Director Park Chan-Wook 박찬욱 [“Decision to Leave”]

[Sleepy Owl]

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[Helena]

https://www.avclub.com/decision-leave-director-park-chan-wook-interview-1849656938
Director Park Chan-wook says "people usually laugh at me" when he insists he's a romantic filmmaker

Discussing his labyrinthine masterpiece Decision To Leave, South Korean master Park Chan-wook explores his approach to genre filmmaking

By Tomris Laffly | October 17, 2022

 

(from left) Tang Wei and Park Hae-il in Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave.
Photo: Mubi

Through his astounding revenge trilogy—Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance—as well as the lush erotic thriller The Handmaiden, South Korean master Park Chan-wook might be most associated with intricately labyrinthine stories that revolve around violence and sex. But at the core of his big-screen cinematic outings is a romantic spirit. Speaking to The A.V. Club during the New York Film Festival run for his latest film Decision To Leave, he explains how nice it would be if other people also thought of him as a romantic, when I call him one. “When I say I’m a romantic filmmaker who makes romantic films, people usually laugh at me,” he reminisces. “I think it’s for two reasons. The first being that violence and sex sometimes override any other elements of my films. And another one is, my films are very strong genre films. Crime thrillers or horror. So sometimes people forget that essentially I’m telling stories about love.”

Even for those who may have previously missed director Park’s emotional undercurrents, there’s no mistaking the exquisite Decision To Leave for anything other than a beautifully constructed and mysterious love story; one that follows a kindly detective (Park Hae-il) as he tries to investigate a murder that the beautiful Seo-rae (Tang Wei) might have been involved in.

In this conversation about Decision To Leave, director Park discusses his body of work, and his reflections on a more international Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

The A.V. Club: In Decision To Leave, you seem to have dialed down on certain staple elements of your cinema such as explicit eroticism and graphic violence.

Park Chan-wook: I don’t know where this thought exactly started, but for this project, I wanted to make a very classical film. Classical, not old-fashioned. I wanted to make a film that you don’t get tired of even after watching it multiple times. One that doesn’t grow old in time. In order to do that, I had to start from a more common setting, so that I don’t have to waste time introducing the world to the audience. Instead, we can spend that time going through the journey: starting off from this common place, seeing where it would lead to. There’s nothing more common than a detective who falls in love with his suspect.

The audience can sit through and observe the journey of the love between the two characters, a detective and a suspect, who don’t reveal their emotions very much. They’re concealing their true emotions. So in order to get a peek at what they’re actually feeling, you need to observe the delicate changes in their facial expressions. And I thought that adding more explicit elements like violence or nudity might take the audience away from that.

AVC: I want to talk about that, you wanting to make a classical film. I kept thinking of Old Hollywood references like Alfred Hitchcock, particularly Vertigo. Did you have any such references in your mind, ones you wanted to bring your own language to?

PCW: The answer to that question is both a yes and a no, believe it or not. I never thought about Vertigo or Hitchcock when I was making the film. Not just for this film, but generally in my creative process, I don’t do that. I’m never thinking about a particular film or filmmaker. I think it’s related to the fact that I have bad memory. I don’t clearly remember the films that I’ve watched, so it’s difficult to pull out of those.

The many films that I have watched throughout my life are all jumbled up in my subconscious. And I think that’s what resurfaces when I’m making my movies. It works the same way for pieces of literature as well. I take inspiration from all of those things. To expand even further, the inspiration also comes from people I’ve met, or the news footages I could have watched. So from Vertigo all the way to casual conversations with my daughter. All of these are equally important sources of my inspiration.

AVC: In taking us through Detective Hae-jun’s investigative process, most filmmakers would have shown flashbacks when he imagines a crime scene in his mind. But you show us in parallel exactly what he sees in the moment.

PCW: If this was just about the investigation process, this film would’ve turned out differently. But it is both an investigation process and a romance film. Those two processes are a unified process, which is why I made those choices. Love is the most immediate and important emotion that we can feel. You could tell the story through logical realizations of a flashback, but I thought it was more important to lean in on that momentary, step-by-step emotion.

The only exception would be the last scene when Hae-jun thinks, “I never said the words I love you.” And he finds the answer to that mystery through a flashback when he’s listening to the recorded voice. Solving a mystery is usually about other people, but in this case, he’s listening to his own voice and solving out his own mystery. And he comes to a late realization that he had so much pride in his occupation as a policeman. But after he finds out that Seo-rae is a murderer, he lets her get away and even tells her to get rid of the important piece of evidence. So by abandoning that pride in his occupation is a thousand times more powerful than I love you.

AVC: The beautiful song in the movie “The Mist” seems so integral to the plot. I thought you perhaps started building the story around that song.

PCW: Personally speaking, this is one of the most famous pop songs in Korea that I grew up listening to. As I grew older and the song no longer was popular with the younger generation, I did not listen to it as much. But if somebody were to ask me, “What are some of your favorite Korean pop songs?,” it would always be in the list. So while I was doing post-production for Little Drummer Girl in London, I became homesick and started listening to those songs again. And in that process, I found out that my favorite Korean male singer has covered it a while ago. So you can say that my favorite female singer and my favorite male singer both sang this one song.

Pondering the lyrics, I had the thought to make a movie based on this song, a film where you hear the female version that you’re more familiar with throughout the movie. And by the end of the film you hear the male version: almost a surprise present. The interesting thing is, this song was actually made as part of a soundtrack for an older Korean film. And that film is based on a novel that all Korean people are familiar with. It’s all about what happens in a city filled with mist. So Decision To Leave is just a continuation of that long thread. And the reason I didn’t end on the male version of the song as I had originally planned was, I feared that the story would become too male-centric. Instead, I personally invited the two singers to a studio to record a duet version of the song. And I wanted it to come off as a conversation. You can almost say this is the Korean version of Diana Ross and Bob Dylan doing a duet.

AVC: Your films always have a sly sense of humor. Even when we’re watching something graphic or tragic, the humor is there. What’s your philosophy about using humor in general in your stories?

PCW: I don’t know if I should call this a philosophy per se. When I’m watching other films or just meeting people throughout my daily life, I always find something comical and humorous in that situation. I savor it, I find happiness in discovering the humor in them. This is the same for when I’m reading literature as well. Even in works that most people find very serious and dark, I somehow find the humor. It’s very easy to find humor [in] Kurt Vonnegut. But I also find humor in Dostoyevsky.

And it’s the same for when I’m meeting people. This is different from laughing at them. I just somehow find a humorous element in our conversations, regardless of whether it was intended. I think the same mechanism works when I’m making my films. This is a method to express the totality of life. With just feeling weak, sad, angry, horrified, or happy, something feels missing with those emotions. And if I’m merely expressing those emotions, I feel like I’m enforcing a particular emotion on the audience. That’s why you need a sense of distance, an objectivity, but you need the right amount or else you’ll get pushed out of that story. So there’s some form of attachment, but there’s also a little bit of distance.

What is the fine line between the distance and attachment? That’s something I care most about when I’m making my films. And it’s also one of the most difficult challenges. But if you have the right amount, you can have sympathy towards the characters while having objectivity. And then you can easily find comical moments within these characters. For instance, when the male character says to the female character, “I like you for your straight posture,” there’s something humorous about the serious attitude in which he says this. So you laugh when you have expected him to say something very elaborate and sweet, because instead he stoically says, “Oh, just the posture is what I like about you.” It’s funny, but also understandable. It makes sense that he finds an attractiveness through the posture. So you also find a bit of empathy in that.

AVC: From humor, I want to switch to melancholy. It’s a quality that I love most in a character. And yet it’s perhaps the toughest thing to properly capture on the screen, something you do so masterfully here.

PCW: There’s no special secret method to this. We simply just have a lot of conversations together until everything makes sense. I explain everything to my actors. We debate and make revisions on the script. But also, the actors I cast are always smart people. This is one of the most important qualities that I look for when I’m casting. Not to say that they’re smart in the sense that they attended a fancy college or have a PhD. But it means they’re observant and have a great sense of imagination. I think the actor being observant and imaginative is really important for me. Because then even when I write the most absurd situations, they can understand why this character would do this or that in that situation. And after these conversations, if the actor still doesn’t understand a certain situation or characteristic, then we get rid of that in the script. So what you’re seeing on screen is the result of what the actors have understood and approved.

The way in which I judge whether an actor is a good actor is how much they can embrace different facets of the human psyche. A writer or an actor who aren’t as good at their craft is pretty held up in the ray of emotions that can arise from a certain situation. For instance, if you are to imagine that somebody’s mom has died, a writer or an actor who aren’t as good will simply imagine the character to be crying or touching a picture... But somebody who can embrace more different facets of a human psyche can understand if the character wants to think about eating nice food the next day, or wants to kiss their lover the next day. They can imagine this and understand the psyche behind it.

AVC: I’m wondering if you can share some thoughts about the recent popular boom of South Korean cinema in the States. Your cinema is very much one of the catalysts of it. But do you also think the Academy and the Oscars becoming more global is a reason?

PCW: Korean people have gone through many difficulties in the earlier 20th century, but this was also paired with the rapid economic development that happened during that era. So they have really lived through a very dramatic history leading to a dramatic range of emotions that Korean people as a whole can feel.

And I think that has allowed the world to kind of feel this dynamic range of emotions that came out of that. So I guess this isn’t just a good thing; it also is a result of a painful history. But you can also say that they’ve transformed the pain into amazing results. And I very much think it’s amazing that the Academy has become more globalized in our recent years. This isn’t simply a good trend just for the international filmmakers, but it will be very helpful to the American audiences. Your culture will become more diverse and you’ll have a wider perspective of the world. And all that will be tremendously helpful for you.

[Helena]

https://www.ft.com/content/9d4e14a0-31d4-4fb4-a31d-9c2257df139f
Film-maker Park Chan-wook on subverting the detective genre: ‘The world has enough clichés already’

The Korean stylist behind ‘Oldboy’ discusses his new thriller ‘Decision to Leave’ — and the ‘Squid Game’ effect

 

Read -> https://www.ft.com/content/9d4e14a0-31d4-4fb4-a31d-9c2257df139f

 

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http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&seq=5856&mode=VIEW
Director Park Chanwook’s Decision to Leave, Released in North America on October 14

by Park Hyejin | Oct 17, 2022

Starting Its ‘Oscar Race’ in Full Swing

The film Decision to Leave was released in North America on October 14, the winner of the 75th Festival de Cannes and South Korea’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. 

