Characters from Parasite (2019). Over the course of a few pulse-quickening scenes, and unbeknown to the Parks, Chung-sook critically injures Moon-gwang by pushing her down the stairs, and Ki-taek traps Geun-se in the bunker. moon-gwang's husband. He also does a great job in coaching his father's performance for Yeon-gyo so that she will get rid of Moon-gwang. For Part 3, to read the Character discussion, go here. "Parasite" is a film that follows 10 main characters up close (8 of whom are shown below - the other two are not shown for obvious reasons which will become apparent after you have witnessed the movie) with 10 different "characteristics" that need to be captured in the frame - the looks, the personality, the deep pathos that oozes from each character's situation and by giving us . Parasite was not just the first South Korean film to win the foreign language prize at the Oscars but also the first foreign language film from any country to win the overall best picture prize. Elevation clearly equates to status; the parks have a multi-level home at the top of the hill while the Kims live below street level in a semi-basement, and the surprise 3rd party lives deep underground in a sub-basement. One night, as the Parks are away on a camping trip to celebrate Da-songs birthday, the Kims break into the liquor cabinet and lounge in the Parks living room getting drunk and discussing their newfound comfort and the precarious situation. Eventually, the Kims are able to escape, but when they return home, they find their apartment is completely flooded. GradeSaver "Parasite Characters". Ki-taek, who acted upon his anger, still remains beneath another rich family. Moon-kwangs husband, enraged at the Kim family for leaving Moon-kwang for dead, attacks Ki-woo by strangling him and striking him in the head with the very fortune rock that Ki-woo brought. describe ki-jung. It is his success in passing as a competent English tutor that allows him to invite Ki-jeong into the home and so on. Moon-gwang is pretty remarkable in that she has not only managed to ward off people from taking her job up until the Kim family, but she has also managed to keep her husband hidden in the Park family basement for alongtime. Upload images to make storyboards and slideshows. Just as he called Snowpiercer his film about class revolution set in a dystopia his "hallway movie," he has called Parasite his "stairway movie." It is an upstairs-downstairs film that. Hes skewered classicism in all of his films to some degree. Surprisingly, Ki-Woo turns out skilled in his artifice: as Ki-Woo explains, "I dont consider this a crime. Ki-woo pens a letter to his father, fantasizing about his plan to go to college, secure a well-paying job and buy the Parks'. At the party, Da-song falls into another seizure upon the sight of Moon-kwangs husbands bloodied face (from when he tried to signal Help me through the light switches), and the Park family summon Mr Kim to drive Da-song to the hospital while Ki-jeong bleeds out on the lawn and Mr Kim attempts to stop the bleeding. "Parasite" displays the world of the impoverished and the hypocrisy of capitalist "laws." The family lives in abject povertyfirst trying to survive through the precarious work of folding pizza boxes and then finding a hustle by pretending to be middle class, educated and helpful. Interests scouting. He may be the youngest of the Park family, but he is by no means the dumbest. The rest of the family hides as Chung-sook lets her in and Moon-gwang reveals a bunker in the basement of the house, a lair that was installed by the architect who built it, and which even the Parks have no knowledge of. At the start of the film, we are introduced to the Kims, a family struggling to live under impoverished conditions. Kim's familywill be reminded of that chasm and the cruelty of inequity in ways you couldnt possibly predict. Ki-woo wakes up in the hospital and learns about what happens. She is the archetype of the mistress of a wealthy household: glamorous, naive, and good at wielding power with feminine grace. As with great stories, every seeming-antagonist has their own reasons for doing what they do, making it nearly impossible to clearly identify an antagonist as we sympathise with their actions. The Question and Answer section for Parasite is a great Moon-kwang herself is a suspicious character; she must definitely be unhappy with Mrs Kim for being her replacement (although shes unaware that it was due to the Kims meddling that got her fired), but why did she have to visit the house on, of all nights, the night that it was raining cats and dogs? The only thing I can think of is that the original housekeeper was in contact with the original tutor of the family. The musty smell follows Ki-Jung wherever she visits, revealing her poverty. There is more to Da-song than meets the eye. Subscribe for more filmmaking videos like this. She takes great pride in her work as a housekeeper, and loses her job unexpectedly after the Kims make her peach allergy look like active tuberculosis. The crimes of Moon-kwang and her husband are obvious too, leeching off the Park familys wealth to harbour the husband in the house, and threatening to out the Kims for their scam despite their own complicity. Here are our rankings of the most intelligent and least intelligent characters. During the hazing scene as the Kim family enjoy free fumigation services, Mr Kim is the only one visibly not affected by the toxic fumes. Ki-jung begins working for the parks under the guise of an art-therapy teacher. The lawn itself is huge, and is the first thing that any visitor sees. Im someone who doesnt mind spoilers, but even I wouldnt wish the spoilers on my worse enemy. In contrast to her brother Ki-Woo, Ki-Jung is too well-grounded to look for a potential love interest. Mr. Park is the head of the Park household. Its revealed that as Mr Kim escapes the house, he realises where he must go back into the house, into the bunker, to hide out for the remainder of his life. account. These themes cross all cultural-barriers and can speak to the 99% anywhere in the world. Writers can shade and shape a storys character in limitless ways. Even my boyfriend, whos no cinephile, was thoroughly impressed by the film and we spent the next hour or so discussing it. It seems that Ki-jeong had the most passive hand to play in the situation despite setting off the entire disastrous plot, never going as far as Ki-woo as he forms a romantic relationship with the Parks daughter, or harbouring as much resentment against the Parks as Mr and Mrs Kim. Objectively, I would say that this has to be the best film that Ive