Parasite (Korean: 기생충; RR: Gisaengchung) is a 2019 South Korean dark comedy film directed by Bong Joon-ho.[5] The film stars Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik and Park So-dam. It won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Korean film to receive the award.[6][7]
Parasite | |
---|---|
Hangul | 기생충 |
Revised Romanization | gisaengchung |
McCune–Reischauer | kisaengch'ung |
Directed by | Bong Joon-ho |
Produced by | Bong Joon-ho Kwak Sin-ae Jang Young-hwan |
Written by | Bong Joon-ho Han Jin-won |
Starring | Song Kang-ho Lee Sun-kyun Cho Yeo-jeong Choi Woo-shik Park So-dam |
Music by | Jung Jae-il |
Cinematography | Hong Kyung-pyo[1] |
Edited by | Yang Jin-mo |
Production company | |
Distributed by | CJ Entertainment |
Release date | |
Running time | 132 minutes[2] |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Budget | ₩13.5 billion[3] (roughly US$11.8 million) |
Box office | US$50 million[4] |
My Hope was first implemented in the United States in 2013, and has since resulted in more than 160,000 decisions for Christ. This year, My Hope field representatives across the nation have been meeting and encouraging local pastors in their efforts to reach people with the Gospel. In addition to last year’s film titled “Heaven,” churches. 'Heaven,' A New Film from My Hope with Billy Graham, to Debut Next Month. The release of this new film called 'Heaven' next month,' said Steve Rhoads, vice president of My Hope 2014 with Billy.
- 5Reception
Plot[edit]
Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), an unemployed driver, lives with his wife Choong Sook (Jang Hye-jin) and two college-age children in a shabby basement apartment. The family struggles to make the ends meet by folding pizza boxes.
One day Ki-tae's son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) is having drinks with a friend who is currently employed as an English tutor for the daughter of a rich family. The friend is leaving to study abroad and suggests that Ki-woo would be perfect to take his place since he had been studying for the university entrance exam for the past four years due to multiple failures.
Ki-woo is interviewed at the extremely luxurious and spacious mansion of the Parks. He’s received by Mrs Park (Jo Yeo-jeong). He gets the job and as he’s leaving the house notices the painting of the young son of the family. Under the pretext that his artistic potential should be nurtured, he suggests to employ as an art tutor his friend named Jessica, who he says went to art school in the US, but in reality is his sister Ki-jeong (Park So-Dam).
After being employed, Ki-jeong designs a plot to get Park’s (Lee Sun-gyun) driver fired and replaced with her dad Ki-taek. Once Ki-taek is employed, he manages to get the final Kim family member, his wife, Choong-sook, employed as a housekeeper after getting the current one fired by suggesting that her allergy to peach skin is in fact tuberculosis.
One day, the Parks leave to camp in the countryside. Ki-taek and his family take advantage of this opportunity to get drunk on the expensive liquor present in the house. Suddenly, the former housekeeper, Moon-kwang (Lee Jung Eun) visits claiming that she came to retrieve something she couldn’t take when she left the house. In fact the former housekeeper’s husband has been living in the basement bunker of the house, hiding from the loan sharks he borrowed money from for a series of unsuccessful businesses. In a bizarre show of respect for his 'benefactor' Mr. Park, he acts as a human motion sensor by turning on the lights above the staircase manually. A fight ensues as Moon-kwang and her husband learn the truth about the Kims. Ki-taek and his family manage to confine the couple in the basement bunker, seriously wounding Moon-kwang in the process.
Mrs Park calls Choong-sook to tell her to prepare a meal: the rain forced cancellation of the camping trip; they will be back in a few minutes. Ki-taek, Ki-jeong and Ki-woo quickly hide in the house, almost getting caught several times, but finally manage to escape undetected. The three run, in torrential rain, down several hills, back to their poor neighbourhood, where they discover waist-high water and sewage has enveloped blocks of apartments, including their own semi-basement home. Ki-woo wades through the apartment to retrieve a large rock gifted to him by his friend at the beginning of the film. The three, along with others made homeless, sleep in a gymnasium.
The next day, Mrs Park, ignorant of the family's homelessness, plans to throw a birthday party for her son and invites the whole Kim family to take part in the festivities. Ki-woo, who feels responsible for the turn of events, goes down to the bunker, carrying with him the large rock. His intentions are rather ambiguous. Ki-woo discovers the former housekeeper has died from her wounds. Her husband attacks Ki-woo and manages to get out of the basement and knocks Ki-woo unconscious with the rock. He takes a knife, searches the small crowd for the Kims and attempts to stab them. He only slashes at the wealthy celebrants insofar as they impede his path to his targets. He mortally wounds Ki-jeong. Park's son faints from the gore. Moon-kwang's husband then attacks Choong-sook. As Ki-taek is by his dying daughter's side and preparing to help his wife against the attacker, Mr Park attempts to flee with his fainted son, yelling at Ki-taek to throw him the car keys. Choong-sook manages to kill Moon-kwang's husband. Turning over the corpse to retrieve the car keys thrown by Ki-taek, Park pinches his nose, recoiling from the smell of the man's body. Ki-taek previously overheard the Parks describing his own odour as vile. Observing Mr Park's recoil, Ki-taek stabs Park, killing him.
Ki-taek escapes and goes into hiding in the bunker, eventually taking the place of Moon-kwang’s husband for the next families settling in the manor. The film closes by narrated letters exchanged between Ki-taek and Ki-woo, using the lights of the manor at night as a Morse Code vehicle. Ki-woo promises that one day, he will make money and buy the house so his father can live with them. A hypothetical prolepsis shows Ki-woo touring the house with an estate agent. Yet, the film closes on Ki-woo, in the semi-basement. Ki-taek remains in the bunker.
