Parasite
Parasite is a social dark comedy thriller that follows the Kim family from a lower class. When Ki-woo gets a job tutoring the daughter of a wealthy couple, he devises a way to provide employment for the rest of his family as well. What begins as a clever con quickly spirals into something far more complex, exposing deep class divisions and leading to tragic consequences. Parasite is an exploration of inequality, greed, and the illusion of upward mobility.
THEMES
- Abuse of powerThe wealthy Park family exploits their working-class employees.
- AlienationThe Kim family experiences social and economic alienation.
- BetrayalDeception and broken trust drive the film’s tension.
- ClassThe film critiques class struggle and economic disparity.
- CrimeFraud and deceit play a major role in the Kim family's plan.
- Darkness and lightCinematography uses contrast to emphasize social division.
- DespairThe Kim family’s dream collapses into hopelessness.
- DesireThe desire for wealth and status motivates the Kim family.
- FearSecrets and power imbalances create underlying fear.
- GenderThe film explores gender roles within class structures.
- GuiltCharacters struggle with guilt over their actions.
- IdentityCharacters adopt false identities to infiltrate the Park household.
- InequalityThe stark contrast between rich and poor is central to the story.
- LonelinessCharacters experience isolation despite physical closeness.
- LossTragic events lead to irreversible loss.
- MadnessDesperation drives characters to extreme actions.
- ManipulationThe Kim family manipulates the Park family to gain employment.
- MoralityThe film questions moral boundaries in the pursuit of survival.
- OppressionThe poor struggle under an economic system that favors the wealthy.
- PowerSocial and economic power dynamics shape the characters’ interactions.
- RevengeActs of revenge escalate the film’s conflict.
- SadnessTragic circumstances evoke deep sorrow.
- SatireThe film satirizes capitalism and class structures.
- SecretsHidden truths drive the film’s narrative twists.
- SinCharacters commit moral and legal transgressions.
- SocietyThe film critiques rigid social hierarchies.
- SufferingEconomic hardship causes physical and emotional suffering.
- SurvivalThe Kim family’s actions are driven by their need to survive.
- TragedyThe film unfolds as a social and personal tragedy.
- ViolenceTensions culminate in acts of shocking violence.
INSPIRED BY
The Housemaid is a twisted psychological thriller that tells the story of a middle-class family which hires a mysterious young woman as a housemaid. Set almost entirely within the claustrophobic confines of the family's modern house, The Housemaid exposes the fragility of domestic order, middle-class respectability, and gender roles in a rapidly modernizing South Korea.
Christine and Léa Papin were maids in France who, during the 1930s, viciously killed their employers' wife and daughter after a petty dispute. The sisters offered no reasoning for the murders. The case attracted immense media focus and philosophical speculation; it epitomized the clash of societal classes, oppression, and mental breakdown.