Decision to Leave depicts the story of Detective Haejoon (Park Haeil), who investigates a murder case in the mountain, and Seorae (Tang Wei), the wife of the deceased. When Haejoon meets Seorae, he suspects her but becomes interested in her at the same time. The film enjoys hot responses as soon as it was released in North America. The New York Times said, "Decision to Leave dazzles the audience at once with Director Park Chanwook's free imagination and beautiful mise-en-scene, along with its strong opening. And at the same time as I feel that the story has finally entered a stable period, it shakes my heart mercilessly and collapses my heart," praising the overwhelming mise-en-scene and intense afterglow of the film. 

The Los Angeles Times said, "The film let Director Park Chanwook win the Best Director award at the Festival de Cannes. Decision to Leave, which is ready to jump into the Oscar race as South Korea’s entry, is a dense Noir film that provides subtle sensibility and rich pleasure.” Also, IndieWire referred to it as the most romantic film of the year. 

Starting with the 75th Festival de Cannes, Decision to Leave has been invited to a number of international film festivals, including the New York Film Festival, the U.S. Fantastic Fest, Toronto International Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the New Horizon Film Festival, the New Zealand International Film Festival, and the Melbourne International Film Festival. At the 66th BFI London International Film Festival held from October 5 to 17, Director Park Chanwook and Actor Park Haeil attended the festival in person and had meaningful chances to meet the audience from all over the world. 

Starting with its release in North America on October 14, Decision to Leave has been predicted as a strong candidate for the major Academy Awards sections by foreign media such as Indiewire, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine, etc.

 

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https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2022/10/oo4jo73k64mlbbimbtilfc6obndoo2
Park Chan-wook Confesses ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ Made Him Cry

October 18, 2022 | Jordan Ruimy

 

Over the weekend, the second annual Academy Museum Gala had a special screening of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”

The Daniels, Michelle Yeoh and the rest of the cast have been campaigning hard for the film this awards season. They’ve been the toast of the town. It is a hit with the younger branch of academy voters. The older ones, at least the ones I’ve spoken to, aren’t as enthused by this batshit crazy movie. 

One attendee at the screening was filmmaker Park Chan-wook who confessed that EEAO was the “wildest and weirdest“ movie he’s ever seen and that it actually made him cry. Park has also been stomping hard on the awards circuit for his recently-released “Decision to Leave.”

Matt Neglia had reported last week that at an Academy members screening, the film played like gangbusters with  voters in attendance. 

Industry superfans of EEAO, those who have publicly claimed their love for this film, include Park Chan-wook, Miles Teller, Riz Ahmed, Sian Heder, Guillermo del Toro, Anne Hathaway, Scott Derrickson, Colman Domingo, Sam Rockwell, Edgar Wright, SZA, Andrew Garfield, Reese Whitherspoon, Kogonada, Keke Palmer, Barry Jenkins, Lilly Wachowski, Florence Pugh, Jodie Foster, The Russos, Charlize Theron and Mike Flanagan.

[Helena]

https://thefilmstage.com/park-chan-wook-on-decision-to-leave-methodical-directing-and-not-being-a-film-buff/
Park Chan-wook on Decision to Leave, Methodical Directing, and Not Being a Film Buff

By Caleb Hammond | October 18, 2022

Park Chan-wook sees himself first and foremost as a storyteller, and as such his films masterfully marry striking visuals with twisty narratives that befuddle audience expectations. But, understanding character at the center of all he does, he admits a preference for the influence of detective and spy novels over certain genres that he feels might place too much of an emphasis on plot machinations. 

With Decision to Leave, Park leaves behind the ultra-violence interwoven into his Vengeance trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance) along with the sex that accompanied 2016’s The Handmaiden. Instead, Park offers up an intoxicating romance between Detective Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) and widow Seo-rae (Tang Wei). Key to their dynamic is Hae-jun’s incessant surveillance of Seo-rae, which continues even after she’s been cleared as an official suspect in the death of her husband. A lover of Hitchcock and particularly Vertigo, Park takes great joy in setting up all of the various layers of watching going on here. 

As the film arrives in U.S. theaters, I spoke to Park about this very watching, along with a key moment in which he deviated from his infamous storyboards, as well as his distaste in having to explain his films to the press. 

The Film Stage: Watching this film, I was reminded of a John Berger quote: “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.”

Park Chan-wook: Does this mean that a woman prioritizes, or puts importance, on the fact that she is being looked at by a man?

Exactly. In Decision to Leave, Seo-rae discovers Detective Hae-jun watching her and seems to take pleasure in watching him watch her.

That quote’s a good portrayal of at least some elements of the film. But I feel like it can also come across as a justification for stalkers. [Laughs.] In the film he justifies all of the looking and chasing as a part of interrogation and he looks at the woman—even excessively looks at her. And inside of his own fantasy he puts himself within her apartment, and even smells it. To some people this might come across as very uncomfortable. But Seo-rae, the subject of all of this looking, describes Hae-jun as a trustworthy man who even forgoes sleep to protect her. So depending on how you take it in, it can even feel like a pleasant experience—because she also likes him back and has always felt that she’s a weak human being who has failed to be protected. 

But it doesn’t stop at what seems like the male gaze, the story reverts itself in the second part of the film. Here Seo-rae sets the fire alarm off at the police station and observes Hae-jun and the police. So who’s looking has now been reversed. So the quote does embody some part of the film but I wanted to take it beyond that particular aspect of it. 

The film displays the act of texting so uniquely. At times we are almost inside the phone, where we see the detective’s face with the text reflected backward across the screen. How did you come up with the visuals for all of these sequences?

The common technique is to show the closeup of the person texting and to turn to the closeup of the screen, where we see the text bubbles on the screen. We did this technique only once in the film. Our primary technique came down to the basics, where we go back and forth between the face and point-of-view shots. The foundation of a texting scene comes down to all of the emotions within the person: excitement, curiosity, being flustered—it’s all seen on the face. We portray that through the closeup, and the second element is the sending and receiving of the texts seen from the POV shots. This basic method is the most powerful and effective.

At one important moment we use an eccentric POV shot where it almost seems like you’re inside the phone. We used this only a limited number of times. The idea is that he is texting toward the person inside this phone, the receiver of the text; this is to portray that the eyes of the man are not actually on the phone, but are facing the woman that he is texting. 

You work with a lot of the same collaborators, but this is your first collaboration with DP Ji-yong Kim. What was that process like bringing him into the fold?

I actually met him in the U.S. when he was shooting the Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Last Stand, directed by Jee-woon Kim—it was filming while I was working on Stoker. So while it was our first time working together, we already had that relationship.

As always, I storyboarded the entire film from beginning to end. Sitting together with the DP and the storyboard artist and working on the storyboard in pre-production is a valuable time where we share our own interests and tastes. This is also when we hear the opinions of the production designer, since we scout locations together. So by the time we’re shooting together, it’s not that we’ve met for the first time; we know a lot about each other already. Spending a long time with the DP in pre-production is not as common in the U.S. 

The DI [digital intermediate] process is very important to me as well. I care about the smallest details and make sure to express my opinions on those creative decisions as well. I spend more time on the DI process than any other director. 

Were there any moments in Decision to Leave where the storyboards didn’t work once you were on set and you had to change your plan?

That is a very sticky problem, and I’ve had this conversation with other directors as well. If you go into week one of production and you take the storyboard out and the crew members realize that you’re not following the storyboard, then they quickly just throw it out, thinking that you don’t follow the storyboard when shooting. So all those months leading up when you’re working on the storyboards have gone to waste. So there’s only two good options, which is: not to do a storyboard at all or to try your best when you’re storyboarding. I guess there is a middle ground, which is to only storyboard action sequences. 

I’m the type who always tries his best with my storyboards, so I make sure there are no surprises or changes when we go on set and we’re shooting. So we pretty much just follow the storyboard as it is. But you do have to stay open-minded and not just keep your eyes on the storyboard. I might sound like I’m going against what I’ve previously said. But when I’m shooting on set, I don’t want to spend time thinking about the camera placement or the camera movement. Those things need to be decided in advance so I can spend that time instead having conversations with our actors, and also to make sure that I can follow my instinctive thoughts that come up on the spot. That’s how the little modifications happen on set. 

On Decision to Leave there were some on-set modifications that occurred that were caused by the performance of the actors. One I remember is the last ocean scene that closes the film. The original idea was that the detective is getting further and further away from the camera—it’s a long take that is eventually filled with the fog and darkness, and that’s how we close out the movie. But we had a B-camera with a telephoto lens that kept following Hae-jun’s movement—this wasn’t originally planned—but the shots from this camera ended up being very effective and also ended up being our last shot of the movie. 

How did you build chemistry between actors Tang Wei and Park Hae-il to create such a romantic movie with no sex scenes between them?

As always it begins with casting two actors who I think would go along together. For this film I had the privilege to cast them before I started working on the screenplay, so I had the opportunity to reflect some of their characteristics into the story. And then I met them.

We did a lot of one-on-ones but the three of us also met together. Because Tang Wei is a mother with a child, it was difficult for her to come all the way to Seoul. So Park Hae-il and I ended up going to her house a lot. With Tang Wei it’s hard to tell whether her job is as an actor or a farmer—she loves to raise vegetables in her garden. So she would cook food with what she’s gathered from the garden and we had a lot of conversations over those dinners—sometimes with wine.

For a long time we went over not just the dialogue but also every action line as well. I explained my ideas and motivations behind each action line, and if there was anything that the actor did not understand about the characters then we had long discussions about that as well. Of course, we had reading sessions with the two actors as well. 

So even before the shoot commenced the two understood every little detail about our characters and sympathized with them as well. The two actors were very close to each other before we ever got to set. 

In the past you’ve espoused your love for every part of the filmmaking process. Is there a part that you like the most, that you’re always the most excited to dive into?

If I were to pick one favorite part of the process it would be screenwriting, because I fundamentally consider myself a storyteller. There’s also that element when you’re screenwriting where it’s just me and my co-writer working together. So even if we fail it’s just the two of us failing. But when you move onto the actual shoot, there’s a lot of money and a lot of people involved, so I feel a lot of pressure and I become more afraid of failure. 

As a film director, a process of filmmaking that I do get tired of is the promotion process—like right now. [Laughs.] That’s not to say I dislike reporters; it’s more about how I want the audience to make judgments about the film on their own. But I have to explain the details of the film repeatedly, and I feel like it’s narrowing the angles of interpretation that the audience can make. 

