Cinema can at times become difficult to comprehend. It is usually stated that the best movies are also the most complicated ones. One such very famous movie is the South Korean movie ‘Parasite‘. Surely everyone has heard its name as the movie won swept the Oscars. The movie fetched four Academy Awards, one of which includes the Best director for the famous Bong Joon-Ho. The movie was released in the year 2019 and also premiered at Cannes Film Festival. It has an amazing rating across all the platforms.
‘Parasite‘ is a thriller drama that revolves around a poor family that starts working in a rich household. Subsequently, all the family members commence their parasitic life. The whole setup leads the family to face several hurdles. The movie takes a big turn and things get even worse. However, the ending of the movie became the most debated part. Many people were unable to understand the climax of ‘Parasite‘. But don’t worry, we’ve got you! Bong Joon himself explained the ending. Let us see!
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‘Parasite‘ Plot
‘Parasite‘, directed by Bong Joon-Ho, is a pitch-black parody of social stratification and economic disparity. The story follows the Kim family as they gradually work their way inside the Parks’ glass palace. The Kims’ greed takes over and they are trapped until it is too late, proving the film’s motto. “Act like you own the property,” to be accurate. The story builds to a climax when the Park family goes on a camping vacation. Kim’s family welcomes back Moon-gwang, the previous housekeeper.
She registers that Geun-se, the former housekeeper’s husband, has been hiding out in the basement. This is from loan sharks. When the couple learns that the Kim family has also been pretending to be outsiders to the Park family, the tension between the two sets of people only increases. Moon-gwang gets hurt on the stairs as everyone rushes about trying to clean up the house before the Parks arrive.
At Parks’ son’s birthday celebration the next day, a grief-stricken Geun-se murders Kim Ki-woo and Ki-jung. The Kim family patriarch kills Park’s father. This is when he recoils from Geun for “poor man’s stench”. Kim Ki-woo awakens in the hospital. He comes home to discover a flickering light, remembering how Geun-se used it to broadcast Morse code. He interprets the flashes as a letter from his father detailing his escape and sanctuary in the Park’s basement. Kim Ki-woo works until he can buy the house and reconcile with his father.
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‘Parasite’: Last Scene And Ending Explained
The concept that Mr. Kim will only have to go up the stairs and into the sun gives ‘Parasite‘ a magical conclusion. “It’s a guaranteed kill,” the filmmaker said of the conclusion, alluding to a Korean word for a fatal bullet. Here, faith that a lousy hand in life or class limitations may be overcome is dead. Joon-Ho exposes this hope as a deception. “If the movie finished with them hugging and fading away, the audience could think that it’s impossible to purchase that house,'” he added. “It’s brutal and terrible, but it’s true and honest with the audience. We both know this child can’t afford the house. I think frankness was right for the sad picture.”
The film’s ending recalls the beginning when we met the Kim family in their wet, confined basement. Joon-Ho has termed the film his “stairway movie,” meaning it portrays all the levels of class aspiration. The Kim family looks up at street level to where they desire to rise, like the Park family’s basement residents. Joon-Ho dashes our expectations that Kim Ki-woo has left the cellar by having him explain his ascent and descent down the stairs.
While the film urges us to blame the materialistic Park family, it doesn’t show us the villains’ downfall. When the Parks depart the glass home, a German Park family claims it. Everlasting protection surrounds the rich. ‘Parasite‘ finale is the film’s most biting and persistent. It will keep reminding us that the entertaining deception and humorous banter hid a sorrowful truth. It seemed Kim Ki-woo coming to the home as its owner would end ‘Parasite‘ like a dream, but his waking up tells us the nightmare is real.
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