Are you interested in socio-economic issues but don’t want to watch a documentary? Well, Parasite by Korean director Bong Joon Ho is a great movie choice for you.

This movie depicts the lives of the Kim family, which live in complete poverty as they attempt to work for the Parks, by posing as sophisticated and qualified people. This movie occurs in recent times and takes place in the Kims’ semi-basement apartment in Seoul, South Korea, where they work low-paying temporary jobs. The Kims live in complete misery and poverty until Ki-woo gets an idea of posing as a university student to take over the job of an English tutor for the Parks’ teenage daughter. After Ki-woo successfully lies to the Parks, and is hired, the Kim family develops and executes vicious plans to integrate themselves into the Parks’ lives with the mother, father, and daughter posing as the housekeeper, chauffeur, and art therapist respectively. 

The climax of the story appears once the Parks’ old housekeeper was fired so that Chung-sook (the Kims’ mother) could take her place. One day, when the Parks were away on a camping trip, the old housekeeper rang the doorbell, claiming she forgot something, for Chung-sook to let her in. Her arrival, however, soon led to an unpredictable sequence of events that were originally triggered by the discovery of the Kims’ scam.

This film is like no other, not only because it has such an interesting and original story, but also because it contains great plot twists. The movie starts funny and light-hearted, yet ends depressingly. The plot twists that the director included were unique and had smooth transitions, which made the movie experience better. Additionally, it depicts social warfare, greed, and class discrimination as these threaten the relationships between the Parks and the Kims. This movie goes to an extreme to show how much people are willing to fight and sacrifice for status and class as it shows the relationship between the Kims and the old housewife’s family.

Many people’s reason for not watching the movie is because the movie is in a different language and includes subtitles, and because all the actors in the movie are not famous or recognizable to Americans. However, these reasons are not enough to not watch this movie. The subtitles and lack of famous actors should not make anybody hesitate to watch this film, because, after all, besides the great plot and story, the cast delivered standout performances. Although it did not receive so many views from America, it made its place in history at the Oscars of 2020, when it won the best picture, director, original screenplay, and international feature film academy awards.

While I was watching Parasite at the cinema, the audience was on the edge of their seats whenever something suspenseful happened; however, they were also laughing as hard as I was whenever something funny happened. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their time there. Parasite is a great movie that you must not miss. It contains suspense, drama, but also comedy while depicting social warfare.