When you were writing Decision to Leave, did you consciously balance playing into classic noir tropes at times versus subverting them in other moments? 

This might sound surprising, but I’m not the biggest fan of the noir genre. I’m not really a film buff either. I don’t rewatch the same movie multiple times. There is a charming element about the noir genre, but for a lot of noir films sometimes the plot fails, or the plot feels too artificial, or it relies too much on cliché. Of course, this is excluding the great noir films. Noir films also sometimes feel a bit more stylized. So I wasn’t very conscious of the noir genre. I was more influenced by detective novels, like Ed McBain’s series and the Swedish series with detective Martin Beck.

This is actually a little trick of mine with Decision to Leave: I pretend that the film is in the noir genre and at one point we stray off from the genre. Seo-rae is introduced as a femme fatale character, and when part one of the movie ends, this is usually when a film noir movie would end its story as well. But this is exactly where I begin part two; this is when I begin to subvert the genre and we find Seo-rae is not actually a femme fatale character, and instead we see this new form of a love story unfold.

Decision to Leave is now in limited U.S. release and will expand.

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https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=31516
Decision to Leave Blu-ray

October 19, 2022 05:27 PM

British label Mubi is preparing a Blu-ray release of Park Chan-wook's latest film Decision to Leave (2022). The release is scheduled to arrive on the market on December 12. 

Official description: Winner of Best Director at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden) returns with a seductive romantic thriller that takes his renowned stylistic flair to dizzying new heights.

Special Features and Technical Specs:
    •    Introduction with Park Hae-il and Tang Wei
    •    Interview with dierctor Park Chan-wook
    •    Moments of Decision to Leave - featurette
    •    Behind the scenes in Cannes
    •    Park Chan-wook's Movie Going Memories
    •    Optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature

 

[Helena]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/20/entertainment/park-chan-wook-interview-decision-to-leave/index.html
‘This story departs from all conventions’: Park Chan-wook on updating film noir and subverting the male gaze in ‘Decision To Leave’

By Thomas Page, CNN | Published 12:24 PM EDT, Thu October 20, 2022

Korean director Park Chan-wook returns to cinemas after a six-year hiatus with romantic crime drama "Decision To Leave." [Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]

London CNN  — Certain phrases don’t translate from English into Korean. “Film noir” and “the male gaze” are two of them. Sat with his interpreter in a hotel suite in one of London’s more upmarket junket venues, director Park Chan-wook says them frequently, two islands of English in a sea of Korean, part of a long answer about how “Decision To Leave,” his latest film, engages with both.

Director Park is no stranger to the slippery nature of language barriers. He’s constructed a few himself. His last film, “The Handmaiden” (2016), a period piece set in Japanese-occupied Korea, explored the power dynamic between nations and classes through the two languages. In “Lady Vengeance” (2005) a language barrier between mother and daughter forces the villain, a serial killer, to act as their interpreter. He lets out a low chuckle at the memory. “How ridiculous is that?”

The hallmarks of Park’s cinema have been its proclivity for tragedy and violence, absurdist humor and excess. But the director of “Oldboy” also knows that words can lodge as painfully as any hatchet in the head of an unfortunate soul. With “Decision To Leave,” he foregoes many old habits in order to craft a masterful neo-noir and swirling romance founded on language as much as crime.

In the film, Korean detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) is probing the death of a climber who fell from a mountaintop on the outskirts of Busan. Newly widowed Chinese emigree Seo-rae (Tang Wei) appears unaffected by her loss, even relieved. It kickstarts an investigation that will become an obsession for them both.

The director says a longstanding desire to cast Tang in one of his movies heavily influenced Seo-rae. The Chinese star of Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution” did not speak Korean, but would need to in the film. “We had nothing defined for the female character,” he says. “This (was) a really great way to explore the realm of language and communication and miscommunication … and how I could use this as an artistic device for the narrative.”

Seo-rae’s Korean flits between accented and not, and is sometimes overly-formal in her word choices – “more elegant than any real Korean’s Korean,” Park says. But when she says that her husband died “at last,” it piques Hae-joon’s interest. “There’s that risqué fine line between her real intention and what could come across as a mistake,” says Park. It’s clear that we should be both watching and listening with keen attention.

Sometimes the director makes that harder for us. Seo-Rae occasionally uses a voice translator app (“our hero,” says Park), but the software has a lag time that creates its own drama. “You have to recall your visual cues and audio cues … what kind of facial expressions she had and her voice, in order to really understand her in a holistic way,” says the director. Tang’s supple performance demonstrates such technology can either mask the truth or reveal it in its most naked form.

“Decision To Leave” is a murder mystery in which the wife is the prime suspect and the investigator is compromised by his infatuation with her – hardly unfamiliar territory. But Park says he wanted to take a “very meta approach” to film noir, dividing the movie into two parts “like a diptych,” crafting “a symmetry between part one and part two.”

Seo-rae “can be labelled a femme fatale,” he explains, until she can’t. Hae-joon is the investigator, until he becomes the investigated. “The story departs from all the conventions of that genre,” he adds.

The film’s two act structure, the second responding to the first, has been compared to Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” – a formative film for Park, but not one he says he had in mind when writing this. A key difference is the perspective – or gaze – that the director places on the film.

“Vertigo” is built on the dangerous folly of the male gaze. James Stewart’s detective John first becomes entangled with Kim Novak’s Madeline. Then, thinking her dead, he meets doppelganger Judy (also Novak), onto whom he projects an idealized image of Madeline – blind to the fact he’d been duped, and that Judy had been playing the role of Madeline all along, both of them pawns in a wider murder plot. The male gaze in this case proves fatal to women.

Park says he wanted to subvert ideas around perspective (this is a film in which we see through the eye of a fish and a phone screen, after all). The first part is “full-on male gaze,” Hae-joon “steal(ing) the look.” He inserts himself into Seo-rae’s life, even fantasizing standing in her living room, observing private moments. Then Seo-rae claims the gaze for her own, pursuing Hae-joon: “She is the one now who is looking.” In an update of the classic film noir voiceover, she even starts recording her thoughts into a smartwatch – exactly as Hae-joon had done earlier.

“I’m not saying the female part overwhelms the male part,” Park says. “It’s almost like the balance is met in the end.”

“(Seo-rae) is no longer this enigmatic figure that the male protagonist needs to solve,” he adds. “She’s going to show you who she is to the audience: she is just a woman in love, and she will do anything for love, even going beyond the social and moral norms. In that sense, she drives the narrative and drives the drama forward, being this very much romanticist character.”

Park has argued all his films are about love, though the fact is often hidden behind his storytelling’s more outré antics. True to form, Seo-rae and Hae-joon’s love is illicit and tragic, though the director forgoes the outrageous and the erotic to craft a chaste and yearning romance. This foray into restraint was “the most suitable” approach, he says, but adds that doesn’t mean he’ll stick with it in future.

Park Chan-Wook won best director at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. It was the third time the director had received an award from the festival, after winning jury prizes in 2004 and 2009. [PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/AFP via Getty Images]

After Park was named best director at Cannes in May – his third award at the film festival, the others coming in 2004 and 2009 – “Decision To Leave” now hits cinemas with an eye on awards season. Surprisingly, it’s the first time one of his movies has been submitted to the Academy Awards as South Korea’s entry for Best International Feature Film. After a long, illustrious career, why was this the film the submission committee got on board with?
“I have no idea,” he says, chuckling again. “With ‘Handmaiden,’ I can kind of see why (it wasn’t submitted), because there’s too much nudity and it’s too erotic, and they would feel a little bit ashamed if they put this as the most ‘representative’ Korean film to be submitted to the Oscars. But that’s about it – I don’t know how to take this (news).”

The master of intricate plotting didn’t see this twist coming. Unlike so many he’s constructed himself, at least it is a pleasant surprise.

“Decision To Leave” debuts nationwide in US and UK cinemas on October 21.

[Helena]

Decision to Leave - Park Chan-wook & Park Hae-il on collaborating & the delicate moments of acting

 

[HeyUGuys] Park Chan-wook and Park Hae-il are interviewed for Decision to Leave. The film stars Tang Wei, Park Hae-il, Go Kyung-Pyo and Lee Jung-Hyun. Stefan Pape asks the questions.

 

Plot: Police detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) is called in to investigate the mysterious death of a man who fell from a mountain peak. During his investigation, he begins to develop an interest in the man’s widow, Seo-rae (Tang Wei), who is the main suspect in the case…

 

Decision to Leave will be released on the 21st of October, 2022.

#DecisiontoLeave #ParkChanwook #ParkHaeil 

 

More from HeyUGuys: Website ► http://HeyUGuys.com

——

Decision to Leave - Intro and Q&A with Tim League and Director Park Chan-wook

 

Director Park Chan-wook introduces his film at its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 24, 2022, and he answers questions after the screening.  Q&A may contain spoilers for the film.

 

——
Academy Conversations: 'DECISION TO LEAVE' w/ Park Chan-wook

'DECISION TO LEAVE' discussion with Park Chan-wook (Writer/Director/Producer) with Interpreter Jaehun Jung

Moderator: Katie Walsh

Subscribe for more Oscars videos ►► http://osca.rs/subscribeyt

Watch more #AcademyConversations  ►► playlist

Academy Conversations: 'DECISION TO LEAVE' w/ Park Chan-wook 

#DECISIONTOLEAVE #ParkChanwook #JaehunJung #movies #filmmaking


[Helena]

42nd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | 제42회 영평상 [Winners]

Korean Film Critics Association (http://www.fca.kr) announced the winners on the 24th.

Award ceremony will be held on November 23rd at 5 pm.

