The first ten pages of a film are of fundamental importance – Jack Roberts explores what Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite does with this all-important slither of time.
In February 2020, Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite made history by becoming the first non-English language film to with Best Picture at the Academy Awards, alongside its already established list of mounting accolades. It raises the question as to what this South Korean social satire did to make it transfix the audience in such a resonating way. There are many facets in answering this question; the performances are enthralling, the cinematography is stunning and the writing is without flaw. But I want to look at the beginning: how Bong Joon-Ho and co-writer Han Jin-won capture our attention in the first ten minutes. In his book Screenplay, Syd Field describes the opening ten pages of any film as the time it must take to seal the deal with the audience. We need to know who we are following, the world they are living in and the dramatic situation they are about to find themselves in that will keep us invested for the remainder of the film.
In the very first minute, we are introduced to the very heart of the narrative in the form of the Kim family, who will be the driving force of this story of social mobility as they ingratiate themselves into the household of the wealthier Park family. Bong establishes something incredibly unique to Parasite. A structural verticality. Right now, the Kim’s are the lowest of the low, frantically zipping around their home trying to find a new source from which to leech free WiFi from their neighbours above. They’re in dire straits to say the least, even opting to suffer through a public fumigation in their house in order to exterminate their insect infestation for free. Their home itself is the very symbol of their poverty, a semi-basement apartment in South Korea. Squat, claustrophobic and as said in the screenplay “dank”. The opening shot of the film is a view out of the partially submerged living room. The road outside is above eye level as an incline rises toward the sun up ahead. This hill will be a recurring motif, with the characters travelling up and down it as their journey of social stratification rises and falls with the dramatic situations.
So in the very first minute, the film has two aspects of the ten page paradigm established: the characters and the world they have found themselves in. But what of the dramatic situation? The visceral presentation of the Kim’s circumstances is an extreme representation of a common issue: societal disillusionment. It is common, because we have probably all felt it at some point in our lives. Dissatisfaction with a job, social position or education. At the bottom of the hill, the Kim’s are forgotten and forced into menial work with very little reward. Their property is even urinated on by a drunk in the street, something that will return later on with different results to their current apathetic attitude. But this all changes with the arrival of Min-Hyuk, a college student and friend of the son, Ki-Woo. Driving off the drunkard, he provides the outlet for change in the Kim’s circumstances, barely halfway through.
Min-hyuk is held in high regard by the Kim family. Eloquent, well dressed and employed. Everything they are not. He even brings them a gift: the scholar’s rock. A decorative rock meant to bring wealth and good fortune to those who have it in their household. In the words of Ki-Woo “this is so metaphorical”. Truly, it is. With the arrival of the rock, the tides begin to change. It is an omnipresent symbol that will return again and again as Ki-Woo’s scheme grants him more boons. But it is not just the rock that Min-Hyuk brings. It is an opportunity for Ki-Woo. With his recommendation, he wants him to take over as the tutor for the Park family’s daughter. And with that, the dramatic situation is set right at the end of the first ten minutes. Ki-Woo now has an in. The gates are open for him to finagle his way into the household and, much later, bringing his whole family along with him. This isn’t a solo act. While Ki-Woo is the one given the opportunity, we already know that this is a family affair. As Parasite progresses, there are a multitude of twists and turns to keep the audience guessing. But in those ten previous minutes, we are hooked. The stage is set, the pieces in place and the Kim family journeys up the hill and into the sun… what could possibly go wrong?
Words by Jack Roberts
This article was originally published as part of The Indiependent’s May 2020 charity magazine, which raised money for the British Lung Foundation. Find out more here.