With Oscars like 'best director' and 'best picture' under Bong Joon-Ho’s belt, it’s not hard to see why this masterpiece has attracted so much attention. Parasite lives beyond the hype around it and strikes the heart with powerful allegories while delighting with dark comedy.

If the subtitles put you off, I can assure you it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment. You’ll quickly slip seamlessly into the lives of the Kim and Park families and forget you’re even watching a foreign film.

So, who is the Kim family? A mother, father and two older children that live inside a semi-basement in Seoul. They are poor and have to cheat the system to make it by.

The Kim son, Ki-woo, begins to tutor the daughter of the wealthy Park family. The Park's financial and social status directly oppose the Kims and they become a reflection of each other.

Ki-woo formulates a plan that intermingles the Kim and Park family lives together as mother, father and daughter also join the home’s workforce as housekeeper, driver and art therapist respectively. This is a vast difference from their previous infrequent, low-pay employment.

The two families occupy two wealth extremes, plenty and scarcity. The film highlights the ignorant prejudice and privilege that the Park family holds, which stems from their wealth and status. This is further accentuated when the Kim family suffers hardships.

Bong Jong-Ho imbued the plot with conversations around wealth imbalance. He shows his audience the inequality of our current system by focusing on the apathy of the rich people in his film. These important topics are wrapped up with a comedic and thrilling bow that makes for some beautiful storytelling. The film will keep you on the edge of your seat and have you thinking on the way home.

I could see parasite becoming a film that will be remembered for ages to come. The same way people look back on Gone with the Wind, Titanic, and Fight Club as iconic films you must watch. It masterfully builds tension, leading you bit by bit towards its climax without it ever feeling obvious or contrived. It’s an important film, one which I cannot recommend enough.

Parasite is such a deserving title for the symbiotic relationship between these two families. Either family can be labelled as a parasite. The Kims who feed off the Parks. Tricking them and deceiving them, as well as ransacking their fridge and drinks cabinet. The Parks that live off the Kim's work, a family that wouldn’t function without its driver or housekeeper. They benefit from their privilege and look down on those who provide them with a service.

For me, the part that holds the most impact was the rain and subsequent flood. This pathetic fallacy is at the heart of the film and signals the degradation of the Kim and Park relationship. A long storm ruins the Kim home, as well as many others like it, with water damage. However, all the Park matriarch can worry about is how the weather has ruined her family camping trip. And when she channels that disappointment into planning a replacement party instead, she describes the rain as a blessing. Her oblivious privilege on full display as this comes just after you watch the Kim’s home and few possessions disappear into the rising water.

The Park house itself is such an interesting part of the film. The modernist open architecture allows for some intense scenes when the characters need to silently tip-toe walk around the house, trying not to be noticed. Yet, this minimalist design does not fit the needs of a normal family with younger children. It is style over substance which seems to reflect the Parks. On top of all that useless opulence is a hidden, dingy basement that reflects the Kim’s own living situation (and is an eventual residence for one Kim family member) which also symbolises the hierarchy of the two families. One above the other.

The domino effect that leads to each member of the Kim family getting their jobs in the Park family household was one of the funniest parts. The hysterical dramatic irony only added to the Park family’s ignorant appearance, while also allowing the audience some relief from the dark tones.

Each character felt real and fleshed out due to the details Bong Joon-Ho wrote for them, with assistance from some great acting. I really felt for them, especially during the death of Ki-Jung (the Kim’s daughter). Watching her mother and brother mourn her was especially powerful. Her memorial display was a small few inches amongst so many other names. Highlighting how there is less dignity for poor people, even in death.

Despite the Kim family being sometimes off-putting, with their vulgar speech and binge drinking, it is not enough to make you root against them. Instead, it makes them real, flaws and all. I found it made them more interesting and developed as it explored the vices working-class people use to help them escape the negative impact of capitalism.

In terms of the ending of this film, it felt neat and appropriate. The only loose string is what happened to the other members of the Park family. I would like to know if the Park’s son (Da-Song) survived his seizure, or how the daughter (Da-Hye) felt about Ki-Woo and his forgery.

I loved how the Kim’s father (Ki-Taek) escapes arrest for his crimes by hiding in the hidden basement. This continues the oppressive and symbiotic cycle as another rich family moves in above him. I also enjoyed Ki-Woo’s fantasy about rescuing his father by buying the house. I found myself wanting to believe his plan as much as he did. However, if the film ended with the father and son hugging in the house, it could be assumed that this made-up fantasy was reality. Bong Joon-Ho gives us a gut-wrenching ending with the finishing scene being Ki-Woo hugging his letter instead, showing us the improbability of his plan.

Overall I adored this film and can’t wait to watch more films by Bong Joon Ho.