△ Best Film Award 최우수작품상: 'Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심' (Moho Film)
△ Lifetime Achievement Award 공로영화인상: Actor Ahn Sung-ki 안성기
△ Director Award 감독상: Park Chan-wook 박찬욱 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')
△ Leading Actress Award 여우주연상: Tang Wei 탕웨이 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')


△ Leading Actor Award 남우주연상: Jung Woo-sung 정우성 ('HUNT | 헌트')
△ Supporting Actress Award 여우조연상: Jeon Hye-jin 전혜진 ('HUNT | 헌트')
△ Supporting Actor Award 남우조연상: Jo Woo-jin 조우진 ('Kingmaker | 킹메이커')
△ New Director Award 신인감독상: Lee Jung-jae 이정재 (‘HUNT | 헌트’)
△ New Actress Award 신인여우상: Lee Ji-eun 아이유 ('Broker | 브로커')
△ New Actor Award 신인남우상: Son Suk-ku 손석구 ('The Roundup | 범죄도시2')
△ Technical Award 기술상: Jung Sung-jin 정성진, Jung Cheol-min 정철민 ('Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현' | VFX)
△ Screenplay Award 각본상: Chung Seo-kyung 정서경, Park Chan-wook 박찬욱 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')
△ FIPRESCI Award 국제비평가연맹 한국본부상: Director Shin Yeon-sik's <Cassiopeia | 카시오페아> (domestic); Director Kogonada’s <After Yang | 애프터 양>, Director Justin Chon’s <Blue Bayou |푸른 호수> (foreign)
△ Cinematography Award 촬영상: Kim Ji-yong 김지용 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')
△ Music Award 음악상: Cho Young-wook 조영욱 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')
△ Independent Film Award 독립영화지원상: <The Pregnant Tree And The Goblin | 임신한 나무와 도깨비>’s Directors Kim Dong-ryung 김동령 · Park Kyung-tae 박경태 (feature film), <I am More | 모어>‘s Director  Lee Il-ha 이일하 (documentary)
△ Newcomer Critics Award 신인평론상: Kim Hyun-seung 김현승

Best 10 Films (in Korean alphabetical order)

△‘The Roundup | 범죄도시 2’
△‘Broker | 브로커’
△‘Emergency Declaration | 비상선언’
△‘The Novelist's Film | 소설가의 영화’
△‘Hommage | 오마주’
△‘In Our Prime | 이상한 나라의 수학자’
△‘Kingmaker | 킹메이커’
△‘Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현’
△‘HUNT | 헌트’
△‘Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심’

 

https://www.edaily.co.kr/news/read?newsId=01174246632496200&mediaCodeNo=258
http://news.tvchosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2022/10/24/2022102490067.html

[Helena]

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/park-chan-wook-interview-decision-to-leave-oldboy-b2206718.html
Park Chan-wook: ‘Too much violence and nudity would have overwhelmed the audience’

The director of ‘OldBoy’ and ‘The Handmaiden’ talks to Annabel Nugent about why he changed up his trademark style for his new and spectacular erotic thriller, how Western religious art has influenced him, and why Korean people want reconciliation between South and North

 

October 22, 2022

‘Even applying lotion to someone’s hand can become very erotic’ (Provided by Organic Publicity)

Back in 2001, before shooting began on the film Joint Security Area, Park Chan-wook gave a toast. His movie, about soldiers who forge a friendship across the border separating North and South Korea, went against the National Security Act. “I might have gone to prison,” Park tells me as casually as someone recalling how they might have gone to the cinema. At the time, though, a little liquid courage was necessary.

His fans can relate. You could say that preparing yourself to watch a Park Chan-wook movie might also involve a strong drink or two. How else to brace for the impact? Park, now 59, makes films that leave a mark. There was his 2004 international breakthrough OldBoy, with the now notorious scene in which its doomed hero inhales a live octopus (the film took home the Grand Prix at Cannes). Meanwhile, his 2016 thriller The Handmaiden is universally hailed as an erotic masterpiece, with enough explicit scenes to warrant the title. These films and his others, each as visceral as the last, have established Park as an idiosyncratic director with a soft spot for blood spray and full-frontal nudity. Quentin Tarantino is a fan.

Decision to Leave, then, comes as a shock. Awarded the director’s prize at Cannes this year, Park’s latest is conspicuously lacking in his trademark sex and violence. In Busan, Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) is a mild-mannered detective who keeps wet wipes in his pocket. When a man falls from a cliff to his death, Hae-joon is brought in to investigate his beautiful widow Seo Rae, played with affecting ambiguity by a career-best Tang Wei, best known for her taboo-breaking turn in Ang Lee’s 2007 film Lust, Caution.

On paper, the plot evokes Basic Instinct with top notes of Vertigo, but this being a Park production, events spiral from there. To say more would spoil a dazzling denouement – but what Decision to Leave proves is that Park’s films have always been about more than the gore. Somehow, without so much as a severed finger or a bare bum, the director has conjured up one of his most stirring films. It turns out blood and sex do not a Park Chan-wook film make.

It was a conscious decision to shirk those tendencies of his, explains Park. He was thinking of the viewers. “If there’s too much violence and nudity, it would completely overwhelm the audience and dominate their impression of the film.” Park knows – and to an extent, he understands – that it can be hard for viewers to notice the quivering core of his work when it is surrounded, as it often is, by soft flesh and exposed bones. With Decision to Leave, Park takes a scalpel to the body of the film, cutting away at all of the excess until all we can see is the heart. “I tried to avoid too much stimulation so that the audience could really focus and read into the small things, like the trembling of an eye.”

In a film devoid of loud moments, even the quietest ones resonate. It’s why, without so much as a single bosom heaving on screen, Decision to Leave is very sexy – as sexy as we’ve come to expect from the man behind The Handmaiden. For a film in which the apex of sexual tension is sharing ChapStick, “even applying lotion to someone’s hand can become very erotic”, says Park.

He explains it like this: “Imagine a film that shows only close-ups. Unless there is an even more extreme close-up, the audience will feel nothing about those close-ups. Whereas if the film had a certain distance, then all of a sudden there’s a medium shot, even just the bust, that will feel as strong as an extreme close-up of an eye or something.” Take the scene where Hae-joon and Seo Rae are in the back of the police car, handcuffed to one another. “They start sharing the same breath, pacing together. It makes your heart beat a little faster.”

The risk has paid off. Reviews for Decision to Leave are not only glowing but afford the film’s emotional drive a focus that is seldom seen in relation to Park’s work. Does he see it as a shame that it took something of a stylistic overhaul to get to this point? “I have no regrets,” he smiles.

It’s hard to imagine that Park, gracious and genial as he is, would survive in the cutthroat landscapes he renders in his films. Decision to Leave may be the exception. I suspect that inside the worn charcoal satchel at his feet is a packet of wet wipes. He is wearing a layered outfit – a navy linen jacket over a navy T-shirt – ideal for autumn. Beneath his grey trousers are grey socks. He gives long answers, often looking into the distance as he does so, or grasping at his chest in an attempt to physically convey what he is feeling. While he waits for the translator to relay his answers, Park takes sips of black coffee but otherwise remains completely attentive to the way his words are being expressed.

Park was born in 1963, the eldest of two sons, in Seoul, when South Korea was under military rule. He was raised Catholic and attended mass every week. One day, the local priest told his mother that she should send him to a seminary; he’d make a good clergyman. Today, Park is an atheist. Speaking about his decision to leave the Church, Park is characteristically undramatic. “I was born into a Catholic family so that wasn’t my choice,” he laughs. “It wasn’t like any enlightenment hit me and I realised I had to abandon my familial religion. I grew up, and either I would continue doing what I had been doing or do something different. From the beginning, I guess I didn’t have strong faith, so I decided not to continue.”

Choi Min-sik and Kang Hye-jung as Dae-su Oh and Mi-do in ‘OldBoy’ (2004) (Moviestore/Shutterstock)

Religion has no doubt influenced his films, though. “Subconsciously, of course,” Park says. “I had grown sensitive toward concepts like sin or feeling guilty, owning our sins, our soul’s redemption and saviour.” The art of Catholicism also captivated him. They played Mozart at misa (mass), and as a boy he saw the works of El Greco and Hieronymus Bosch, whose vivid vision of hell depicts sinners straddling giant knives and being flayed across harp strings. “I’m sure that had an impact on my soul and on my taste.”

Park’s father was an architecture professor, specialising in colour (“You can see the impact of that in my films, how colour plays a critical role”) and an amateur painter. Park and his brother were regularly taken on trips to galleries. On his mother’s side, his great-grandfather was a great art collector. “Not great!” Park corrects his translator with a laugh. “I can go back to my blood lineage and see there was a big interest in art in general.”

In 2011, he and his brother, Park Chan-kyong, a media artist, shot a short film called Night Fishing on an iPhone. Park liked the idea of being a sibling directing duo, like the Coen brothers! They could call themselves PARKing CHANce. His brother was less enthusiastic about the idea.

Park went to study philosophy at Seoul’s prestigious Sogang University in the mid-Eighties, a time of political upheaval and student demonstrations. There, he became involved in photography and attended the university’s film club, which showed bootleg VHS tapes of foreign films. Back then, it seemed implausible to Park that Korean films would be the benchmark for cinema that they are today. That a Korean film could take home the Oscar for Best Picture felt ridiculous. “I could never have imagined Korean pop culture would go beyond Korean borders and really win the hearts of the world.”

When Park first started making films, his ambitions were almost unbelievably modest. “I just thought that it would be nice if I could make a film that wasn’t so bad in comparison to the US or the UK.”

There is a very strong sense that [the North and South] belong together. That we are one people. It’s rooted in our subconscious

By the time OldBoy had awakened the international community to Park’s charm, he was already a big name back home thanks to Joint Security Area. “I really had to have a strong determination and courage to make it,” recalls Park, explaining exactly how his political thriller was in violation of South Korea’s National Security Act, which still forbids the “positive” representation of North Korean people. As a child, Park was taught that they were “demons and monsters”. Through his school years, he would regularly participate in “speech contests, poster-drawing contests, and slogan-making contests that precisely attacked North Korea”.

At the time he was making JSA, Park says the National Security Act was “very strongly implemented”. He adds, “There’s room for interpretation in those articles, but basically the article states that if you describe the North in a positive way then you can be imprisoned.” Park pauses. “But ‘positive’... How do you interpret that? What exactly does it mean to positively describe the North?” He concedes, however, that had the government wanted to punish him for making JSA, there were definitely legal grounds to do so. But against all odds, including the very real threat of prison, JSA was a commercial success. The movie became the highest-grossing film in Korea at the time.

“In the end, of course, nothing happened,” he says. “By the time my film was released, the relationship between the two states had thawed. A summit between North and South Korea had created a very progressive mood in favour of the North.” Much greater than his fear of prison was his fear that JSA “would be viewed as if I had taken advantage of the positive mood, rather than that I had the courage to make the film in the first place”, he laughs.

After JSA, Park witnessed a new type of film emerging onto the scene. “It’s almost like a unique genre featuring South Koreans and North Koreans getting together. Now, every year we see a film that plays with this premise.” A cynic might say that JSA simply proved there was money to be made peddling that particular storyline, but Park believes something deeper is at play.

