Parasite – Leeching Wealth and Power

*a quick note on this new series

Welcome to Wonderful Wife Wednesday! Where I introduce my wife to a movie that she somehow has never seen. I made a list of 20 movies that she hasn’t seen and we put them in a hat, and each week we’ll draw one and she’ll write her thoughts. I may or may not supply my own as well.

On the first random draw, we picked Parasite. Possibly the best start to this new series.

I’ll pass it over to my wonderful wife, Tori.

Pre-viewing:

All I know about this movie is that it was very well-received and subtitled. I don’t even know what genre it is considered. I know this guess is completely wrong, but I’m going to say it’s about people infected with bugs. And I KNOW that’s wrong (I hope) because my husband thinks it’s a great movie, and I can’t imagine he would think something with that plot line is a great movie. But I only have the title to work with. 

Post-viewing:

I was afraid I would have a hard time with this movie. I tend to lose focus easily and will play something on my phone or pick up my current crochet project when we’re watching a movie. Since I knew this movie was fully subtitled, I wasn’t sure how I would maintain enough focus the whole time to know what was happening. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie held my attention the whole time. 

I’ll voice what is probably a very unpopular opinion… I didn’t really like this movie. Don’t get me wrong! It was very well written, acted, directed, and all that. And I can see why it has received such high praise. But I enjoy a movie where I can cheer for someone… and I didn’t really want anyone to succeed in this movie. It did lead to some interesting conversations between my husband and me about privilege, poverty, and lying, cheating, and stealing your way to the top. I will probably never actively seek to watch this movie again, but I appreciated the conversation it inspired and how well-produced it was. 

Nick’s Thoughts:

What a great film. I remember seeing it in theaters and being absolutely blown away. Watching again, I was able to catch so much more. This is such a tight script, not a line nor action wasted. I cannot think of a complaint about this film except that the characters are unrootable – but even then they are so fascinating to watch.

In this viewing, I found that even the camera frames the Kim family and the Park family as different social classes, often going so far as to separate them in the frame – until the Kims invariably creep in. It’s a masterclass in visual storytelling.

I’m finding that the “mid-point twist” is quickly becoming one of my favorite screenwriting tricks. Both this and Sorry to Bother You, another one of my all time favorites, have amazing heel turns in the middle of the story, both impossible to predict until you are watching the film for a second time. I love subverted expectations.

Overall, I cannot recommend this movie enough.