

At A Glance
An impoverished family’s resourcefulness leads them to events spiralling catastrophically out of their control.

Film Details
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
Written by Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han
Released by Curzon / Artificial Eye
2020, 132 minutes, 15
Available on Digital Download from 1st June
Available on Blu-ray, DVD, Steelbook on 1st June
Cast
Kang-ho Song as Ki Taek
Sun-kyun Lee as Dong Ik
Yeo-jeong Jo as Yeon Kyo
Woo-sik Choi as Ki Woo
So-dam Park as Ki Jun
Jeong-eun Lee as Moon Gwang
Make a plan and feast on the outstanding Parasite
By Claire Bueno
According to the Oxford English Dictionary the definition of parasite is ‘an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense.’ Here lies the crux of Bong Joon Ho’s scintillating and sophisticated story of an impoverished Korean family, whose manipulation and resourcefulness will ignite a spiral of events that will leave you with nothing but admiration for a unique filmmaker’s aptitude for compelling storytelling.
Living in absolute squalor the Kim family may not have much, but they do have each other. Their basement flat is dank, dingy with barely enough room to swing a mouse, let alone a cat. Food is scarce, but they are bountiful in love and solidarity as a family.
With the help and artistic expertise of his sister, Ki Woo (Woo-sik Choi) armed with falsified qualifications unexpectedly lands a part time job home teaching English to a wealthy teenage girl, whose mother and head of the house is impressionable and easy exploitable. Recognising this, within no time at all the conniving family wheedle their way into gainful employment. All is well until one fateful rainy evening when an unexpected visitor arrives on the doorstep of the opulent home and kicks up a right storm! Actions have consequences, and as the story unfolds there is a price to pay for their ‘enterprising’ behaviour.
It is no wonder why the film won four Oscars and two BAFTAs. Parasite’s originality, richly written, precisely executed characters were a joy to watch.
It would be very easy to villainise the roguish behaviour of the Kim family, however Bong Joon Ho carves three dimensional colourful characters by creating simple scenes which really humanises them.
The artful use of light truly immerses the audience into the polarising worlds of extreme poverty and wealth, which felt very authentic.
“You know what kind of plan never fails,” retrospectively says Kim Ki-taek, father of the Kim family. “No plan at all.” But on this occasion I do urge you to make a plan and feast on the outstanding Parasite.

“Parasite will leave you with nothing but admiration for a unique filmmaker’s aptitude for compelling storytelling."
Parasite - Special Features
Steelbook
Disc 1
Parasite feature
2 x trailers
Making of Parasite
Deleted scenes
Q&A with the Bong Joon Ho
AD & HOH materials
Disc 2
Parasite - Black and White feature
Parasite - Black and White trailer
BLU-RAY
Parasite feature
2 x trailers
Making of Parasite
Deleted scenes
Q&A with the Bong Joon Ho
AD & HOH materials
DVD
Parasite feature
2 x trailers
Making of Parasite
Deleted scenes
Q&A with the Bong Joon Ho
AD & HOH materials
Parasite - Official Trailer
Claire Bueno
Claire Bueno is the author of CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters. A Cast and Crew’s Memoir of Ghostbusters
As a film journalist, presenter and interviewer, Claire has moderated BAFTA, Royal Television Society (RTS), Women in Film and Television (WFTV), and Apple Store Q&As and hosted Comic Con panel talks.
Claire is the founder of Premiere Scene Magazine and has had the privilege of interviewing esteemed artists including Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sigourney Weaver, Emily Blunt, Samuel L Jackson, James Cameron and Andy Serkis.
As a media coach Claire works with leading personal publicists, HBO, Netflix, Warner Bros. Sky, ITV, Penguin Random House, Ebury, the BFI, and DDA, offering practical coaching sessions and safe environment for talent to perfect their interview technique before facing the press. She has extensive experience working with emerging and seasoned professionals and where English is not their first language.
Additionally, Claire is the producer of the critically acclaimed feature documentary CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters and the upcoming TOO HOT TO HANDLE: Remembering Ghostbusters II.