“What this new genre shows is that in South Korea – and I’m sure it’s the same in North Korea – even though there’s a difference in ideology or system, and despite the military tension between the two states, individually as people, we want to be together. There is a very strong sense that we belong together. That we are one people. It’s rooted in our subconscious,” says Park. “And the more hostile these two states become, the stronger the desire on an individual level, that we want reconciliation.” He points to the success of films and TV shows like the hit Korean romcom series Crash Landing on You as proof of his point. “All of this comes from our desire to be connected together.”

It can’t be a coincidence that the Korean films and TV shows that make it big outside their borders often have one theme in common: class struggle. But perhaps the better phrase here is all-out warfare. Films such as Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar winner Parasite and TV shows like Hawng Dong-hyuk’s Netflix smash hit Squid Game evoke a bruised and bloody image of late capitalism on a scale rarely broached in American or UK films. In Park’s oeuvre, it’s Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (2002) that deals with class most explicitly – but look closely and you’ll see it in all his work, quietly driving the narrative in its own way.

Director Park behind the scenes shooting his erotic masterpiece ‘The Handmaiden’ (Moho/Kobal/Shutterstock)

To Park, the interest makes sense for two reasons. Firstly, “the class issue is quite pronounced in Korea compared to other countries”, he says. “Even though it’s a problem globally, Korea is to me a special case because we experienced compressed economic growth and so we neglected the welfare system. We have a weak welfare system – except for universal medical insurance – and the gap between the poor and rich is quite wide.”

The second reason is the internet. “Internet penetration is huge in Korea. Before the era of the internet, the poor people would be among themselves, and take their reality as their life, and not really know what it’s like outside their own society. But now with access to the internet, they see what kind of things rich people do, what they enjoy, what their lives look like, which engenders huge pain in them. It’s what we call relative deprivation. You feel you lose something relative to others who have things, right?”

He exhales. “It’s becoming more and more problematic in Korea and that’s why we are seeing more artists who have a high sensitivity toward this issue. And of course, America and the UK, they experience these things too, so it’s almost universal.”

To speak with Park and not ask about OldBoy feels like sacrilege. Everyone remembers their first time watching OldBoy; that feeling when its twist finally unfurls itself to you. Undoubtedly, it’s his most iconic film – but is it his best? Park lets out a big, open-throated laugh. “I can’t line my babies up like that!” he replies, still mid-chuckle. What he will say, though, is that OldBoy is special because it taught him a lesson. “It made a statement: in order for us to find the right answer, you have to explore the right question.” The hero of OldBoy was plagued by the wrong obsession: it wasn’t a question of why he was locked up for 15 years – but why he was let go. “Without asking the right question, there is no right answer.”

‘Decision to Leave’ will be released by Mubi in cinemas on 21 October

[Helena]

http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/features.jsp?blbdComCd=601013&seq=599&mode=FEATURES_VIEW
Director Park Chanwook’s Decision to Leave, the Oscar Winner After PARASITE?

Oct 25, 2022

Released in North America on October 14, Favorable Reviews Continued by Major Foreign Media

Director Park Chanwook's Decision to Leave, the winner of the Best Director at the 75th Festival de Cannes and the Korean entry at the 95th Academy Awards, has been receiving positive reviews from major foreign media since its release in North America on October 14 (local time). Decision to Leave depicts a story that begins when Detective Haejoon (Park Haeil), who investigates a murder case in the mountain, interrogates Seorae (Tang Wei), the deceased's wife, and feels suspicion and interest in her at the same time.

The ‘Film Festival’ World Tour for Decision to Leave Continues Till the End of 2022

Director Park Chanwook and Actor Park Haeil have been attending a series of film festivals in North America and Britain. The two attended the 60th New York Film Festival (Sept. 30 – Oct. 16), which has been taking place since September 30, drawing enthusiastic cheers and hot responses from local audiences. Director Park Chanwook, who attended the festival, said, "I'm happy to present the movie to New York audiences. When you think it's fun, don't hesitate to laugh as much as you want while watching it." Actor Park Haeil said, "It's my first time in New York, and I'm really thrilled to come here with Director Park Chanwook's film Decision to Leave."

Before the New York Film Festival, Decision to Leave was also officially invited to the 18th U.S. Fantastic Fest, which opened on September 22, and Director Park drew attention by winning the Lifetime Achievement Award from the festival. The festival organizers said, "Director Park Chanwook has been presenting genre films such as Oldboy and The Handmaiden for decades, and his latest film Decision to Leave also showed amazing achievements. We selected him as the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award to commemorate his brilliant results of delicate artworks born by his original perspective." At the Fantastic Fest, Director Park Chanwook's previous film Joint Security Area (2000) was also screened, drawing attention. 

In addition, Decision to Leave was invited to the 47th Toronto International Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, the New Horizons Film Festival, the Jerusalem Film Festival, the New Zealand International Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Korean Film Festival in Australia, etc. 

In addition to the 66th BFI London International Film Festival, which was held from October 5 to 17, the film was also invited to the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival (Oct. 6-16), the Bergen International Film Festival (Oct. 19-27), the Cologne Film Festival (Oct. 20-27), the Sao Paulo International Film Festival (Oct. 20-11/2), the Morelia International Film Festival (Oct. 22-29), the Hawaii International Film Festival, (Nov. 3-27), the Lisbon & Sintra International Film Festival (Nov. 9-20), and Perth International Arts Festival (Dec. 26-Jan. 1, 2023). 

Decision to Leave, Released in North America on October 14, Was Introduced as a ‘Strong Oscar Candidate’ by Foreign Media

Interest in Decision to Leave, centered on the North American Film Festivals, is also expected to have a positive impact on the Academy Awards to be held in March next year. In addition, shortly after its release in North America on October 14, major foreign media have continued to favor it, and analysts say that the green light for the film has been turned on for the Oscar next year. 

The New York Times said, "Decision to Leave dazzles the audience at once with Director Park Chanwook's free imagination and beautiful mise-en-scene, along with its strong opening. And at the same time as I feel that the story has finally entered a stable period, it shakes my heart mercilessly and collapses my heart," praising the overwhelming mise-en-scene and intense afterglow of the film. 

The Los Angeles Times also said, "The film let Director Park Chanwook win the Best Director award at the Festival de Cannes. Decision to Leave, which is ready to jump into the Oscar race as South Korea’s entry, is a dense Noir film that provides subtle sensibility and rich pleasure.” Also, IndieWire referred to it as ‘the most romantic film of the year’ while The Reveal said,  "Decision to Leave is a work that holds explosive passion and emotions, beautiful mise-en-scene with Director Park Chanwook's characteristics, while delicately portraying the mysterious psychology and behaviors of humans trying to deceive themselves. " Rolling Stone praised the film highly by saying, "Decision to Leave brims with the sort of flourishes and big-swing aesthetics that Director Park excels in."  

In August, Decision to Leave was selected as the Korean entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. Regarding Decision to Leave, the Korean Film Council (Chairperson Park Kiyong) said, "Besides the artistic quality of the film, we also considered the director's recognition, the cinematic quality of the film, the directing skills, and the potential popular appeal in the US," explaining the reason why they selected the film as the Korean entry.

The overseas film industry's interest in Decision to Leave, which is on the ‘Film Festival’ world tour, reminds us of the film PARASITE, which swept 4 Academy Awards in 2020. Both films started their winning races at the Festival de Cannes, attracted overseas reviewers by the invitation of leading overseas film festivals, and continued to receive favorable reviews even after their release in North America. Whether K-MOVIE's heyday, which is heating up on the global stage, will continue with Decision to Leave is drawing keen attention from the film industry around the world.

[Helena]

https://www.original-cin.ca/posts/2022/10/25/o-c-interview-decision-to-leaves-park-chan-wook-on-noir-hitchcock-and-femme-fatales
Original-Cin Q&A: Decision to Leave's Park Chan-wook on Noir, Hitchcock and Femmes Fatale

By Jim Slotek

Park Chan-wook earned his reputation as one of the great purveyors of filmic violence with his “Vengeance Trilogy,” the centerpiece of which was the shocking thriller Oldboy.

He’s dialed back the explicit violence with Decision to Leave, a moody film of ache and longing, about an obsessed South Korean police detective (Park Hae-il) who stakes out a mysterious Chinese woman (Wei Tang) who may or may not have killed her husband. The movie opens in theatres Friday, October 28.

A murder, a femme fatale, and a plethora of night shoots – not surprisingly the word “noir” has followed the film, which debuted at Cannes (where Park was named best director). He demurs at the description.

1
Park Hae-il and Wei Tang in Decision to Leave

“When I make a movie, I don’t necessarily define a genre for my film and then give myself a set of conventions I need to follow. I don’t do that,” he said through an interpreter, in a roundtable interview during the Toronto International Film Festival.

“But I believe my film is still within the wider scope of what defines a thriller. Even though I didn’t think of this film as a noir film, I did think that this where the audience will follow the process of one detective encountering a case and trying to solve that case.

“And at the same time, the other access is the love story. And this structure was in my mind from the very beginning.”

He’s walked his demurral back a bit at comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock, saying that after the fact he recognized parallels to Vertigo. “Subconsciously, I am always under the influence of Hitchcock. (But) with my co-writer (Jeong Seo-kyeong) I talked about (David Lean’s) Brief Encounter to be the reference, just for the ambience.”

But he also names other Asian influences, filmmakers known for the often dark nature of their storytelling.  “Mikio Naruse, the Japanese filmmaker, is the one who made me want to learn how to make a film where the characters try to hide their feelings but are quite transparent to the eye of the audience.”

And there was Kim Soo-yong’s moody 1967 romance Mist (the pop theme song for which plays repeatedly in Decision to Leave). “That particular film was another influence.”

2
Director Park Chan-wook

If Park’s work has changed markedly in any way, it may be in his approach to female characters. He admits that when Oldboy was released, it was brought to his attention that the female lead was the one character who didn’t know the truth. It’s pointed out that, conversely, in Decision to Leave, Wang’s character Seo-rae is the only one who does know the truth.

“I did recognize that in Oldboy, (although) the story required Mi-do to be oblivious to the truth. But all in all, I felt bad for her. Because as a creator, your character becomes your children, your own.

“After Oldboy, after that awareness, I tried to put the female characters more at the forefront of the story, and give (them) a more active role in driving the narrative forward, give her more power, if not the same power, as the male characters So, after Oldboy, I tried to find a female co-writer and I found Seo-kyeong Jeong, and that’s where that journey began.

Jeong joined Park to co-write Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, the third of the Vengeance trilogy, and they’ve co-written ever since. 