Cast[edit]
- Song Kang-ho as Ki-taek
- Lee Sun-kyun as Mr. Park
- Cho Yeo-jeong as Yeon-kyo, Mr. Park's wife
- Choi Woo-shik as Ki-woo, Ki-taek's son
- Park So-dam as Ki-jung, Ki-taek's daughter
- Jang Hye-jin as Chung Sook, Ki-taek's wife
- Lee Jung-eun as Moon-gwang, the Park family's housekeeper
- Jung Ziso as Da-hye, Mr. Park's daughter
- Jung Hyeon-jun as Da-song, Mr. Park's son
- Park Seo-joon as Ki-woo's friend and the Park family's ex-tutor (special appearance)[8]
Production[edit]
Principal photography began on May 18, 2018[9][10] and ended 77 days later, on September 19, 2018.[11]
During the filming process, keeping a 52-hour workweek under a standard work contract and striving for the health and safety of child actors made headlines.[12]
Release[edit]
The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on May 21.[13] It was released in South Korea on May 30, 2019.[2][11]
Neon acquired the North American rights to the film at the American Film Market (AFM) 2018.[14][15] The film's rights were also pre-sold to German-speaking territories (Koch Films), French-speaking territories (The Jokers Films) and Japan (Bitters End).[16] It is scheduled to be released in Russia on July 4, 2019 and in the United States on October 11, 2019.[17]
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, in assessing 47 reviews, reported an approval rating of 98% and an average rating of 8.82/10. The site's critical consensus reads, 'An urgent, brilliantly layered look at timely social themes, Parasite finds writer-director Bong Joon-ho in near-total command of his craft.'[18]Metacritic reported a score of 89 out of 100 from 16 critics' reviews, reflecting 'universal acclaim'.[19]
Accolades[edit]
Parasite won the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[20][21]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cannes Film Festival | 14–25 May, 2019 | Palme d'Or | Bong Joon-ho | Won | [20][21] |
International Cinephile Society Cannes Awards | 25 May, 2019 | Best Director | Won | [22] | |
Sydney Film Festival | 5–16 June, 2019 | Best Film | Parasite | Won | [23][24] |
References[edit]
- ^'BONG Joon-ho's PARASITE Claims Early Sales'. Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ ab'기생충'. Naver Movie. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
- ^황금종려상 받은 ‘기생충’ 제작비 135억원 든 이유…봉준호 “비정상의 정상화”. The Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). 26 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
- ^Tartaglione, Nancy (11 June 2019). ''Parasite' Latches Onto $50M+ In Korea, Tops 'Captain Marvel' To Become Market's #3 Title Of 2019'. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ^'솔직한 '기생충'…봉준호 '무책임하기 싫었다''. www.nocutnews.co.kr. 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
- ^Mumford, Gwilym. 'Cannes 2019: Bong Joon-ho's Parasite wins the Palme d'Or – live'. The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- ^D'Alessandro, Anthony; D'Alessandro, Anthony (25 May 2019). ''Parasite' Palme d'Or Winner Bong Joon-Ho On Pic's North Korea Jokes – Cannes'.
- ^박서준 측 “봉준호 ‘기생충’ 특별출연” 2019년 스크린 열일(공식입장). entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^Kil, Sonia (30 May 2018). 'Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' Starts Shooting (EXCLUSIVE)'. Variety. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^'BONG Joon-ho's PARASITE Enters Production'. Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ ab'BONG Joon-ho's PARASITE Wraps Production'. Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^'Palme d'Or winner 'Parasite' guarantees 52-hour workweek for film crew'. www.donga.com. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- ^'The Screenings Guide 2019'. May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ^McNary, Dave (31 October 2018). 'Bong Joon-Ho's Drama 'Parasite' Bought by Neon'. Variety. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^'AFM: Neon Nabs Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' From CJ Entertainment'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^Noh, Jean. 'Bong Joon Ho thriller 'Parasite' sells to US, Japan, France'. Screen. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^Galuppo, Mia (May 30, 2019). 'Bong Joon Ho's Palme d'Or Winner 'Parasite' Will Release in Time for Awards Season'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^'Parasite (Gisaengchung) (2019)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^'Parasite Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^ abMumford, Gwilym. 'Cannes 2019: Bong Joon-ho's Parasite wins the Palme d'Or – live'. The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- ^ abD'Alessandro, Anthony; D'Alessandro, Anthony (25 May 2019). ''Parasite' Palme d'Or Winner Bong Joon-Ho On Pic's North Korea Jokes – Cannes'.
- ^'The ICS Cannes Awards 2019: Fire and Bong'. International Cinephile Society. 25 May 2019.
- ^'AWARDS'. Sydney Film Festival. 16 June 2019.
- ^'Bong Joon-ho's Parasite wins Sydney Film Festival official competition prize'. Sydney Film Festival. 16 June 2019.
External links[edit]
- Parasite on IMDb
- Parasite at HanCinema
- Parasite at Naver‹See Tfd›(in Korean)
[SPOILERS] My hope for the Black Widow film
The reason I'm preferencing this with the spoiler tag is because what I'm about to say here is a spoiler so beware!
I hope and WISH when we see the Black Widow movie it starts off with a black screen and then whoosh! - Natasha wakes up and says 'I'm dead, right? So this is heaven?!'
My wish is they allow Black Widow to go back in time to relive her life and make some different choices instead of making this a straight up prequel. After all - who wants to see a film where we already know Natasha is dead?