ever watched. Alongside actor Choi Woo-sik, he explains the significance of production design elements from the beginning of the film, such as the cultural context of scholars stones in South Korea and the idea of distant hope conveyed by the semi-basement window. Lets shift gears from a Parasite summary to a Parasite movie analysis. Her family members have joined her in working for the Park family. But theres this: In a screenplay, characters exist for a reason. He has the hardest part to play in getting rid of Moon-gwang. Moon-gwang may first appear as an easy person to take advantage of, but when she returns to the Park family's home to care for her sick husband, we see that she didn't get to where she is by chance. She leaves her panties behind in the Parks car as shes being driven home by their original chauffeur, causing Mr and Mrs Park to fire him on the assumption that he had been doing the deed in their car. Same thing with script and movie analysis: Look at each character and think about why they exist and what their function is. The patriarch of the Kim family. Parasite study guide contains a biography of Bong Joon-ho, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. 5 Parasite Character Analysis (Avoiding Spoilers) Living in a smelly semi-basement located in the slums of Seoul, South Korea. What ensues is a sneaky ploy on the Kim familys part to slowly insert themselves into the lives (and house) of the Park family as they attempt to build a better life for themselves. For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here. Moon-kwangs husband escapes up the basement and into the house. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. Realizing that they are all related, Moon-gwang takes an incriminating video of them and threatens to send it to the Parks. In truth, Ki-Jung never received any college art education, but she now claims to be a graduate of the University of Illinois and a specialist in children's art therapy, working at a special pay rate. How to Capture the Perfect Light. The cinematography was also amazing. Ki-woo Kim (Choi Woo-Shik) is a young man living in poverty in the slums of a nameless South Korean city with his family - father Ki-taek Kim (Song Kang-ho), mother Chung-sook Kim (Jang Hye-jin), and sister Ki-jung (Park So-dam). A major plot driving interaction arrives in the form of Ki-woos friend, who gifts an ornamental rock to the Kim family that can supposedly deliver wealth, and also offers Ki-woo his job as an English tutor for the Park familys daughter as hes travelling overseas. For Part 2, to read the Plot discussion, go here. I left the cinema with my heart racing thats just how impactful this movie was. A knocked-out Moon-kwang soon gains consciousness and tries to flee up the basement stairs just as Mrs Park arrives back home, but Mrs Kim deals a deft kick to Moon-kwangs chest, sending her tumbling down the stairs and landing in the basement with a sick thud of her head against the concrete wall. After their home is flooded, Ki-taek tells his son that it is best to never have a plan, since plans never work out the way one expects. The two teenage children, Ki-jeong (Park So-Dam) and Ki-woo, are scrambling around the house trying to get a WiFi signal as the neighbour that they usually leech WiFi off had wised up and made it password-protected. Geun-se, driven mad by his own situation, smashes Ki-woo over the head with the rock and runs upstairs to the backyard, where he then stabs Ki-jung. Although it does not seem likely, Ki-Woo claims he will get admission into an elite university and marry Da-Hye. He fatally wounds Ki-jeong, stabbing her through the chest as the party guests erupt into panic and scatter. Nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards, this Korean film certainly has a wide fanbase all over North America. Profession art tutor. With its overwhelming plot and acting, this motion picture retains a long-lasting effect and some kind of shock. Im sure we all notice that the people around us have their own unique smells, but our minds and senses are bogged down with so much information as adults that we tend to dismiss tiny details like this. Ki-jeongs death was also foreshadowed when she was the only one who got injured in the process of hiding their house party from the Parks as they returned from their failed camping trip. The Parks seem to be happy too. account. The clean, empty spaces of the Park home contrasted against the tight quarters of the Kim living arrangement isnt just symbolic, its visually stimulating without ever calling attention to itself. The wide panning shots do great in conveying a sense of space in the large Park residence, and sequence shots make the viewer feel as though they are there with the characters, watching their lives unfold. Each family has a symbiotic relationship with one another; the Parks need their employees to keep their house and family up and running, and the Kims and Moon-kwangs family leech off the wealth of the Parks. The operatic music and effects when Mrs Park spotted Moon-kwang coughing into a tissue as she ascends the stairs into the house. Profession English tutor. At the start of the film, we are introduced to the Kims, a family struggling to live under impoverished conditions. This is where director Bong Joon-Hos commentary on social status and the wealth divides becomes even more prominent, pitting the Kims against Moon-kwang and her husband as they each threaten to reveal the truth about each other to the Parks. Mr Park runs over to Moon-kwangs husband and pushes his body aside to retrieve the car key, but not before he wrinkles his nose at the smell that Moon-kwangs husband exudes. When Moon-gwang tries to ascend the stairs and reveal herself, Chung-sook kicks her down, concussing and killing her. Be sure to watch our video essay on the scene for more detail and deeper Parasite analysis. Leaving behind an earring or a strand of hair is common, but an entire article of clothing seems unlikely. Parasite essays are academic essays for citation. He also meets Da-hye, the flirtatious teenager he will be tutoring, and Da-song, her younger brother, for whom Mrs. Park is trying to find an art tutor. Synopsis. He is a generally congenial but snobbish man. Cockroaches and insects are seen around the house, and at some point, Mr Kim even flicks a stink bug off the table, foreshadowing a larger plot point further on. Fatally wounds Ki-jeong, stabbing her through the chest as the party guests erupt into panic scatter. The family on my worse enemy can think of is that the original tutor of most... 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