“She is one of my best friends and we have written on many different films for a very long time. And there is something amusing about how we work together. Usually, when there is a woman character, I try to make her as cool and chic and smart as possible. And she always tries to give something faulty to the character, to make her a little bit unethical. And it’s the opposite situation when we are writing about a male character.”

A wave of films by now-internationally known directors like Park and the Oscar-winning Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) suggests a film movement of sorts. Park says it was simply South Korea’s time. 

“I think this recent boom of Korean film and content is a part of a process of maturation. If you see the history of American cinema during the Hollywood studio era, they already perfected their technology and techniques and esthetics during the ‘40s and ‘50s. They achieved so high that is almost seems like they are kind of coming down even. 

“But in Korea of course, we were colonized (by the Japanese), then there was the Korean War, and then a dictatorship (the Third Republic) with strong censorship, which meant that there was no freedom of expression. 

“It only when we reached the ‘80s that finally we were able to have the freedom of speech. And then of course to make a film you need a lot of money.“

So, all that: technology, capital and freedom of expression. Those three elements are the basic foundation to flourish. And I think that happened in the 2000s when Korean films really started to tack on those three basic foundations.”

 

What genre is Park tackling next? “There are a couple of projects that have been under my sleeve for a very long time, but I have not received investment. There is a Western film, and there is also a crime film called The Axe.”

But don’t assume anything about the latter. “That film is not about an axe murderer. It’s about firing people.

CLICK HERE to read Jim Slotek’s review of Decision to Leave.

[Helena]

https://thatshelf.com/magnificent-obsession-park-chan-wook-talks-decision-to-leave/
Magnificent Obsession: Park Chan-wook Talks Decision to Leave

 

Director's latest is unlike anything he's done before

by Pat Mullen | October 26, 2022, 7:59 pm

One might be tempted to call the new Park Chan-wook film Decision to Leave “Hitchcockian,” but don’t be fooled. This simmering thriller might have echoes of Vertigo, but the South Korean master insists that he didn’t have Hitchcock on the brain. Park, speaking with a group of journalists during the Toronto International Film Festival, says references to Hitchcock are unintentional.

“It was only after my film released to the public that people saw that influence,” explains Park via a translator. “I didn’t quite get it in the beginning. Then I read those reviews and I heard from other people. I started to see where that comes from. I think that, subconsciously, I am always under the influence of Hitchcock.”

Critics and audiences might also find the mesmerizing film a throwback to the days of noir. Decision to Leave features a sensationally smouldering performance from Tang Wei (Lust, Caution) as Seo-rae, a Chinese woman whose Korean husband dies during a climbing “accident.” When detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il, The Host) delivers the news, it doesn’t move Seo-rae. Whether she’s guilty or simply relieved becomes a question that spirals deep into the brain of Park’s moody gumshoe. Seo-rae is one of Park’s best creations—one that shouldn’t invite comparison to Hitchcock, but instead reaffirm that Park and Hitchcock, at their best, work on the same plane. It’s easy to see why this film scored Park the Best Director prize at Cannes this year.

Director Park Chan-wook | Mongrel Media

A Question of Genre

Park, best known for revenge thrillers like Oldboy and Lady Vengeance, horror flicks like Stoker and Thirst, and the erotic period drama The Handmaiden, has never quite made something like Decision to Leave. However, Park says that he doesn’t have a film genre in mind when beginning a project. “When I make a movie, I don’t necessarily define a genre and then give myself a set of conventions to follow,” explains Park. “But I feel my film is still within the wider scope of what defines a thriller. Even though I didn’t really think of this film as a noir, I did think that this story should have one axis where people follow a detective encountering a case and trying to solve it. At the same time, the other axis is the love story. This structure was in my mind from the beginning.”

As Hae-joon shadows Seo-rae, he seems more interested in finding evidence of remorse than clues for murder. One catches a dash of Rear Window as Hae-joon spies on this regular Miss Lonelyhearts. Seo-rae eats ice cream for dinner night after night and falls asleep while smoking in front of the TV, but she’s attune to the eyes peering in. This attentiveness intrigues her. Whether she’s interested in Hae-joon or simply manipulating him to escape a murder charge is among the film’s many mysteries.  Decision to Leave ensures will swirl in viewers’ minds until its haunting final frames.

 

Spoiler

Tang Wei in Decision to Leave | Mongrel Media

Brief Encounter and “The Mist”

“Me and my co-writer [Chung Seo-kyung] had an objective of making the process of investigation and the process of these two characters falling in love become completely inseparable,” observes Park. Moreover, Park says that he and Chung used David Lean’s Brief Encounter as a reference for the ambiance of Decision to Leave. The classic story of two strangers connected by passing moments at the train station echoes the understated currents of melancholy and desire in Park’s film. As with Brief Encounter, Decision to Leave is a tale of passing glances and repressed longing.

Park says that Japanese director Mikio Naruse (Yearning, Floating Clouds) is another influence. “His works made me want to learn how to make a film where the characters are trying to hide their feelings, but are quite transparent in the eyes of the audience,” notes Park. Other references include the pop song “The Mist,” covered here by Song Chang-sik. It wafts throughout the misty town that sets the stage for murder, oscillating the tension and fuelling Hae-joon’s obsession.

Park Hae-il in Decision to Leave | Mongrel Media

Murderous Melodrama

It’s appropriate that a seemingly innocent song underscores the detective’s infatuation with his unsolved case. Park admits that soundscaping is his own worst obsession as a filmmaker, and Decision to Leave offers an enigmatic, intricately layered design that helps juggle the film’s tonal twists and generic leaps. “Film technology has advanced a lot but sound is not explored enough,” says Park. “I make sure that all the sound, including the music, will be as creative as possible, will be as inspiring as possible, and as influential as possible [to get the story] into the subconscious of the audience.”

If one finds references to classic Hollywood in Decision to Leave, one might better look to Sirk than to Hitchcock. The film is a melodrama with a dark edge. Moody and driven by unexpectedly heightened emotions for a Park film thanks to the complex performances, Decision to Leave is a masterclass in understated cinema. For a filmmaker who made a splash with edgy and often violent works, Park’s latest film is most effective precisely because it withholds his signature dash of blood. Instead, he burrows into the psychological effects of violence and trauma.

“What you see is the result of listening to my characters and what is required of me to make the story,” observes Park. “In order for me to invite the audience to peek into the depths of the characters’ emotions that are hidden outside, it was necessary to avoid violence that was flashy or graphic, which would catch their eyes. I want those eyes to go deep inside. I don’t want anything that can distract my audience’s eyes or linger in the mind.”

Decision to Leave opens in Toronto at TIFF Lightbox on October 28. 

 

 

[Helena]

https://www.nme.com/features/film-interviews/park-chan-wook-decision-to-leave-streaming-cinema-theatres-3332847
Park Chan-wook: “It would be heartbreaking if we couldn’t see great films in theatres”

The director of 'Old Boy' and 'Decision To Leave' on cinema in the age of streaming

By Paul Bradshaw | 21st October 2022

Park Chan-wook at the the 'Decision To Leave' UK premiere. CREDIT: Getty

 

Park Chan-wook is entering his quiet phase. Relaxing in the easy chair of a London hotel suite, Park seems a long way from the firebrand director who once took a claw hammer to world cinema with extreme thrillers like Oldboy, Lady Vengeance and Thirst. Quickly outgrowing his reputation as Korea’s own Quentin Tarantino, his projects since have mellowed as they’ve matured – taking on gothic swooners (Stoker), sweeping literary romances (The Handmaiden) and one British spy series (The Little Drummer Girl).

Now back with Decision To Leave, the film that has already won him Best Director at Cannes, Park has built a dark detective drama (and a weird, tragic romance) from fine lines and silence. We sat down with Park to talk about making a masterpiece out of all the things that are never said and done.

 

As a former film critic, have you been reading any reviews of Decision To Leave?

“I never read reviews of my own films. Not because I think less of criticism, but because whenever I see anything that’s good about my work I feel embarrassed. And anything bad just makes me upset. Either way, I’m not happy.”

Why did you want to make a detective love story?

“The films I’ve made have mostly all been thrillers, in the broadest sense. But I’ve always had a great interest in police dramas and film noir. I’ve always loved reading books by Ed McBain, and the Martin Beck series too. But then I listened to the old Korean pop song, ‘The Mist’ [by Jung Hoon Hee], and I decided that I needed to make a romance that would revolve around this wonderful song. Everything clicked when I realised I might be able to combine the two.”

Park Chan-Wook at the BFI London Film Festival. CREDIT: Alamy

In Decision To Leave, everyone refuses to act on their emotions, which feels so different from your other films…

“It was the biggest challenge I ever gave myself, and I think I accomplished what I set out to do. Yearning, by Mikio Naruse, is one of my favourite films, and I loved the way restraint became the main emotion throughout that film. The question became how to do it. I decided to go back to basics, to really play with the bare minimum in the screenplay. I didn’t want all these subtle emotions expressed through words, but at the same time I wanted to make sure the audience fully understood, and felt, how the characters were feeling.”

Did you find that difficult?

“Absolutely. A good example is when Hae-jun [Park Hae-il] first meets Seo-rae [Tang Wei]. Even before he says his first line there’s a period of time that passes without him saying anything, just staring at her. I wanted the audience to feel like something’s gone wrong with the film. I didn’t count how many seconds it lasted for, but during that silence literally nothing happens. I want my audience to recognise the passing of the time.”

Has making the film in this way changed the way you want to work in future?

“When I look at my previous work, I see a pattern. My next film is always completely different from my previous film in every sense. I go in the opposite direction. Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance was extremely cold, so Old Boy was hot as fire. My next project is the TV series, The Sympathiser. And for that I’m thinking about using a lot of dynamic camera movement and fast-paced editing. Completely different again.”

That will be the second time you’ve made a TV series, after The Little Drummer Girl. Do you think cinema has as bright a future as the small screen?

“It’s so complicated, and things are changing by the minute. Some festivals are still excluding streaming films, and I obviously understand the concerns. But what complicates things is films like The Irishman and Roma, which I adore, and which were only able to come out with the quality and budget available thanks to streaming platforms. It’ll be a such a heartbreaking loss if we cannot watch great films like that in theatres, but if you force me to choose, I choose to live in a world where I can still see The Irishman and Roma, by any means.”

What would you do if Netflix gave you a huge budget – or Marvel handed you a blank cheque tomorrow?

