Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” is quickly rising to become one of the most loved foreign films of all time. With its impressive acting, memorable plot and suspenseful film style, Joon Ho has created an incredible, Oscar-winning work of art.

Joon Ho’s film is a mystery-drama that encompasses the contrast between the poor and rich sides of South Korea, and the horrifying things that can happen when those two sides clash. 

An incredible movie that deals with greed and class discrimination, “Parasite” is a seemingly innocent story turned dark. With stellar cast performances combined with the sheer panic that the plot and pace of the movie inflicts upon audiences, Joon Ho’s film will have viewers leaving theaters wondering what exactly just happened to them. 

The film is the story of two very different families. The Park family  lives in incredible wealth and comfort, and have never known what it is to be hungry.

On the completely opposite side of the spectrum is the Kim family, who have never had a day without its obstacles, and struggle to get by on a daily basis. 

The Park family is in need of a new English tutor for Park Da-hye, (Jung Ji-so) while their current tutor, Min-Hyuk, is studying abroad. Min Hyuk is a friend of the Kim family’s son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and encourages Ki-woo to take over his position.

Intrigued by the opportunity for more money, Ki-woo poses as a university student, and lands the position with Mrs. Park discarding his real name and calling himself “Kevin” instead.  

Subsequently, the others members of the Kim family become jealous of Ki-woo’s new position and begin to infiltrate the various other staff positions in the Park family household. By subtly throwing out the original staff one by one, all the members of the Kim family have high-paying jobs with the Parks within the month. The family’s daughter, (Park So-dam),  becomes “Jessica” the ‘art therapist,’ and Mr. and Mrs. Kim, (Choong Sook and Kim Ki-taek,) take on the job of being the family’s chauffeur and housekeeper, all while concealing that they are a family. 

Unfortunately, some things are too good to be true, and as the film goes on the family struggles to hold on to their jobs as identities are discovered and household secrets are revealed that were unknown to even the Park family. The story of the Park and Kim families is an unforgettable one, but the storyline is not the only thing that earned the film its Oscar.

One has to admire the acting as well, as the actors portraying the Kim family are presented with a double threat in terms of a challenge, as they have to pretend to be someone they’re not twice in the same movie. However, the most prominent thing about “Parasite” is not the plot or the acting. What is most impressive about the movie is that it is filmed in a very tactful way in terms of suspense. 

Throughout the movie, the cuts from scene to scene are very abrupt, and pull viewers away from one unthinkable thing and into another moment that is happening at the same time, but is much more peaceful. Because of the way the movie is filmed, one gets to see the sheer ignorance of some of the characters, which makes the movie almost unbearably tense.

Because of the acting, film style and the uniqueness of plot, “Parasite” became the first foreign language film to win an Oscar as of last month, and has amassed millions of dollars around the world. Parasite is not a movie for the faint of heart, but it is an incredible film and will leave viewers waiting for what Joon Ho will direct next.