by blind ambition, the puppet master behind the entire plot. He feels this endless desire to advance as easily as possible, and it’s what leads to his destruction.

This is a great main character because we completely understand everything he wants and we sympathize with it. Everybody desires to be successful. Everyone wants to make their family proud. We just might not be willing to go as far as Ki-woo does. Even if we don’t agree with what he’s doing, the audience respects the ambition.

He also has a real arc, at the beginning he wants to take the shortest route and at the end he wants to take the legitimate route, sure it’s a simple arc, but it’s very effective. This makes the events of the film important to him on a deeper psychological level than the other characters.

We have 8 great characters, played by 8 great actors who are giving the film their all. Even the kid is a good actor, I don’t remember the last time a film had a large ensemble of characters that I was this connected to. But that’s not even the best element of the story.

Parasite's best feature is it’s plot. It's twisty and turn and incredibly suspenseful. It’s also one of the best movies I’ve ever seen at adeptly combining multiple genres.

So the film starts out as a comedy, it’s a movie about a bunch of poor people as they attempt to climb the social ladder. There’s hilarious lines like “It’s a chimpanzee right” “No, a self portrait.” There’s even some slapstick stuff near the beginning with that guy who pisses on the main character.

About a quarter of the way through the film, it becomes a crime flick. Things like the peach scene are reminiscent of a meticulously planned heist. There are less jokes, although there is still a comedic element. The focus switches to be more on the scheming of the family.

It feels like the film is going to follow the direction of a crime film, where the family is slowly adapting in order to not get discovered until they eventually are discovered in the third act creating conflict. But that would be too obvious for Bong.

So this happens…

Now the film is a goddamn horror movie. With a monster in the basement, claustrophobic cinematography, and bloody murder.

We get the ending to the second act, which is legitimately hard to breathe during. It’s so suspenseful watching these characters attempt to escape the house because you know it could realistically go either way. The story would work if they are found or if they escape. You want them to escape but you're not sure they will. This creates tension.

After the flooding scene, there’s the insane climax. It’s bloody, brutal, and immensely entertaining. The visual language is much brighter and there are less elements of ‘what will happen next’ and more elements of “holy shit this is happening.” In that respect, it’s more of a thriller. However, it still has horror elements, most thrillers do.

So you may think, after cycling through 4 genres in two hours Parasite would be done. But nope it has one left, the final scene turns into a drama where the hungry protagonist dreams of his life getting better following the tragedy that just befell him. A rags to riches drama is the epilogue.

Also it’s a social commentary the entire time. So that’s another element.

We have 6 different genres all rolled up into one film. They are all organically woven into each other and entertaining both by themselves and when put together. It is a fine line that the film rides with style. A great plot with great characters, what else do you need for a great story. I’ll tell you what will certainly help.

Parasite comes chock full of Symbolism and Visual Metaphors, which helps make it one of the most re-watchable movies I have ever seen.

The most obvious symbol is that of height. Bong immediately starts this by putting the Kim families home in a basement. This telegraphs to the audience that the lower you are, the poorer you are. It’s a simple yet effective metaphor that is developed throughout the film.

A lot of the social advancement takes place on the higher floors. For example, when Ki-woo and Da-hye have their romance that Ki-woo plans to use to advance socially, it is entirely on the upper floor of the house.

Also, at the end of the peach fuzz scene, the Kim family completes the ousting of the maid when Mrs. Park climbs up the stairs.

We don’t see any relevant downward stair climbing again until…

that.

Yes it makes sense that the only thing lower and more decrepit than the Kim families basement is the underground cellar. This once again nails home that the more unfortunate you are, the lower you are.

The final statement is when the Kim family climbs down loads of stairs during the flooding. Even if they don’t know it yet, this metaphor states that their life on top is done with the events of the second act, now they must climb back down to their life of poverty.

The next major symbol is the scholar rock. Interpretatively, this is less clear as far as meaning. But I believe it is directly tied to Ki-woo and his desire for quick social mobility.

So when he gets the rock, he also gets the manner in which he can rise up, his tutoring position. The rock then follows him as he slowly takes over the Park family.

We see it next during the flooding scene, when it literally floats into Ki-woo’s hands. This represents Ki-woo’s ambition still being alive even with what has transpired.

But then, this happens.

