PARASITE
Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece is the tragicomic saga of two families from different strata of Korean society whose lives become dangerously entwined.
After star-studded international co-productions Snowpiercer and Okja, Bong Joon-ho returns to his roots in Korean social satire with Parasite, a riotously entertaining story of class warfare set in socioeconomically stratified Seoul. The result is perhaps Bong’s finest achievement yet: a pitch-black comedy about two families whose lives become toxically intermixed. Led by patriarch Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho, The Host) and matriarch Choong-sook (Jang Hye-jin), the Kim family live in a dingy, basement apartment. What they lack in material wealth, the Kims more than make up for in wiles, and college-aged son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-sik) manages to con his way into tutoring for a wealthy family, the Parks. Taking advantage of the gullibility of Mrs. Park (Jo Yeo-jeong), Ki-woo finagles a job for his sister, Ki-jung (Park So-dam). In the Parks, the Kims see an opportunity, one they will resort to ruthless measures to maintain for themselves. Executed with the precision of a cinematic master, Parasite is a moving roller coaster ride that shocks and surprises all at once. Highlighting universal themes of class division, it is the rare crowd-pleaser that is as poignant as it is fun.
CAST: SONG KANG-HO, JANG HYE-JIN, CHOI WOO-SIK, PARK SO-DAM
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