“Do you know [French author] Émile Zola‘s book, La Bête Humaine? This didn’t really cross my mind until now, and I can’t really imagine ever having that much money in my hand, but I would absolutely love to film an adaption of that book. It’s set against the backdrop of the Paris railway in the 19th century, so it would cost a lot. Actually, I don’t even know if I’d need that much money… There’s another project about the citizens of Leningrad surviving the Nazi siege during the Second World War too. I’d love to make a survival drama about that, using the music of Shostakovich. That would probably be pretty expensive… I hope it happens!”

Park Chan-wook’s ‘Decision To Leave’ is in cinemas now

[Helena]

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/10/31/entertainment/television/Jeong-Seokyeong-Little-Women/20221031174817753.html
Screenwriter Jeong Seo-kyeong puts her own spin on classic 'Little Women'

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr] | October 31, 2022

 

Spoiler

Screenwriter Jeong Seo-kyeong, right, talks about her two recent projects — the film “Decision to Leave” and tvN series “Little Women” — in a forum titled “Content Insight 2022” in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, on Thursday. [KOCCA]

Jeong Seo-kyeong, best known for having co-written the script for five of director Park Chan-wook’s films, from “Sympathy from Lady Vengeance” (2005) to the most recent “Decision to Leave” (2022), is now seeing success with drama series “Little Women" (2022), inspired by the classic novel by the American author Louisa May Alcott. 

The tvN series “Little Women,” unlike the original which centered around the daily lives of four sisters, is a dark, stormy tale which involves three sisters from a poor household, a slush fund of 70 billion won ($50 billion), and one of the most powerful families in the country, who, with all the right connections and money, are able to get their hands on whatever they want — even at the cost of a life.  The series, which wrapped up on Oct. 3 with a high viewership rate of 11.1 percent, ranked No. 3 on Netflix’s weekly Global Top 10 chart for the non-English TV category from Oct. 17 to 23. 

 

Spoiler

TvN drama series “Little Women” (2022) revolves around three sisters from a poor household attempting to expose the corrupted ways of one of the most powerful families in the country. Kim Go-eun, Nam Ji-hyun and Park Ji-hu portray the three sisters while Um Ji-won, on above, portrays the villain. [TVN]

This is Jeong’s second drama series after tvN’s “Mother” (2018), but it was one of the hardest to write, according to the writer, who commented that she “had to give all [she] had” to craft a scale of a story as big as her recent project, at the forum titled “Content Insight 2022” on Thursday in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul. The event was organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to invite experts to share their insight and experience on the local content industry. 

“Some of my favorite scenes from the novel is when Jo cuts off her hair and sells it to provide money, or when Amy burns Jo’s manuscript,” Jeong said. “All of those scenes, little by little, defy the rules or moral conducts they were taught and learned to follow. The scene that I like the best is when Jo seeks advice from her mother about her ‘bad personality.’ […] I loved that scene because it felt to me that it was okay not to be good. In my memory, the March sisters were not always ‘good’ — they had their squabbles and rule-breaking moments, but when I came across the story again, I felt that they were too good. So I wanted to write a story about sisters who are really bad.” 

Jeong admits that there are similarities between two female protagonists she has written — Seo-rae, portrayed by Tang Wei in “Decision to Leave,” and the villainess Won Sang-ah, portrayed by Uhm Ji-won in “Little Women.” 

 

“Decision to Leave” (2022) starring Tang Wei and Park Hae-il, is the fifth collaboration between Park and Jeong, for which Park won Best Director at this year’s Cannes. [CJ ENM]

“I hadn't realized it before, but Uhm messaged me one day saying that she came to understand her character more through Seo-rae after watching 'Decision to Leave,'” Jeong said. “They share lots of similarities. They had both killed their mothers. From a narrative point of view, they both hide their intentions extremely well and reveal it in the most important part of the narrative, like a flasher.” 

Another important protagonist who leads the narrative in the series is the second sister, portrayed by Nam Ji-hyun. The character that Jeong and Nam painted was a determined reporter dead-set on revealing the corrupted ways of a politician and his wife, portrayed by Um Ki-joon and Uhm Ji-won, through what she’s best at — investigation and reporting, grounded by facts. 

“The original novel already talks about women’s desire to work as a member of society,” Jeong said. “So I didn’t want to repeat that. What I became curious about was how the records were different from the viewpoint of men and women. For instance, how would history be written differently if it was told by women? […] I felt that Nam's character was up for the job — she had the potential to record and report this massive story.” 

 

“The Handmaiden” (2016) starring Ha Jung-woo, Kim Tae-ri, Kim Min-hee and Cho Jin-woong is inspired by the 2002 novel “Fingersmith” by Sarah Waters. The film is director Park Chan-wook’s and Jeong Seo-kyeong’s fourth film together. The film was invited to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. [CJ ENM]

Jeong and Park’s partnership over the course of some 18 years takes up an enormous proportion of Jeong’s career. Since they first met through “Sympathy from Lady Vengeance” in 2005, all of the scripts for Park’s Korean feature films were crafted together with Jeong. With 2009 film “Thirst,” Park won the Jury Prize, and for his most recent “Decision to Leave,” Park took home Best Director at this year’s Cannes. 

A famous quote in which Park describes his partnership with Jeong is well-known within the local content industry today, which Park wrote at the introduction of the script book for “Sympathy from Lady Vengeance.” 

The quote goes: “I never imagined my entire film career would be defined by before and after I met Jeong. If such factors such as femininity, childlike innocence, fairy tale beauty, optimism, excitement, gratefulness, or daydreams are in my film, they are all derived from Jeong.” 

When asked how her career changed before and after she met Park, Jeong initially replied that the question “doesn’t make sense” to her. 

 

Thirst" (2009), starring Song Kang-ho and Kim Ok-vin, is Park's and Jeong’s third film together. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. [CJ ENM]

“I did not exist as a scriptwriter before I met Park,” she said. “I never properly learned scriptwriting when I was in school. If there is a Park Chan-wook Institution of Film, then I exist as a student, which, technically, I still believe that I am. He’s not really the kind to teach people, but when I go up to him with a script and ask him to take a look at it, he looks at it. I’ve learned even the most intricate of things about writing from him, such as how he treats other people around him or even my habit of writing without worrying too much about what’s to come.” 

Jeong, who has continuously written stories centering around female protagonists since the beginning of her career, revealed at the forum that she has already begun work on another project. Although she did not reveal the specifics, she hinted that it may be about “older women,” as her prior projects revolved around young women. 

[Helena]

https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/decision-to-leave-director-park-chan-wook-interview
[Q&A] In Decision to Leave, Director Park Chan-wook Explores the Heights of Romance

by Xuanlin Tham | 10.19.22

Photograph by Getty; image treatment by Ashley Peña.

Park Chan-wook, the masterful filmmaker behind the dark delights of The Handmaiden, Oldboy, and Thirst, wields beauty and pain with a cutthroat precision. Carve deeper into these films' genre-redefining twists, however, and one realizes that every single one of Director Park's works—from erotic psychological thrillers, violence-drenched neo-noirs, to supernatural horrors—bleed from the same romantic heart. The South Korean director has always believed that the most powerful way an artist can explore being human is by examining love: how we’re drawn into its alluring embrace, and crucially, just what we’re capable of in its name.

His latest, Decision to Leave, is perhaps one of his greatest love stories. Garnering him the prize for Best Director at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film introduces itself as a police procedural drama. As a murder investigation beckons mild-mannered detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) to watch his prime suspect Seo-rae (Tang-wei) closer and closer, he begins to fall for her enigmatic ways. But like all of Director Park’s films, Decision to Leave morphs like a trick of the light. The direction of the film’s fixation eventually inverts, and with the symmetry of a Rorschach inkblot, it reorients itself around the suspect gazing right back at her detective.

On the night of Decision to Leave’s U.K. premiere at the London Film Festival, Director Park spoke to me about the film’s lush interplay of mystery and romance, how it communicates desire through detail and gesture, and the stray cat that pays him visits at home. A warning: spoilers for Decision to Leave lie ahead.

The crimes in Decision to Leave take secondary importance to the deepening romantic obsession between Hae-joon and Seo-rae. Is there something intimate about a detective making one person their sole focus?

To me, what was most important with this film was that the investigative story and the romance were inseparable. For example, once the first case has been concluded as a suicide and they start to build their romantic relationship, there's a chance for Hae-joon to touch Seo-rae’s hand. He finds calluses on her palms, and he thinks that’s a bit strange. He later hears from the old lady that Seo-rae's hands used to be very soft, and that’s when his suspicion re-emerges. But if they were not romantically involved, Hae-joon would never have touched Seo-rae’s hands, and Seo-rae wouldn’t have asked Hae-joon to take care of the old lady.

During Part One, the police drama is more pronounced than the romantic side of the film. The mystery is whether this death is suicide or homicide, and the female protagonist is being observed through the male protagonist’s eyes. But in Part Two, the film noir genre is addressed from a meta perspective. Seo-rae is no longer defined as a femme fatale, because she is no longer being observed. Now, Hae-joon is being observed by Seo-rae, and when her second husband dies, there’s no question that it’s a homicide. Instead, the question is: why is she here, and why did she commit this murder? Part Two leans more towards how the mystery itself is related to the romance. Yet, the biggest mystery of the film as a whole is when Seo-rae tells Hae-joon on the phone, "you said you love me", and Hae-joon asks back, "when did I say I love you?" Later, when Hae-joon listens to the voice recordings, he realizes that when he told Seo-rae to throw the phone in the sea, releasing her even though he knew that she was the murderer, that was a thousand times stronger than verbally saying, “I love you.” He finally realizes that Seo-rae knew that. So the resolution of the mystery of his actions, the core mystery of the entire film, is what makes it a romance rather than a police procedural.

Decision to Leave is a sweepingly romantic film, where the smallest of actions carry so much desire. Your previous films contain more overt eroticism, but here, intimacy is embedded in quite delicate gestures.

Our two characters are the type of people who cannot be honest about their feelings. So, the audience has to catch slight changes in their facial expressions, or small actions. This style, and these restrained emotions, was also suitable for me to pursue because I wanted to make a very classical and elegant film. One example is the scene where they meet at the snowy mountain. Right before Seo-rae kisses Hae-joon, she takes things out of his pockets, and unlike his wife, she knows where things are at once. She puts his lip balm on her lips, and almost puts it on his lips, too. But she kisses him instead, and whatever is on her mouth is enough to share. This is something that can be recognized by watching this film for the second or third time, but these details are something that make film a medium of art – and that's why it's so precious to me.

