The Best Laid Plans...
Parasite
2019 Director: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Jang Hye-jin, Lee Jung-eun, Park Myung-hoon, Jung Ji-so, Jung Hyeon-jun
“What’s your plan?” This is what Chung-sook (Jang) asks her husband, Kim Ki-taek (Song), when a neighbor changes the password for the WI-FI they were stealing. They need it so they can use their cell phones to check WhatsApp to see if a job is forthcoming. The Kim family is very poor and lives in a semi-basement in Seoul, Korea. Their son, Ki-woo (Choi), tries a new password and, raising his phone near the ceiling above the toilet, it works.
The camera soon focuses on a framed athletic medal and a photo of a shot-putter; apparently, this is a young Ki-taek, long before he was married with two children. The question his wife poses begs a new one, what was his plan then? At any rate, for now, the Kim family must take a low paying job folding pizza boxes, which they must do very quickly and efficiently, but the boxes’ round shape makes the procedure difficult and their wages are docked for sloppy work. Ki-woo’s friend shows up and offers him a job tutoring a young girl, Da-hye (Jung Ji-so), in English; she is the daughter of the wealthy Park family. Ki-woo is unsure of his skills, but his friend reassures him and he lands the job after his sister, Ki-jung (Park So-dam), photoshops a fake certificate so he can claim that he attends Yonsei University. Ki-taek is impressed by his daughter’s skills, “does Oxford have a major in document forgery?” He is also proud that his son has this interview, “So you have a plan!”, he exclaims, seeing the family’s prospects improve.
As Ki-woo lands the job, the Park’s young son, Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun), shoots arrows towards his mother (Cho) and Ki-woo as they speak. Da-song is spoiled and strong-willed, and his mother believes he is an eccentric, artistic genius; she hopes to get him into an important art school. Ki-woo recommends Jessica from Illinois State University (actually Ki-jung, his own sister) to tutor him and provide art therapy. She also lands the job. Very quickly, the Kim siblings set up the Park family driver and housekeeper (Lee) for failure so their parents can take their jobs. The Parks are unaware of the ruse being played on them, and since things are running smoothly, they are not suspicious.
The Parks decide on an impromptu camping trip to celebrate their son’s birthday. After they depart, the Kims, take over their beautiful home, which was built by a famous architect. They binge on the Parks’ food and get drunk on their liquor. They are happy. And a plan seems to emerge. Ki-woo will date Da-hye when she attends university. His parents ask, “then this house will be your in-laws’ house?” The daydream goes further, Ki-woo says if they marry, he will need to hire actors to play his mother and father. They comment on how gullible the Parks are and that the rich always have people to resolve problems for them—a telling summation of class inequality in their world. In her drunkenness, Ki-jung lashes out at her father for wondering how the previous driver is faring now; she wants him to worry about his own family, not other people. He says, “this is our home right now.” In essence, he is living in “the now” without a plan. And this is unfortunate because the previous housekeeper, who will soon ring the doorbell in the middle of a great storm, will upend any plans the Kims may have had. Towards the end of the movie, Ki-taek comments on people’s inclination toward making plans; it is a heartbreaking scene. The film garnered many accolades throughout the world, including the Palme d’or, several Academy Awards, A Golden Globe, and two AACTA Awards.