Parasite is one of the best and the most flawless films in the history of films, gifted to the world by the very celebrated and Oscar garlanded South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. The thought-provoking, gasp-inducing film embarks on a combination of genres ranging from family drama to comedy to suspense thriller and is a super simple story (yet very layered) of two families belonging to the two extreme ends of the socio-economic spectrum. The film begins as a tragic comedy by introducing the poor Kim family who bluff their way as employees in the rich Parks family household. It goes on to focus on class discrimation by showcasing a range of similes like ‘smell’, upstairs- downstairs narrative and also levelling the families on the rungs of the societal ladder. Other metaphors include how the poor families live in the rugged old basements and how the rich are occupying the upper half floors, again drawing attention to the class division very persistently.

In Parasite, Bong Joon-ho mostly draws on the theme of social satire and the narrative follows a sardonic and cryptic way to juxtapose the contrasting households. The laudable title ‘Parasite’ is also used as a brilliant metaphor in the film to describe the poor benefitting from the rich. And at the same time, it is a critique on the society who has created the so called class barriers. Boasting of beautiful visuals, both from the downtown squalor to the ultra posh Parks mansion, the film is known to have some of the most cinematic sequences ever- like the flooding of the basement, the opening credit of the clothes hanging, hyper-symmetrical shots and the penultimate shot of the vile murder. So much so, that most frames have a physical division by lines between the characters from different classes. In the end, Bong Joon-ho completes the full circle by stating that the poor will still continue to live in the basements and the rich will replace the rich to continue living on the top tiers. Thus, mirroring the prevailing problems to the audiences and saying it like it is. To conclude, I’d just say that no amount of appreciation or acclamation will come close to the visual experience of watching the masterpiece on your own