With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
Movie Review: 'Parasite'
Listen
• 2:35
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
No foreign-language film has ever opened at the numbers of a new satirical comedy that opened this past weekend. A Korean film called "Parasite" opened to record audiences in New York and LA and expands to other cities Friday. Critic Bob Mondello says no matter what audiences expect, they're likely to be surprised.
BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: A tale of two families, the Parks, who live in a designer house atop a hill...
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Support for LAist comes from
MONDELLO: ...And the Kims, who live in a grungy basement apartment across town.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MONDELLO: Literally high and low, both physically and in social status, they wouldn't normally meet. But then a friend drops by the Kims' basement with a gift, a big stone that his grandfather claims will bring the family material wealth. This is so metaphorical, says 20-something Kim Ki-woo.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PARASITE")
CHOI WOO-SHIK: (As Kim Ki-woo, speaking Korean).
MONDELLO: His mom is skeptical.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PARASITE")
Support for LAist comes from
JANG HYE-JIN: (As Kim Chung-sook, speaking Korean).
MONDELLO: Food would have been better, she says. Still, the friend also brings word that the wealthy Park family needs an English tutor for their daughter, and he sets up Ki-woo with an audition for the job.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MONDELLO: Mrs. Park tells him she always sits in on the first lesson.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PARASITE")
CHO YEO-JEONG: (As Park Yeon-kyo) If it's OK with you.
MONDELLO: Ki-woo gets the tutoring job, then starts building on what is a really good deal. The Parks pay well, so he introduces his sister - he says she's a friend of a classmate - as an art therapist for their son. Beats folding pizza boxes to earn money or leaving the window open in the Kim apartment when the city fumigates the alley it's on to get free exterminating.
Support for LAist comes from
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MONDELLO: Money is an iron, says someone. It smooths out the wrinkles - another metaphor, and a clue that the Kim family's scam, which just seems funny at first, is more than it appears. Writer-director Bong Joon-ho never goes for just funny. His sci-fi epic "Snowpiercer," for instance, put the last survivors of a climate disaster on a train and set them to killing each other in a class war. And as the comedy starts curdling in "Parasite," class struggle is again on his mind.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PARASITE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) I'm deadly serious.
MONDELLO: The haves here aren't hateful. They're just insensitive. Mr. Park keeps scrunching up his nose and talking about the stench of poverty. And the have-nots aren't vicious, so much as hapless for a while. And then - well, shouldn't spoil things. Let's just say that by "Parasite's" conclusion, what started out as a comedy of manners has become a furious snarl of rage and his most arresting social satire yet.
I'm Bob Mondello.
(SOUNDBITE OF JENNY LEWIS SONG, "YOU CAN'T OUTRUN 'EM") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
What do stairs have to do with California’s housing crisis? More than you might think, says this Culver City councilmember. -
Doctors say administrator directives allow immigration agents to interfere in medical decisions and compromise medical care. -
The Palisades Fire erupted on Jan. 7 and went on to kill 12 people and destroy more than 6,800 homes and buildings. -
People moving to Los Angeles are regularly baffled by the region’s refrigerator-less apartments. They’ll soon be a thing of the past. -
Experts say students shouldn't readily forgo federal aid. But a California-only program may be a good alternative in some cases. -
Distrito Catorce’s Guillermo Piñon says the team no longer reflects his community. A new mural will honor local leaders instead.
Best of LAist