I just saw the four-time Oscar-winning film “Parasite” and it did not disappoint. The film is completely subtitled, which I personally liked, and follows the Kims, a poor and unemployed family that con their way into becoming the servants of a rich family, the Parks. 

The film takes place in present-day South Korea. The Kims con and manipulate the Parks, getting each of their family members a job at the Park house, one by one, pretending not to know each other. The film is directed by Bong Joon-ho, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Han Jin-won. It stars Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam and Jang Hye-jin. This film can be classified as a tragicomedy thriller.

The entire cast put on a strong performance and the film has a real-life aesthetic to it that makes you relate to and understand both families’ side. There isn’t a clear protagonist or antagonist, because in this film, hence the title, there is a parasitic relationship between both of the families. The Kims are using the Parks for their money and the Parks are using the Kims for their labor and time.

There isn’t anything I didn’t like about this film. For a subtitled film with two-hour run time, my attention never faded. I was drawn in the entire time. The pacing was great and the twists and reveals in the movie will have you guessing what’s to come next.

A lesson that you can take from this is to always do background checks for the people you might have working with you. 

Parasite won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film at the 92 Academy Awards. It was the first film to win Best International Feature since the category name was changed from Best Foreign Language Film and it was also the first international film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards ever.

I think this is a film for audiences 18 and up. There is some violence, strong language, and sexual content in this film. I would recommend this to my mom or my friends around my age. This film is fantastic, I can understand why it won four Oscars. 

#MikalsMovieRating 8.9/10