How Bong Joon-ho Created A Language-Independent Visual Impact In The Movie?
Growing up as a filmmaker needs watching the world cinema to expand one’s visual repertoire. This logic pulled me to watch Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 movie – Parasite recently.
Parasite is one of the most beautiful films ever made. I loved the story and direction of Bong Joon-ho. The language was very much understandable through subtitles. However, I think that masterpieces in the world of storytelling are language-independent. That’s why, when I watched Parasite for the second time, I put off the subtitles.
The movie gives a great narrative on class differences and struggles. Bong Joon-ho, in Parasite, is telling a story, not only through dialogue but also through visuals as well. Bong Joon-ho’s set design helped us to differentiate between the class systems. Even the dialogues, dialects and the way they are delivered helped us to understand the difference between classes. The film also has a great plot twist in between. I particularly liked how Bong Joon-ho blended the genre from comedy to suspense. It is the signature of the director’s craftsmanship.
The story takes off with the Kims’ who are poverty-stricken people struggling to keep their heads above water. We get to understand their entire condition in poverty. We also get to know the elder son, Ki-woo, who is trying to find a way to help his family to move out of their struggle for existence. He finds his place in the house of the rich family called the Parks as an English tutor to the rich daughter, Da-hye. Ki-woo eventually develops a romantic relationship with her. With the Parks trust in him, Ki-woo schemes to get his family out of poverty. He and his family do their best to con the Parks and backstab other house employees working with the Parks to get a job for each of the ‘Kims’ in the Park household. As the Kim family cons Parks and others in the working class successfully, we see them relax in their new home at the throne of the rich – the Parks. The father ‘Kim’ is pleased to be out of the sewer – pleased with the lifestyle he has got. Now the family have nothing to worry about.
But the joyful existence, built on the wealth of the Parks, was short-lived. Chung-sook, the mother ‘Kim’ soon discovers that there is another family, that of the earlier housekeeper, leaving a ‘parasite’ life in the basement of the Park’s house. Things get worse as terror strikes upon them which changes the genre from comedy to suspense. We see how much dependent the rich Parks are on the ‘scheming’ working class. The latter half of the film depicts metal trauma and murder in both families – the Kims and the Parks. The script is written well by Bong Joo Ho. The film is truly a masterpiece.
The direction and cinematography are totally amazing. Bong Joon-ho has created a masterful cinematic language. His camera movement tells a great story about class system. He even maintains the space and distance through his camera. His creates the mood of the film perfectly. We even get to understand the different class systems through his camera. The high angle is used to depict the Kims weaker point of view of their condition. The low angle is used to show the wealthy nature of Parks. Bong Joon-ho also uses symmetrical shots to give a depth of perspective. It is shown in such a beautiful way!
The editing is awesome. The cuts and interlaces are perfectly done in the film. It has pure smooth cuts. It helps to understand the story and what comes after what and creates an emotional experience for the audience. It helps us to have a deeper connection with the characters. It even gives the feeling of struggle – how they live and survive in the parasitical world. For example, in the opening of Parasite, one side of the camera faces the Kim family. Then it cut to the pest extinguisher laying smoke underneath depicting the indifference for the people living underneath. It describes the Kim family as pests living in a sewer and that their existence does not matter to the rest of society anymore.
It is a piece of artwork that Bong Joon Ho has done in story-telling. I think that the Kims are the Parasites. The story narrates that when aspirations of social mobility turn into greed, goodness ends and perils of darkness strikes. However, there are several other interpretations available in the learned press questioning this thought process. Who are the parasites? The very existence of these alternative interpretations are what makes Parasite timeless. Do not the epics also have several interpretations across space and time?
This film really deserved the academy recognition, Bong Joon Ho’s first win as a director and Palme d’Or (2019).
Definitely my filmmaking journey will be influenced by visual techniques adopted in Parasite. I would like to see what else Bong has in store next