Internationally acclaimed composer Jung Jae-il wows a captive audience in the live score performance of the film Parasite (2019).

Winner of four Oscars, this dark comedy-thriller by Bong Joon-ho follows the schemes of the underprivileged Kim family to find steady employment in the household of the affluent Mr Park. 

Parasite: Live in Concert. Photo © Jay Patel

Concert Lab presents an impressive orchestra of 41 musicians, who perform live with occasional pre-recorded synthesiser support. Although louder than the dialogue, the precision and unity of the instruments is impressive with great cohesion between the woodwinds, strings and percussion. The element of live music heightens the tension and drama of the plot in a way that cannot be emulated in a conventional movie theatre. 

The (in)famous ‘Peach Scene‘ is accompanied by Jung’s Belt of Trust. Fluctuating between F# minor and A major tonality, the evocative theme of this Baroque pastiche stretches across seven minutes in a brilliant underscore to the sequence of events leading to Mrs Kim successfully usurping the role of the Park family’s ultra-loyal housekeeper.  

Other musically memorable moments include the composer himself playing the musical saw, the concerto-grosso like interaction between the string section leaders, and the percussive Bartók pizzicato and col legno battuto (striking the wood of the bow on the strings) passages, which successfully create a chilling and eerie atmosphere. 

The flute solos in what sound like classic American football game music provide a quirky sense of foreboding just before the disaster of the ‘Birthday Party‘ scene, when the Belt of Trust is ironically performed again. 

Jung Jae-il. Photo © Jay Patel

Principal Double Bass Richard Lynn, Julia Magri and colleagues are instrumental in providing a very solid bass line beneath the composer’s simple but cleverly crafted sound cues. This is particularly evident in the extremely tense ‘Jjapaguri (Korean noodle) Scene’.  

What makes this sold-out performance so successful is the simplistic yet emotively layered musical cues that so cleverly address the many symbols of Bong’s intricately crafted plot.  

Opening begins with a gently rocking G B ostinato, which over the first 40 seconds introduces us to the struggling Kim family. This deeply ingrained sorrow is realised and amplified in Glass of Soju at the very end of the film, after which the composer, while the credits roll, unexpectedly accompanies himself in a highly virtuosic way on the electric guitar – a very rare treat for Parasite fans. 

Overall, the live musical underscore, which periodically fades into the background, helps create a certain realism to the narrative by establishing a deep sonic familiarity with the metaphor-packed scenes.

Jung, conducting from the piano, is very accomplished in his minimalistic response to this brief.