This is what convinces me, when Ki-woo has his head smashed by the rock, it is him really having his head smashed in by his own ambition.

The final scene we get is when he puts the rock in the water.

This struck me as odd, as his ambition is very much alive. But, it’s different now. The rock represented quick ambition, it represented him taking the shortcut. Him getting rid of the rock represents his new plan to slowly and legitimately climb the social ladder in order to save his father.

The scholar’s rock is a window into Ki-woo’s character. What Ki-woo feels, the rock shows.

There are other minor symbols, like how, when escaping, Mr. Kim crawls on the floor like a snake, but the final bit of symbolism I want to discuss is in the name of the title itself. Who are the parasites?

The obvious answer would be the Kim’s, they invade the Park’s life and leech off of their wealth. This is what most believe the title referred to, understandably without second thought.

However, I believe the overall message of the social commentary is that they are all the parasites. Every single character leeches off of something, whether it’s the Park’s who leech off the Kim’s labor or the Kim’s who take the Park’s wealth. In this way everyone’s in the film is a parasite in the grand scheme of things. The true message.

It’s probably pretty presumptuous for me to call anything about the Best Picture winning, Palme D’or winning, #25 on IMDB, 250 million dollar grossing, future tv series underrated. But goddamn is the score in this movie underrated.

The main track, Belt of Faith, is great. A lot of people assume this was a baroque composition by someone as lauded as Handel. Nope, this is an original track composed for the film by Jung Jaeil. It’s catchy and fun, not to mention competently written.

There’s the first song, which the script said needed to be “hopefully anxious”. Somehow that crazy ass direction was achieved in an impressive piano piece called ‘opening’.

Not to mention that when it becomes a horror film, the movie treats us to one of the best horror scores in years, such as the track ‘Hellgate.’.

The score is free on youtube and everyone should listen to it. You won’t be sorry.

The editing is one of the most obvious ways that the film switches genres. It changes in order to conform to the tone of the film as the film changes tone.

The editing is stunning, especially in the now famous peach scene. It’s so flowing and gorgeous. If you watch it you can just see how well it all connects, it feels like it’s one shot even with cuts. This isn’t like an Edgar Wright Montage, it’s more like a collection of jump cuts that have been perfectly placed together.

Then you get to something like the fight for the phone scene and it’s all over the place. It’s very disconnected, chaotic, and over-dramatic. The slow-motion gives the impression of a loud, intense fight even with the contrasting sound design.

This shows how the family's high life has been completely interrupted by the monster in the basement. The smooth editing of a crime film is gone, we’re in suspense territory. The editing in this film is consistently as amazing as in the two scenes that I mentioned.

As you’ve probably noticed in the pictures I’ve shown, the cinematography in this film is consistently stellar. But there’s one scene in this film that is a perfect example of a creative mind in complete control of his craft. This shows Bong Joon-ho turning what would normally be a rather uninteresting moment into masterful film making.

It is the art therapy scene.

This scene basically shows Ki-jung trick Mrs. Park into hiring her for an exorbitant wage. It effectively breaks one of film's most basic rules, the 180 rule. Basically, this rule helps the audience spatially understand where everything is by keeping the camera on one side of a 180 degree axis.

In a dialogue scene like this one, breaking the 180 rule is just jarring. It is almost never done as it would distract from the dialogue taking place. Except for in Parasite, where Bong does it brilliantly.

The 180 break follows when Ki-jung correctly states that something happened to Da-song in the first grade.

So why is this so effective?

First off it shows the distress that Mrs. Park is feeling. The shot is jarring just like the news of Ki-jung knowing something happened in the first grade is jarring to Mrs. Park.

But it’s not completely jarring because it also isn’t a cut, instead it’s a tracking shot. This is Bong taking Ki-jung into account. The flowing shot represents how Ki-jung is in complete control of the situation.

So with a single shot, one that shouldn’t be obvious as it breaks a cardinal rule of filmmaking, Bong visually tells us everything about two different characters with completely different emotional states at the same time. This is why I love this goddamn movie.

Parasite is wonderful. Bong Joon-ho has been a great director for a long time, but with Parasite, he finally made a masterpiece. The film is hilarious, deep, and suspenseful; yet still immensely accessible. Thanks to its colorful cast of characters, impressive blend of tones, and smart filmmaking, it certainly is a great movie.

