Parasite Vs Snowpiercer: 5 Similarities That Make Them Bong Joon-ho Films (& 5 Ways They're Completely Different)
Bong Joon-ho has been a prolific director and quickly gained a following for his outstanding directing and writing work. In 2013 he directed Snowpiercer, based on a graphic novel, about an apocalyptic future world covered with ice and a group of survivors living on a train moving fast enough so they won't freeze. In 2019 he wrote and directed Parasite and received wide acclaim, including winning Best Picture at the Oscars, for the film about the struggles of the Kim family and their plan to finally make it.
Snowpiercer received good reviews upon its release, but there has been major buzz surrounding Parasite, even talks of a TV series being created. Let's compare and contrast the two as there are a lot of similarities that make them classic Bong Joon-ho flicks but also have surprising differences.
10 Similar: Focus On Class Structure
The main focus of both Parasite (2019) and Snowpiercer (2013) is the dangers of class warfare between the elite and privileged highest class and the stunted and unjustifiably poor lowest class. Due to the inherent differences between the two and the obviously unfair class structure that keeps the lowest class in their place and allows the higher classes to live an easy carefree life at the top. This inevitably causes fighting between the groups as the lower classes have finally had enough. Class hierarchy is a common theme throughout a lot of Bong Joon-ho's work.
9 Different: Comedy
There is little, if any, comedy throughout all of Snowpiercer. Although a very good and entertaining movie, it is depressing and difficult to watch at times. On the other end, Parasite has some pretty hilarious moments throughout its run time without ever sacrificing the weight and drama of the movie's overall plot. Both movies are serious portrayals of the disparities between the top and bottom of a class structure, but Parasite succeeds in telling its story with a comedic twist.
8 Similar: Violence
Both Parasite and Snowpiercer have a great deal of violence in both movies between the upper classes and lower classes. Snowpiercer begins and ends with violence with an Oldboy like fight scene thrown in the middle. Parasite chooses to save its violence until the end with its epic conclusion.
Violence in both films erupts between people of the highest and lowest classes in the hierarchy. While Snowpiercer has more violence throughout the movie, Parasite has its own shockingly violent streak as well.
7 Different: Locations
The entirety of Snowpiercer takes place on a constantly moving train that has to go fast enough to beat the apocalyptic freezing conditions. Even though the types of locations change as they move from the back of the train to the front of the train, they are still always on the same train. Parasite has limited locations, but the audience sees around the city and specifically the Kim and Park family living conditions as both of their houses and neighborhoods are shown throughout the movie.
6 Similar: Deeper Meaning
Both Parasite and Snowpiercer have deeper meanings and symbolism behind the surface of the films. Both are critiques of societies where class hierarchies rule peoples' lives and keep them strictly in the social class they were born into, no matter what they do. Snowpiercer could have been a typical apocalypse film and Parasite could have been a typical family drama, but the symbolism throughout both the movies heightens the meaning and general takeaways after a viewing.
5 Different: Large vs Small Cast
Parasite chooses to focus on a small cast of characters, mainly the Park and Kim families, while Snowpiercer is a large cast of the last survivors on Earth. Parasite is more of a family vs family type of film while Snowpiercer sees a large group of apocalypse survivors fight between themselves.
Although the themes are similar in these films, the cast of characters gives the movies subtly different feelings.
4 Similar: Rumors, Gossip, and Lies
Rumors, gossip, and lies are ever-present in both Parasite and Snowpiercer. In Parasite the audience is in on the lies from the beginning, seeing the Kim family lie and exaggerate the truth to beat the competition to work for the wealthy Park family. There's also an elaborate setup and its success relies on gossip and rumor to get an employee of the Park's fired. In Snowpiercer the audience certainly has suspicions about the train and what the back of the train is told by the leaders, but the extent of the lies are slowly revealed throughout the film to a startling effect.
3 Different: Color Scheme
Both Parasite and Snowpiercer have darker color schemes, but Snowpiercer stays in the dark while there are moments of beautiful light and multi-colored scenes in Parasite to show the contrast of the Kim and Park family circumstances. Although the class differences are apparent in both movies this is not shown visually through color in Snowpiercer. And even though there is a clear class divide between the people in the front and back of the train, all of them are still stuck on the train in the harsh apocalyptic conditions of their world.
2 Similar: Endings
Without giving away any spoilers, both Parasite and Snowpiercer end on a defeatist note. Neither has a happy ending and given the tone of both films, it makes sense that they don't. There is perhaps some hope at the end of Snowpiercer that the upcoming TV show might delve into.
Likewise, Parasite might have a little glimmer of hope at the end, but overall the events in both films seem to have completely destroyed any chance of a happy ending for the main characters in the future.
1 Different: Family Focus vs Circumstance Focus
Parasite centers on the Kim and Park families and their different ways of life given their place in the class structure. The Park family has a lavish life due to their money and the Kim family struggles to survive and find jobs. In Snowpiercer the focus is around the survivors of an apocalypse caused by the Earth freezing over. Even though all of society is thrown into array by the event, there is still an inherent class structure throughout the train as the wealthy, who bought tickets, are living a life of luxury at the front and the ones who fought their way onto the train are treated like cattle at the back of the train.
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