Parasite

Living in suburban squalor Kim Ki-taek(Song Kang-ho) and his family survive on the fringes of society. Hacking into neighbouring wi-fi networks, and folding pizza boxes just to get by. However, everything changes when his son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) has a drink with local-boy-done-good Min-hyuk (Park Seo-joon).

Min-hyuk has to study abroad and he suggests that Ki-woo takes over his job as an English tutor to a rich family’s daughter, Da-hye (Jung Ji-so). Swiftly ingratiating himself into their trust, Ki-woo realises that he can also get the other members of his family hired. However, some recommendations can have unseen costs…

… Sometimes you can just smell a winner and this is one.

Palme D’Or winner ‘Parasite’ is a superbly sketched take on class distinction in modern-day Korea. Director Bong Joon-ho’s latest mixes satire with black comedy to deadly effect. As prefaced in his equally excellent ‘Mother‘, Joon-ho is not scared to fill his plate with more servings than expected. Couple this with an avalanche of twists and turns that fall out of the screen from the second act onwards and you have a rewarding banquet of delights on your hands.

So, whilst many of its circumstances don’t survive forensic analysis, the plausibility and intent of ‘Parasite’ is clear. Juggling a large cast whose allegiances you may find yourself swapping mid-way through, Joon-ho’s latest is guaranteed to provoke much after-cinema discussion. With solid acting throughout, high production values and clear storytelling at its heart, sometimes you can just smell a winner and this is one.