PARASITE

(15)

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WICKEDLY entertaining, genre-bending satire, which gleefully inhabits the cavernous divide between South Korea’s haves and have-nots.

The double Baftawinning movie is certain to convert some of its six Oscar nominations into golden statuettes.

Wily patriarch Kim Ki-tek (Song Kang-ho) presides over a family of con artists, including his sharptongued wife Chung-sook (Chang Hyae-jin), mildmannered son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and daughter Ki-jung (Park So-dam). They live in a squalid basement apartment in a poor neighbourhood of Seoul.

Good fortune smiles unexpectedly on Ki-woo when good friend Minhyuk (Park Seo-joon) recommends him as an English tutor for teenager Park Da-hae (Jeong Ji-so).

Ki-woo falsifies his qualifications to impress Da-hae’s wealthy parents (Cho Yeo-jeong and Lee Sun-kyun).

(15)

Once he has earned the couple’s misplaced trust, Ki-woo recommends a college friend called Jessica as an art therapist for Da-hae’s younger brother, Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun).

Sister Ki-jung arrives in the guise of Jessica and passes off theories from the internet as her personal philosophy to unlock a child’s potential.

Ki-tek and Chung-sook also seek positions under false pretences. However, the suspicions of housekeeper Mun-kwang (Lee Jung-eun) threaten to expose the deception.

Parasite is a lip-smacking delight, which divides our sympathy as moral compasses are wilfully ignored in pursuit of happiness.