Parasite

Im at a loss for words. Parasite perfectly encapsulates social and economic class mobility into a high-stress yet deeply profound film. The scholars rock represents a false promise of wealth and prosperity to a poor family with not much else to cling onto. Through the ownership of the rock, the family sees their fortunes change and they are finally “invited” into the upper echelons of society. Yet the evidence of their displacement is clear. While the smell of them is the most evident metaphor throughout the film, with them at the bottom of the hill where a rainy day at the top of the hill is beautiful while at the bottom it is disastrous, evident in the flooding scene. The more profound symbol, in my opinion, is when they are staying at the Park house pretending to be rich when everything comes crashing down from the housekeeper to the Parks coming back from camping early showing how they do not “belong” in this setting. Same thing for the birthday party. The parks love the rain while the the Kims love the sun, yet another symbol used to its fullest extent where disaster strikes for the kims on a rainy evening while it happens to the parks on a sunny afternoon. Not to mention the brilliant cinematography that helps build suspense but sometimes its so good it just feels like showing off. Def needs a rewatch bc there are definitely many things that I missed. The social commentary is profound and even relevant years later in a different country truly one of the best films of the last 10 years.