Families Clash Over Class Prejudice in ‘Parasite’ Trailer

Neon released the first trailer for the South Korean black comedy film Parasite on Wednesday.

The film follows unemployed driver Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), his wife, Choong Sook (Jang Hye-jin), and their college-age children as they struggle financially and aspire to live a rich life. Things look up for the Kim family when the children are hired as a tutor and art therapist to the Park family. A symbiotic relationship later forms between the two families as the Kim family provides “indispensable” luxury services to the Parks, and the Parks help the Kims out of their shabby circumstances. Greed and class prejudice soon get in the way of the families’ arrangement, which puts the Kims’ comfortable new lifestyle at risk.

Choi Wook-shik, Park So-dam, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jung Ji-so and Jung Hyun-joon round out the cast. Bong Joon Ho directed the film.

The trailer opens by introducing the Kim family in their cluttered home. While a fumigator works outside, Kim Ki-taek instructs his family to keep the windows open so that they can get a “free extermination.”

After having a conversation with a friend, Kim Ki-woo (Choi) is convinced to apply for the role as an English tutor for one of the Park children despite his lack of a college degree. Ki-woo recruits his sister to help him make a fake diploma so the Park family thinks he has his degree.

“It’s a very opportune gift. Rich people are really gullible,” Ki-taek tells his son, as clips show Ki-woo arriving at the Parks’ luxurious house for the interview.

After Ki-woo is hired, he convinces the Parks that their son needs an art tutor and suggests that they hire his friend Jessica, who is actually his sister, Ki-jeong (Park).

A montage accompanied by intense music follows as clips show the families becoming closer before their socioeconomic differences ultimately get in the way of their relationship.

Parasite won the Palme d’Or award at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in May. It is the first Korean film to win the honor. The film will also screen at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival before its wide release on Oct. 11.

Watch the full trailer for Parasite above.

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