Who is the "parasite" of Bong Joon-ho's (The Host; Okja) BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG award-winning film, Parasite?
Is it the cockroach killed in the very first seconds of the trailer? Or is it the destitute Kim family, who mooch off the fumigation going out outside their apartment? Or the wealthy Park clan, who leech off their poorer counterparts?
Nothing in Parasite is simple, so the answer is probably all of the above — and more. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, becoming the first Korean film to win the coveted Palme d'Or, has been described by Neon as a "pitch-black modern fairytale," tackling greed and class struggle.
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That much is apparent from the trailer, which starts out as a seemingly normal story about a poor young man (Choi Woo-shik) faking credentials as a tutor to work for a rich family, and morphs into a kaleidoscopic sensory and visual overload, involving hot sauce dripping on pizza, a little boy stiffly bowing to his mother, and a young lady blowing what looks like glitter off a peach — all set to a thrumming soundtrack. I don't really know what it all means but it certainly is a mood.
Clearly, this is going to be one of the most talked-about movie of the year. So, if you're looking for something to break out of your regular movie routine, this is the one I recommend starting with.
Parasite is released in the UK on Friday 7th February.