Will “Parasite” walk away with an Oscar?

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For a winner prediction at the 2020 Oscars, I would name the Korean film “Parasite”, written and directed by Bong Joon-ho. In my opinion, it stands a good chance of winning the Best Screenplay Award and the Foreign Language Film Award. 

One reason for my prediction is that “Parasite” has a well-crafted screenplay. It is a black comedy set in Seoul and, with the use of irony and satire, it sheds light on the wide gap between the rich and the poor. The film’s name itself invites reflection on the reality that the poor, just like a tree plundering parasite, often depend on the rich for their survival.

The story delivers the message that the Korean society is stratified, with the poor condemned to the lower stratum, hopeless of ever climbing up the social ladder. The Kims, living in a shabby basement apartment, have to sneak into a Wi-Fi signal for internet access and put up with men urinating outside their home. Conversely, the wealthy Park family enjoy bountiful space and luxury in their well-designed modernistic house. There is also Park Myung-hoon, who has secretly been living in the bunker beneath the big house for long years. In fact, the audience are deeply impressed by the stark contrasts portrayed so vividly in the film. 

The emphasis on the peculiar smell the Kims cannot do away with is a sarcastic touch. The smell, assumedly from the underground train, is an indelible mark of poverty enabling the Park family to tell them apart. And, finally, it is that smell that triggers an unplanned murder, thus implying that social divisions, if not bridged in time, will lead to unamendable conflicts.

Another attempt at sarcasm is the philosophical humor used in the dialogue. Song Kang Ho, the father, often remarks on money’s ability to iron out all problems. When Chang Hyae Jin, his wife, says, “If I were rich, I would also be kind”, the audience smile approvingly at the sarcasm well used. The mind behind the film also intends to mock the Koreans’ blind adoration of Western products; the Park couple have confidence in the tent’s durability in the thunderstorm because “it is American made”. 

Instead of being a medium for slapstick humour, “Parasite” provokes much compassionate thinking, with no laughs getting in the way. The most bitter sarcasm of all is the reference to the fact that it is useless making plans, as is mentioned more than once by Song Kang Ho. And there is rigorous evidence throughout the entire film. The planned camping birthday celebration, for example, has to be put off because of the thunderstorm. What materializes instead is a spontaneous garden party. While the audience are gleefully engaged in the festivity, the film takes a dramatic turn; what is meant to be a war game ends up being real violence. Above all, Ki-woo, Song Kang Ho’s son, is the one intent on having everything well planned. He tries in vain to seek wealth and status first through his success in university education and later through his intended marriage with the rich girl who is the daughter of the Park couple. And towards the end of the movie, his voice-over narration is about another grand plan of rescuing his father trapped in the bunker, leaving an unanswered question about its success. This gives the story an impressive wind-up. 

All in all, Parasite” has an award-worthy screenplay. However, in view of the severe competition from the other nominees, I have more confidence in its chance of walking away with the Best Foreign Film Award.