Parasite Character List Ki-woo Ki-woo is the son of the Kim family, a smart and ambitious young man who feels held back by poverty. Mr Kims face as he picks up the tissue stained with blood from the dustbin. Especially one with so many twists and turns that the best writing about it will be long after spoiler warnings arent needed? As she cynically comments, "It's the basement smell. Parasite Summary The film starts with the Kim family, a South Korean family struggling with poverty in a poor neighborhood in an unnamed city. As Moon-kwangs husband and Mrs Kim struggle, Mrs Kim manages to stab Moon-kwangs husband through the abdomen with a skewer. The real Parasite movie ending is more bleak and, unfortunately, more realistic. The script for "Parasite" will get a ton of attention as it's one of those clever twisting and turning tales for which the screenwriter gets the most credit (Bong and Han Jin-won, in this case), but this is very much an exercise in visual language that reaffirms Bong as a master.Working with the incredible cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong ("Burning," "Snowpiercer") and an A-list . When a fluke of luck gets the son, Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik), a job as an English tutor for the wealthy Park familys daughter, the lives of the two families start to intertwine in comedic, dramatic, and eventually, disastrous ways. The script for Parasite will get a ton of attention as its one of those clever twisting and turning tales for which the screenwriter gets the most credit (Bong and Han Jin-won, in this case), but this is very much an exercise in visual language that reaffirms Bong as a master. Master the art of visual storytelling with our FREE video series on directing and filmmaking techniques. But, before we dig deeper into the social commentary, lets take a look at how the film managed to break through to an unmatched audience size. And, if you would like a deep-dive into the inner workings of the screenplay, be sure to read our Parasite script teardown. More books than SparkNotes. He deciphers a message, delivered in Morse code via a flickering light, that his father now inhabits the bunker. The films score here perfectly uses the technique of moving up musical keys in non-linear, minor and discordant chords to instill fear and anxiety in the viewer as Moon-kwang and Mrs Kim descend down endless flights of concrete stairs, turning left and right at every corner to finally reach the bunker below. BEWARE OF SPOILERS. Be sure to watch our video essay on the scene for more detail and deeper Parasite analysis. Each family has a symbiotic relationship with one another; the Parks need their employees to keep their house and family up and running, and the Kims and Moon-kwangs family leech off the wealth of the Parks. Personality driven and flexible. Bong shows us this vision: Ki-taek ascends the bunker stairs and embraces his son. After their home is flooded, Ki-taek tells his son that it is best to never have a plan, since plans never work out the way one expects. Here are our rankings of the most intelligent and least intelligent characters. Parasite was the first film since Marty in 1955 to win the top prize of both The Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival. The Parks go on a camping trip for Da-song's birthday, leaving the house empty. Outside of the sub-basement, violence erupts, and the prophetic scholars stone becomes an instrument of violence. For his family members' employment, Ki-Woo manipulates the Parks into firing their original chauffeur and housekeeper without much thought about what will happen next. As Mrs Park eats in the kitchen, she shares with Mrs Kim the story of the trauma Da-song experienced when he was younger. Ki-woo prepares a letter in response, swearing that he would work hard to earn enough money to eventually buy the house and free his father. This secret basement reveals an even lower level of status below what we had thought was the floor with the Kim family. Chung-sook is framed as deceiving the family by hiding a dangerous illness. When folding the pizza boxes during the fumigation, he is the most determined (cockroach-like behaviour, as explained above) but also the most careless with his actions. If you are interested in reading through the rest of the script, you can find it below. These themes cross all cultural-barriers and can speak to the 99% anywhere in the world. Acting on impulse, Ki-woo heads to a mountain near the house the Parks have since vacated, and which now belongs to a rich German family. Ill do my best because Bong Joon-hos Parasite is unquestionably one of the best films of the year. I think that everyone, particularly the Kim family and Moon-kwangs family, showed parasitic behaviour. A major plot driving interaction arrives in the form of Ki-woos friend, who gifts an ornamental rock to the Kim family that can supposedly deliver wealth, and also offers Ki-woo his job as an English tutor for the Park familys daughter as hes travelling overseas. On that fateful day, he ran from the backyard with blood on his hands not Mr. Parks, as one might assume, but his own daughters. After getting referred for a tutoring gig, he orchestrates a plan in which his whole family begins working for the same wealthy family. Lover of foreign films; hater of American remakes. Their camping trip had been cancelled due to the heavy downpour. More books than SparkNotes. The director even created a hash tag to warn people not to spoil the movie for others. The contrast in appearance between the Kims semi-basement home and the lavish home of the Park family is impossible to miss. To take advantage of all of CharacTours features, you need your own personal Mr Kim is even needlessly proud when he discovers his childrens deceptive skills. Bong's designs included many staircases in the home that help the wealthy characters disappear off into their own spaces or can be used by the members of the poor family. I left the cinema with my heart racing thats just how impactful this movie was. A visual medium requires visual methods. Ki-woo wakes up in the hospital and learns about what happens. The Kim family, living in poverty, struggles to make ends meet by doing menial jobs such as folding pizza boxes for a local pizza shop. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? Parallels are drawn between the two families to show that poverty and social status can sometimes really just be a matter of circumstance. I was disappointed to find that not many people had done an in-depth analysis on the film, but thats what Im here for! When Ki-taek throws the keys, they land under Geun-sae, who is fighting with Chung-sook. He has held a bunch of different jobs, working as a valet and at a bakery, but struggles to provide for his family. RELATED: The 10 Worst Family Movies Of All Time, Ranked. After the run-in with Moon-gwang and her husband, Ki-woo becomes exceedingly attached to the lucky rock that his friend gave him, and carries it around as a totem. Review: Class warfare is on full display in director Bong Joon-hos provocative Parasite. For Part 3, to read the Character discussion, go here. It was definitely worth all the $9.50 (Grab movie voucher for Cathay :P) I spent to get the full cinematic experience, and I would definitely watch it again (once I recover from the mental scars it left on me). More importantly, his failure to dispose of Geun-sae with the rock eventually proves to be not only his undoing but both the Park and Kim families alike. Let me know if, like me, you wanted to re-watch the film from the top immediately after it ended. After struggling to make ends meet folding pizza boxes for a local pizza restaurant, the Kims are visited by one of Ki-woo's wealthier friends, Min-hyuk, who offers to refer him to a job tutoring for a wealthy family, the Parks. A graduate of Brigham Young University's English program, he can be found re-watching HALT AND CATCH FIRE when he's not elbow deep trying to stay caught up on the latest movies and TV shows. She is very nice, but not especially deep or compassionate. The Analysis of the Oscar-Winning Movie: Parasite Parasite is a 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller movie directed by Bong Joon-ho and is the first film with a non-English script to win Best Picture at the Oscars in 2020. The Question and Answer section for Parasite is a great Well be taking a look at all of the ingredients to made Parasite one of the best films of 2019 and one of the best South Korean films ever made, but first, lets get started with a Parasite synopsis. Moon-kwang herself is a suspicious character; she must definitely be unhappy with Mrs Kim for being her replacement (although shes unaware that it was due to the Kims meddling that got her fired), but why did she have to visit the house on, of all nights, the night that it was raining cats and dogs? Mr and Mrs Park make themselves comfortable on the couch as our protagonists nervously wait for an opportunity to sneak out. Has also tied the record with Walt Disney for most Oscars awarded to an individual at a single ceremony. Thats all I can say without giving away major spoilers! Parasite catapulted him to a different level of fame, earning him not only the first Academy Award for Best Picture to go to an international film, but also a unanimously-decided-upon Palme d'Or at Cannes. But yet, we cant help but to sympathise with the protagonist family as we witness first-hand their destitute plight and desperation to climb out of squalor. It's a movie of extraordinary cunning and devastating . He almost outs the Kim family on their scheme when he realizes that both Ki-taek and Chung-sook smell the same. The film continues with Ki-woos narration. Moon-Gwangs return to the house and eventual reveal of the secret basement keeps us on the edges of our seats as viewers and seamlessly blends from the drama/comedy centered first half into the thriller/tragedy centered latter half. Objectively, I would say that this has to be the best film that Ive ever watched. "Parasite" concludes where it begins, in the semi-basement apartment. He fatally wounds Ki-jeong, stabbing her through the chest as the party guests erupt into panic and scatter. Ki-taek may be out of work, but he's no dummy. While attending a birthday party for the Parks young son, Da-song (Jung Hyeon Jun), Ki-woo heads to the bunker carrying a heavy scholar stone he once received as a gift intended to bring his family material wealth. This vertical comment on status is illustrated cleanly in this alternate poster for the film, without spoiling the sub-basement reveal. Living in a small, musty semi-basement in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. On to the in-depth analysis! After getting referred for a tutoring gig, he orchestrates a plan in which his whole family begins working for the same wealthy family. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Parasite represents the most focused and refined approach to class as a subject that Bong Joon-ho has achieved, and thats certainly saying something given his impressive body of work. Moon-kwangs husband escapes up the basement and into the house. Please enable Javascript and hit the button below! Mr Park yells for Mr Kim to throw him the car keys, which unfortunately get stuck under Moon-kwangs husbands body as he falls. She calls Chung-sook sister, at which the Kims scoff. Mr Park makes a comment about smelling Mr Kim (who, unbeknownst to him, is literally right under his nose), and complains about the smell that Mr Kim exudes. This time it's true. To take advantage of all of CharacTours features, you need your own personal For years the country has been producing some of the finest films and directors in the world of cinema, but Parasite has crossed new milestones in terms of global impact. The Kims soon settle into their comfortable new life working for the Parks. Lets shift gears from a Parasite summary to a Parasite movie analysis. Stay up to date on the news from Silicon Valley, and how to take back control of your data and devices. Not only does she completely fall for Ki-woo's masquerading as an English tutor to Da-hye, but she proceeds to hire every other member of the Kim family without doing very much due diligence. His decision to kill Mr. Park at the end is a shocking and perhaps poor one, but not entirely unjustified. Ki-woo and his sister Ki-jung forge credentials for the job, and thus begins the long-con that sees each member of the Kim family infiltrating the upper-class Park family one-by-one. Im sure we all notice that the people around us have their own unique smells, but our minds and senses are bogged down with so much information as adults that we tend to dismiss tiny details like this. However, things went downhill from there. She is easily deceived by Ki-jeong's framing of the Park family chauffeur as explained by Dong-ik. Moon-gwang begs Chung-sook not to say anything to the Parks, but Chung-sook threatens to tell them. They didn't fold the Pizza boxes correctly. The flooding sequence, as depicted on the poster, also illustrates how the wealthy are unaffected by many of the debilitating circumstances that affect the lower classes as they are, quite literally, above the trouble. The young man changes his name to Kevin and begins tutoring Park Da-hye (Jung Ziso), who immediately falls for him, of course. To access over 70 analyses of previous movie scripts we have read and discussed at Go Into The Story, go here. Prior to Parasite in 2019, his most focused social commentary on class was found in his 2013 film Snowpiercer which saw the lower class positioned at the back of a train in squalid conditions while the wealthy lived large at the head of the train. There are plenty of subtle, comedic moments in the film that gave me a good chuckle, and some even managed to get a LOL from me. Ki-jeongs death was also foreshadowed when she was the only one who got injured in the process of hiding their house party from the Parks as they returned from their failed camping trip. Parasite Genre Shift Subscribe on YouTube Although it does not seem likely, Ki-Woo claims he will get admission into an elite university and marry Da-Hye. Through the analysis of the audio-visual language of the movie, this article starts with the storytelling of Parasite, enumerates and analyses the elements that appear in the movie to reflect the gap between the rich and poor. The musty smell follows Ki-Jung wherever she visits, revealing her poverty. Theres something off about Moon-kwangs unnamed husband. The film starts with the Kim family, a South Korean family struggling with poverty in a poor neighborhood in an unnamed city. When the architect sold the mansion to the Park family, Moon-Gwang survived a change of ownership. GradeSaver, 21st Century Haves, Haves-not: Bong Joon-Ho's Commentary on Contemporary Class Divide in Parasite. Please enable Javascript and hit the button below! Parasite study guide contains a biography of Bong Joon-ho, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. As silly an instruction this is, the Kim family respects his wishes and starts to comedically choke and cough as the fumes fill up their apartment, with only Mr Kim indifferent to the toxic fumes. Its a conversation starter in ways we only get a few times a year, and further reminder that Bong Joon-ho is one of the best filmmakers working today. For additional insights into director Bong Joon-hos creative process, listen to him discuss his decisions and directorial style with the other 2019 DGA nominees for best director including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, and Sam Mendes: Power shifts from Moon-gwang and her incognito husband to the Kim family as both lower-class families fight for leverage over each other. Parasite exploded this past weekend on Oscar night when it became the first international film to win four Academy Awards, including the coup de grace, Best Picture. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Parasite by Bong Joon-ho. Today we discuss the characters in the script for Parasite. He is a generally congenial but snobbish man. 5 Parasite Character Analysis (Avoiding Spoilers) Living in a smelly semi-basement located in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. But rather than simply getting out of the Park house and trying to make it in the outside world, he goes on a rampage at the party for Da-song. For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here. Dont buy eggs. The Artist, a French and Belgian production, won best picture at the 2012 Academy Awards but was ineligible for the best foreign language film category as it is a silent film. Personality cool and cynical. Ki-Jung's family was much better off in her childhood when her father owned a cake shop. He works as a list writer for Valnet, Inc. covering Screen Rant. ki-woo's sister, smart and tough, gains the upper hand with mrs. park by expressing expertise and confidence, says she . Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. Even though the film audience is treated to a scene of this happening, it is never confirmed whether it does as we ambiguously end the film back in the Kims tiny basement apartment and Ki-woo writing the letter. 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