Synopsis:
Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks.The project won Joon-ho one of the most prestigious awards in film, the Cannes Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year. In the same interview, he spoke about his monumental win. “Even when I went to Cannes I hadn’t really expected it, and when I see the trophy at my house I feel like ‘oh, why is it there?’” The win of the Palme d’Or coincided with it being the anniversary of 100 years of Korean cinema, and Joon-ho is a big endorser of it.
The film will feature Song Kang-ho (‘Snowpiecer’ and “The Host”), Lee Sun-kyun (“A Hard Day”) and Jo Yeo-jeong (“The Servant”). While there are also roles for Choi Woo-shik (‘Okja’), Park So-dam (“The Priests”) and Jang Hye-jin.
“Parasite” showcases a poor Korean family who manages to swindle their way into a rich family’s household, but things soon turn dark. The film is directed by Bong Joon-ho, who has done films such as “Okja” and “Snowpiecer.” The South Korean is well versed in doing different genres, and now it looks like he has found another style to sink his teeth into.
The film will release October 11th and is distributed by NEON. Before that, the movie will screen in the Special Presentations section at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival in September. Watch the new trailer below.