Thread by @HeadExposure

In PARASITE Bong Joon-ho uses carefully storyboarded shots to involve the viewer every step of the way. I believe the film clicks w/ many people because it makes complete sense on a sensory level. Its visual language flows better than most other films'. Let's thread an example:👇

Consider the recurring series of "car scenes". Bong uses primarily 3 types of shots, and gives them various weight/meaning through editing and other techniques:

1/ The Master shot, which shows both characters at the same time, one in foreground, one in background.

2/ The Passenger's POV shot, which shows the driver as seen from the back seat.

3/ The Side shot, which can show either character from the side, with no connection to the other character in the car.

So in this 1st "car scene", the Parks' current driver drives Ki-jeong (Jessica) to the station. Bong opens with a master shot, establishing the geography of the scene. At first, the driver seems to have control of the scene, but the focal point switches to Ki-jeong as soon as...

she starts affirming her authority. Another director could have changed focus as soon as she had said something, or not at all, but Bong only switches when the powerplay starts.

We then go to a POV shot of the driver (from Ki-jeong's perspective). He has his back at the viewer. His presence is mostly oral, his physicality hidden. He tries to turn his head but consistently falls short of actually locking eyes with us. He's struggling to assert himself.

Then Bong switches to a strange shot. It could be interpreted as Ki-jeong seen by the driver, except he never looks that way. It can therefore only be a return to a 3rd person view of the scene. Ki-jeong addresses the camera, she speaks to us. Bong puts us in the driver's seat...

which is a position devoid of power in this scene. Not as a way of making us sympathize with the driver, but to make us understand that in PARASITE, those at the wheel are never those who are actually in control. Ki-jeong is the master of her screen space, of her diegesis.

Having seemingly lost the argument, the driver then makes a last attempt at taking back control. This is translated by the quick close-up on his face, which cannot be sustained and is immediately replaced by another dominant shot of Ki-jeong.

That shot is interesting because Bong uses the actress's body language to give her control of the filmed reality. She is centered, suddenly looks into the lens to assert power, thus gaining control of the conversation and of the camera, so to speak.

That's what happens through the storytelling AND in the story (form is substance): by using aplomb and self-confidence, the Kims manage to become masters of their diegesis (until they're not, of course).

To end the confrontation, Bong opposes a close-up of the driver (defeated, neutral), to that of Ki-jeong, which this time slowly zooms in on her face. Another way of conveying power, but also to signify her epiphany (she realizes she can set a trap).

The 2nd "car scene" is the first time the Park and Kim fathers meet. Bong doesn't use any master shot (they're never in the same shot together), because their power struggle is more subtle, and both are confident (Park, mainly, but Kim holds his own). Instead: coffee shot.

The coffee shot announces the "test" Park is subjecting Kim to (even though he says there is no test, this is a way of illustrating the many ways Park judges people). Then come the Side shots, extensively used in this scene.

They're fascinating because they physically isolate each character (3rd person view, no POV, no presence of the other speaker), hence making them masters of their diegesis, BUT put them in relation to one another through editing… and a clever twist on the 180 degree rule.

The two men don't face each other physically, but they do cinematically (Kim looks to the right, Park to the left), as if they were having their conversation face to face. It helps ramp up the (for now subtle) tension between them.

One thing I like about the scene is the evolution of the sequence of shots. Once the two men start their verbal sparring, Bong initially adopts a 3-shots structure: Park's side shot, then POV shot of Kim, then side shot of Kim. The POV shot translates Kim's lingering uncertainty.

He is looking for his words, hasn't found the proper flow yet to take control of the conversation. Each time he thinks he makes a good point, the side shot appears. But then Park replies with another argument, and the process repeats.

Again, the words are unimportant. What they're saying is just noise, what's important lies in how it is shown, because this is where we can find the keys to understanding the characters' evolution.

So then, Kim finally finds his marks… and Bong ditches the POV shot.

He ditches it because switching from one side shot to the other without transitioning through a POV shot places the two characters on equal footing, and makes the exchange more impactful. And now we know that the game is truly on, and Bong swiftly moves into the heist-like...

prep montage to get rid of the housekeeper. It's an exciting sequence that builds up the adrenaline by transforming something as mundane as buying a peach into a key element of a massive deception.

It's also a visually interesting scene because it gives visual clues as to how integral the housekeeper has become in the Parks' environment: the fruit she serves invade the screen unwelcomed, she lords over the English class uninvited, she dominates the bathroom, and so on.

Back to character relationships in the very next scene: Bong places Kim and Madame Park in the car together for the first time. And the Master shot is back. It's back because now there is clearly one player who has the advantage: Kim. He has a plan, and he has confidence.

In fact, the scene is mostly composed of Master shots showing both characters together, except this time Bong uses a mobile camera that keeps up with the conversation by turning to one character and then to the other. Dynamism, but also meaning in who grabs the camera's eye.

Then Bong subverts the POV shot rule by having Kim take complete control of it. He's barely looking at the road at all, and locks eyes with Madame (with us) for a significant amount of time, which creates a striking contrast with the POV shots used on the former driver.

The next and final Master shot shows Kim's victory by physically entrapping Madame into her position, and keeping the focus on Kim. By the time they get out of the car, Madame Park is already convinced. What happens in the house is just the icing on the cake.

By the time the 4th car scene arrives (Kim gives 'The Care' card to Park), all of Bong's techniques have been laid out and utilized in context. The director can thus craft the most tense car conversation yet by continually changing Kim's control of the situation.

Like clockwork.