TORONTO -- On Sunday night, the South Korean drama 鈥淧arasite鈥� took home Hollywood鈥檚 top prize and became the first non-English language film to ever win that honour in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards.
And while many across South Korea were jubilantly celebrating how the film nabbed Oscars for Best Picture, Best International Film and Best Director, there may have been people watching the show last night only now hearing about 鈥淧arasite.鈥�
While the film made approximately across the world, it pales in comparison to other Best Picture contenders such as 鈥淛oker,鈥� which raked in US1 billion or war epic 鈥�1917鈥� which took in US$287 million.
So CTVNews.ca explains how the film deftly examines class and serves as the culmination of director鈥檚 Bong Joon Ho's filmography.
WHAT IS 'PARASITE' ABOUT?
Without delving into spoilers, the film follows the lives of two families on opposite sides of the economic divide: the street-wise but destitute Kim family and the rich, oblivious Park clan.
The film sees the Kim family weaselling and scamming their way into the Park鈥檚 lives and essentially leeching off their wealth 鈥� like parasites.
For example, the Kim family son, played by actor Choi Woo-shik, pretends to be a college-educated English tutor. And as the film progresses, each of the Kim family members similarly become employees of the rich Parks, who are unaware of just how much they鈥檝e being swindled.
But the real drama picks up when the Kims鈥� hubris catches up with them and their chickens come home to roost. And by the end of the film, it鈥檚 less clear which family is the so-called 鈥減arasite.鈥�
THEMES INCLUDE CLASS CONFLICT
While the film balances dark humour and horror throughout its two-hour runtime, its main themes are class conflict and social inequality.
that the film is strongly associated with 鈥淗ell Joseon,鈥� which is a recent term South Korean millennials have used to describe the hopelessness and misery of them living in the country.
But the film鈥檚 theme of class has who point out how the super-rich appear to live on a different level than everyone else.
The film uses a staircases in society. One of the earliest examples is how the Kims live in a semi-basement apartment (common for less affluent Seoul residents), while the Parks live at the top of a hilly road.
The director also shows how one event -- such as a monsoon -- can mean vastly different things for people, depending on their life circumstances, and how such events can expose and upset relations between social classes.
DIRECTOR AND THE 'ONE-INCH-TALL BARRIER OF SUBTITLES'
Film critic and host of CTV鈥檚 鈥淧op Life鈥� Richard Crouse included the film as part of his list of best films of the decade and it鈥檚 fairly evident why: 鈥淧arasite鈥� is essentially its director鈥檚 life鈥檚 work.
Bong Joon Ho has examined themes such as class conflict in his more recent films, such as 2013鈥檚 鈥淪nowpiercer鈥� and 2017鈥檚 Okja both address the topic.
The how non-English films like his and last year鈥檚 鈥淩oma鈥� still have a challenge reaching a mainstream international audience.
鈥淥nce you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films,鈥� he said, as he accepted his foreign film award for 鈥淧arasite鈥� at the Golden Globes awards.
BOX OFFICE POPULARITY
鈥淧arasite,鈥� which is currently showing in 174 markets worldwide, has already grossed a total of US$165 million, .
The site also points out that the film, like past Best Picture winners, is expected to see a bump in box office sales, according to .
But none of these figures should be surprising considering 鈥淧arasite鈥� is the highest grossing Palme D鈥橭r winner in both France and North America in 15 years.
