Parasite, a Korean film directed by Bong Joon Ho, is an excellent social commentary on the relationships between the rich and the poor. Earning over $130 million and counting worldwide, Parasite has reached a must-see status. 

Don’t let the fact that Parasite has subtitles discourage you from experiencing this important look at the juxtaposition of the wealthy and the poor. As director Bong Joon Ho said after receiving his Golden Globe, “once you overcome the one inch tall barrier of subtitles, you’ll be introduced to so many amazing films.”

Class discrimination is prominent throughout this film. The film opens with our main characters, the Kims, a pitifully poor family of four living in a cramped basement infested with stink bugs, struggling to connect their phones to their neighbor’s WiFi. No one in the family is legitimately employed and they fold pizza boxes for a living. The son, Ki-woo, is approached with a job opportunity to work for a wealthy family, the Parks, who have more money than they know what to do with. Eventually, every member of the Kim family becomes employed at the Park household after posing as sophisticated workers to meet the Park’s high standards. The Kims discover an unexpected secret about the household and quickly realize they have made an unfixable error in ever getting involved. 

Parasite won the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, making it the first South Korean film to win and win unanimously. In addition, the film picked up a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and two wins at the Critics’ Choice Awards, tacking on yet another award in the Best Foreign Language Film category and one for Best Director. Parasite is nominated for many more awards this awards season. 

Recently, Bong Joon Ho has been in talks to work with Adam McKay, director of the 2015 movie The Big Short and 2018’s Vice, to bring a limited series to HBO, according to The Hollywood Reporter. No details about the project have been revealed but it is expected to act as a sequel to Parasite.