The title of Korean director Bong Joon-Ho "Parasite" refers to the financially destitute Park family who prey as leeches, mercilessly upon the wealthy Kin family. The Kin's beautiful matriarch is easily manipulated by the the Park clan. Parks' members manage to get their grubby, grifter carcasses into the Kin home where they roam freely with no remorse. The Parks sucker the Kins and suck the life & money out of this wealthy, upper class family. There's little sympathy for the plodding, déclassé Parks living in unemployed squalor. The Park's family down on their luck get a fortunate break thanks to a former classmate of the son. The friend refers him as a temporary tutor in his stead for the Kin family's daughter. The son ingratiates himself to the lovely but naive mother. The Park's daughter soon finds herself tutoring the young Kin's son through clandestine conniving. Soon, the parents' plans to be employed by the Kins illicitly wins them all job while throwing the former household staff to the curb. The Park's maintain the pretense that they do not know one another. Spoiler alert: I didn't stay til the end of this grueling movie. I anticipated the Parks receiving their comeuppance for being ruthless con-artists. Dir/screenwriter/producer Joon-Ho (b. Korea 1969) is a highly regarded filmmaker. "Parasite" earned this year's Cannes Film Festival Award. Here's where the movie "crossed the line" for me. As Mr. Kim says to Mr. Park, his new chauffeur, "Never cross the line." The Kin family is too pathetic and the Park family too pernicious. Both families are all distractingly good-looking; particularly the 4 young people. This is a petty complaint that the people are all too pretty. The point being I never crossed over into favorably accepting the premise. Neither did I enjoy the slow & sinister story-telling. Perhaps, I missed being bitten by the bug that seems to have gotten under critics' skin. "Parasite" just never felt right to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Don't be shy, let me know what you think