[saitamasgreencactus]

Not all the rich were ignorant though. Da-hye kinda saved Ki-Woo’s life by carrying him out and probably rushing to a hospital. She really liked him and cared for him and even thought that he’d fit into their lives. I wish we’d seen them again or some kind of a tiny discussion between them.

[kahecki-ken]

Okie dokie I need some help finding this duo Im getting into. It's two girls and the group name is 20(Twenty?), their names are Sugyeong and Dahye and I just want to know if they have like any social media that I can follow cause I really like their music but can't find anything about them.

[iamsurethatyouloveme]

Első: Rehearsal

Szemszög: Shin JangMin (Minnie, Miyako, Miyo és a „pöttöm” ill. ehhez hasonló jelzők használata)

Minden azon a napon kezdődött. Mikor az unokabátyámékhoz rohantam. Szó szerint. Bele futottam és mind ketten elterültünk. Azóta se találom a telefonomat. És azóta kísért ez a valami. Ez a furcsa érzés. Amitől, mintha cet nagyságú pillangók repkednének a gyomromban, amitől úgy érzem, mindenki meghallja szívem dobogását, olyan gyors és hangos. Beleremeg a térdem. A hangja –ó az a gyönyörű reggeli, rekedt hangja; az illata –ha lehetséges lenne a saját ruháimba, a bőrömbe itatnám az ő sajátos illatát; az érintése, a nézése, bőre puhasága. Tökéletes. Pedig tökéletes nincsen. Ő még is az. Szinte már-már, természetfeletti egy ember.

De ne siessünk ennyire. Mindent el akarok mondani nektek. Hogy miért, mikor, hol, hogyan pillantottuk meg egymást. A legeslegelején kezdem:

  Késő őszi napra virradtunk. Vagyis. Csak a többiek; a korán kelők. Közülük is csak négyen. Én és a maknae nagyon-nagyon -hangsúlyozom-, nagyon szeretünk aludni. Aludni és enni. Evés. Hmm… a táncon kívül ez a második hobbim. Na, szóval, csak a többiek. Én még nagyban húztam a szunyát, fel se fogtam milyen nap van, hogy mi a nevem, olyan mélyen aludtam. Múlt időben. Mert valaki, valami jéghideg dolgot zúdított a nyakamba.

- Szép jó reggelt, Shin kisasszony! –vigyorgott le rám a leader.

- Yaaah!! Mit képzelsz mi’csinálsz, ha?! Most csurom víz lett minden! – siránkoztam a plüssömet szorongatva miközben ide-oda csapkodtam.

- De kis édees~. Aigoo-yah, gyere ide! –pattant be hozzám, és kezdte az arcomat csipkedni, húzogatni, mint a nagymamák az unokáiknak. Áucs.

- Yaa, fe..jezd..be! –nyüszítettem szaggatottan, miközben próbáltam arcomat kiszabadítani Naa-umma karmai közül. –Hallod, engedj már el, éhen veszek. –néztem rá boci szemekkel.

- Mi ez a kiabálás gyerekek? –nyitottak be hirtelen a többiek is. Pontosabban Ji-Ah és Nami.

- Ó, nocsak a hétalvó felébredt. –vigyorgott rám Ji-Ah.

- Kuss legyen maknae! Nem tom’ kibeszél. –puffogtam, és a barackmasnis macimmal együtt elindultam kifelé a konyhába.

  Reggeli közben Da-Hye és Eun-Ah emlékezett arra, hogy ma a reptérre kell mennünk.

- Wae? –mondtam teli szájjal. –Miért is kell oda menni? –néztem értetlen fejjel miközben a ramenem fele kilógott a számból.

- Aish, te szelektív agyú! –csapott egy picit a fejemre Naa-umma, amitől kis híján belefejeltem a tálamba. –Chanyeol! Megígérted Chanyeol-nak, hogy eléjük mész!

- Ou~, tényleeg. Hehe. –hoppá, teljesen kiment a fejemből. -De… Miért kaptam ezt most!? –álltam fel hirtelen.

- Csak, mert….

  Hát igen. Mindig kiszaladnak a fejemből a fontos dolgok. Néha még a szülinapomat is elfelejtem. Khm…szóval így kezdődött az a bizonyos nap.