The Award-Winning Dark Comedy Thriller That's Been Killing It On Hulu
Numerous films throughout the 21st century have been obsessed with income inequality and class anxiety. These films serve as a reflection of the times, perfectly encapsulating audiences' feelings of trepidation about whether they can truly move through the social hierarchy or if it's one big pipe dream we were sold into believing. Movies like The Florida Project, Sorry to Bother You, and The Wolf of Wall Street all deal with these themes in one way or the other, but there's been one movie that's risen above the rest and really struck a chord, even with elites: Parasite.
The 2019 film from Bong Joon-ho, who's also given us the likes of Okja, Snowpiercer, and Memories of Murder, delivered a critique of capitalism in a stunning hybrid of a dark comedy and a thriller. People stood up and took notice, which was a big reason why the film took home Best Original Screenplay, Best International Film, Best Director, and Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards. The movie managed to deliver a wholly entertaining story with a potent but nuanced message. It's one of those movies you watch and instantly know it will be studied and talked about for years, and now you can watch it for the first (or second) time on Hulu.
What's the plot of Parasite?
Parasite tells the story of the Kim family. They live a lower-class existence in an underground home, forced to take whatever odd jobs they can to make ends meet. They can barely even afford to keep the WiFi going, but their lives are changed when son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) has a friend come over with the opportunity of a lifetime.
Min-hyuk (Park Seo-joon) has been offered a job to tutor a high school-aged girl for a wealthy family, but he's leaving soon and wants to give Ki-woo the position. He agrees and goes to the Park family home, finding a lifestyle that's the polar opposite of the way the Kims are living. The Parks reside in a luxurious mansion with anything they could possibly want available to eat. Ki-woo gets the job and learns that the Park matriarch is also interested in hiring an art therapist for her son. One by one, the Kims slide their way into lucrative positions for the Parks, ousting the current staff in the process.
If you haven't seen the film yet, then it's best that's all you know about the movie going into it. There's a twist halfway through that will throw you through a loop and make you rethink everything you've just witnessed.
Should you watch Parasite?
Yes... yes you should.
Parasite is easily one of the best films of the 21st century, and you don't have to take our word from it. Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly wrote, "If the movie is a Rorschach of who you identify as parasite and host, it's a test you're just as likely to fail; a filmgoing experience that refuses to fit into any box, and forces viewers to breathe the dangerous air outside of it too."
It's a film that encourages discussion after you're left questioning whether the "parasites" were the Kims or the Parks, or perhaps none of them. Or all of them. Maybe they're all just being taken advantage of by a system that values the accumulation of wealth over everything else. Themes of colonialism and environmental collapse also factor into the film, and it all comes together beautifully in a film that never feels preachy or obvious, leaving you to explore your own reactions. Even all of that aside, it's just a wildly entertaining movie about a family engaging in one deception after the next to try to make a buck. It's at times hilarious, and just as often tragic. It's an all-around great film and deserves every bit of praise it has received.
With an HBO series based on Parasite in the works, now is the perfect time to get familiar with an instant classic. You can watch Parasite right now on Hulu.