Tang Wei, Park Chan-wook, and Park Hae-Il pose during a photo call for Decision to Leave (Heojil Kyolshim) at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2022.
Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP) (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images

Your characters—maybe especially the men—are often tortured souls driven by some kind of pathology. Hae-joon is an insomniac, and one reason he's so magnetized by Seo-rae is because her presence helps him fall asleep. What draws you to writing characters who have some kind of affliction of the body or heart?

I don't think I give afflictions only to my male characters. For example, Hideko in The Handmaiden has her share of afflictions, and Lady Vengeance, Geum-ja-ssi, does too. So, it doesn't matter which gender. What I want to do is put my characters in very hard situations and give them flaws, and see them go through almost transformative pain. Then, we observe how all these characters embrace their pain and move on.

You've mentioned how the archetype of the femme fatale is insufficient to describe Seo-rae. I actually think the closest reference for her is the cat in the film—like the cat, Seo-rae also communicates affection by bringing corpses to a loved one’s door.

Your mention of the cat is quite interesting, because it's something that I really experienced. At home, there’s this stray cat we feed. He would sleep and eat at my house, and at dawn, he would leave to spend a whole day out, and then come back to eat and sleep. At one point, he started giving us gifts: all kinds of dead animals. [Laughs.] Dead birds, dead rats, and even rabbits. He would put them right where we gave him food, and he would stay and observe whether we appreciated his gifts. So perhaps my experience with the cat was somehow connected to Seo-rae's story. And the bucket that she uses in the playground to bury the crow that the cat brought, is the very bucket that she later uses to commit suicide. So, that’s one point where we get to take a glimpse into the future of Seo-rae.

Hae-joon says for some people, grief can be overwhelming, like a crashing wave; but for others, it spreads slowly, like ink in water. But this comment seems to describe his love for Seo-rae even more so than grief. Do you see love as traversing this spectrum of extremes?

I can’t really comment on the definition of love in general. What I can say is that there's a certain love experienced by these two particular people. It doesn't matter how I define love, because that's what my characters consider love is for them. But I believe there are many different types of love. For example, some people say when Hae-joon first encounters Seo-rae next to the corpse, right before he says, “I’d like to know the pattern,” that’s the moment when he completely falls in love with her. I totally understand why they could see it that way. But Hae-joon, being dominated by his own very strict moral compass, does not recognize his true feelings. He doesn't give in to the fact that he actually loves his suspect. And that's why he ends up making mistakes and misjudgments. Seo-rae is the one who knows herself, and who accurately assesses Hae-joon's character. And that's why she defines her own destiny. Here, I don't want to say who made a better decision. It’s just the path my characters took—and that’s all.

[Helena]

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/10/awards-insider-decision-to-leave-shot-list-park-chan-wook
The Images of Decision to Leave: Inside Park Chan-wook’s Noir Masterwork

The director goes deep on six pivotal frames from his new film, which unfurls a spellbinding romantic mystery in the language of old-school film noir.

BY DAVID CANFIELD | OCTOBER 31, 2022

 

COURTESY OF MUBI

Park Chan-wook exhaustively storyboards his films. He thinks so carefully through every image that, as we get to discussing a handful for this feature, it’s clear that one interview won’t cut it. So we made time for two conversations.

Watch his new feature and you will see why. Decision to Leave is an exacting work of craft and storytelling, melding romantic and detective narrative beats in the award-winning director’s distinctive spin on an old-school, film-noir-tinged thriller. Stylish, mysterious, and surprisingly whimsical, the movie—which follows the dangerous but heated connection between a Busan, Korea detective, Hae-jun (Park Hae-il), and the prime suspect in his murder investigation, Seo-rae (Tang Wei)—is already being heralded as one of Park’s best, with the director winning Cannes’s best-director prize and the U.S. release already a box-office success.

Every scene was precisely thought-out. But when it came time for Park (The Handmaiden, Stoker) to shoot his new film’s climactic scene, any and all planning went out the window. Fortunately, he and his new cinematographer, Kim Ji-yong, had already grown well-acquainted by that point. “We analyzed each scene and we made sure that we were on the same page about the meaning behind the scene—we discussed so much detail to the point where we also took time to agree upon how tight of a shot a close up would be,” Park says over Zoom. “We knew everything that we needed to before we got started.”

That shorthand informs Kim’s rich, layered cinematography, and the authorial control Park exerts over the gorgeous images—keeping the viewer lulled and off-balance in the transporting mystery, only to throw in a few wild twists along the way. For a deep dive into the method of their madness, Park and Kim selected six frames from Decision to Leave to discuss as key to the movie’s spellbinding effect—with the final shot, of course, being the most spontaneous, and all the better for it. (Note that spoilers for the film, currently in select theaters, follow in this story.)

Spoiler

The Interrogation

 

Park Chan-wook: The interrogation scene is one of the most important scenes of the film. The purpose of the film is to go beyond the coexistence of the detective story and the romance story, but for the two of them to become one. That was best exemplified in the interrogation room. This is a process of a detective pushing the suspect to say the truth and the suspect, who is the victim’s widow, avoiding that. But at the same time, it can also be seen as a process of seduction. One trying to seduce the other and the other avoiding that or responding to it. It’s the process of how love develops.

Kim Ji-yong: The director just mentioned tension. What I found interesting about this shot is that over the mirror there’s the other policemen watching the two interact, and meanwhile, Hae-jun is just starting to feel a bit of affection towards this woman. So he becomes emotionally closer to the woman. In the actual shots, the two people are kind of distant, but the fun thing is, in the mirror’s reflection, the two are much closer.

Park: We could have made it look like every other interrogation room with the white wall and the fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. But because this is also a romance film, we had to change the lighting and the production design as well. In the perspective of an audience, it’s just two people sitting and talking. It’s a very simple and boring scene that they have to sit through for the plot to progress. [Laughs] If it’s just an interaction between a detective and a suspect, you can’t say that there’s this much tension, but because they add that layer of seduction and romance, there’s twice as much tension going on. Every move, every look, it’s so much more interesting and it makes the scene enticing for the audience.

The Getaway

 

Kim: This image is actually my favorite moment out of the film. We had a tough time finding the location for their getaway because the temple, obviously, was very important to the scene’s look. Instead of them being at the front of the temple, they are in the back, which connects to this idea of them being secretive. And I like the paintings that you see on the wall. When we were prepping, we talked about wanting to go classical and old-fashioned, to bring that feeling into it. I think this image carries that.

Park: Yes, this is supposedly a romance movie, but because we are progressing the story in parallel as a detective-interrogation movie, we rarely have a moment where the characters are explicitly expressing their emotion or they’re attraction to each other. This is one rare moment. My thinking was, where would Hae-jun take Seo-rae when he’s off-duty? And because Seo-rae is a foreigner, I felt like Hae-jun would take her to a nice tourist spot he knew—he’d been to the temple a couple of times before—but at the same time, their relationship is secretive, so I figured he wouldn’t take her to a spot at the front of the temple where others might spot them.

And remember, with Hae-jun, his characteristics are very old-fashioned, his taste is old-fashioned. He wouldn’t be someone who takes Seo-rae to, say, a very fancy cafe by the ocean. For me personally, I love the ambience this very quiet temple creates, especially when it is raining. The thinking goes that when it’s raining, there wouldn’t be as many tourists. 

One other thing I thought was interesting here was that Hae-jun, ordinarily, would be using modern technology—he’s using his iPhone all the time, or iWatch, and he exchanges texts with Seo-rae. But when they’re meeting in-person, he takes her to this old-world temple.

The Mountain

 

Kim: This is from a favorite sequence of mine, in which Hae-jun figures out where Seo-rae murdered her husband, on this peak. Because this mountain doesn’t exist in real life, we had to build the entire set and VFX a lot of it. So it was a very complicated sequence to film—but a shot that especially stood out within it, because of the facial expression.

Park: So there are a lot of different shots going on in this one scene. There’s two different timelines going on concurrently as well: One being Seo-rae going on her journey to murder her husband, and another that we cut back and forth between, which is Hae-jun following her footsteps. So two different layers coexist: In one sense, this is a detective following the steps of the suspect in her committing a murder, but it’s also a man finding out the truth about the woman he loves. Because these two timelines are supposed to take place in two different times of the day, the lighting also had to be different. We spent a lot of time in post-production to make sure that the lighting reflected the different kinds of days.

Kim: To reflect the different weathers, we used VFX—we had a clear day and a cloudy day through VFX as well. We shot two different backgrounds to use for VFX for those two different climates.

The Headlamp

 

Park: This part is actually independent, like an island in itself. Part one of the film takes place in Busan, and part two, when Seo-rae and Hae-jun are reunited, takes place in Ilbo. Ilbo is always foggy all the time, at least for the exterior. Even though this is part of part two, at least for this moment, I wanted it to feel refreshing and clear and cold. It’s ironic in a sense that it goes against that idea, because it looks like a fantasy, dream-like. The image of snowing: When Hae-jun later comes back to Ilbo, we have him saying, “Didn’t it snow here?” And even in his facial expression, he looks like he just woke up from his sleep. I wanted to carry that feeling of a dream from the scene.  You don’t know where this is. And also, we have an important role played by the headlamp.

Kim: We wanted to deliver this fantasy, but we figured that going the conventional way of using the moonlight wouldn’t suit the scene. During the storyboarding process, director Park and I talked a lot about lighting. And with Hae-jun being a detective, we figured he would have a lantern in his car all the time. So when they come up to the mountain, we have a very dark mountain, and it’s lit by this headlamp and the lantern; even though this is taking place in the real world, this is something that we haven’t seen.

Park: It’s not that we see the entire region that is lit; we only see the face. And specifically, we can focus on the eye. That is another factor that we liked about using this effect. With the headlamp, she’s really bright, but we don’t see her face. We only see the silhouette, the shape of her body, and where her head should be. That image makes me feel like we’re looking at a lighthouse. It could be interpreted as a one-eyed cyclops. I like that this image resonates as inhuman.

The (Second) Interrogation

 

King: So this is the second interrogation scene that takes place—just like last time, there’s no one shot that represents the entire sequence, but this is the only shot in which we see the two characters within one frame.

Park: It feels very different from the interrogation scene in Busan. I wanted to emphasize the audience’s perspective of the change in their relationship. It was very fun to see that through the monitor, that even though he’s the police, Hae-jun is captured in the monitor as if he’s also a suspect himself. While the interrogation scene in part one of the story was led by the detective, while the suspect would hesitate and not be as active, the situation is completely reversed here. The tactics of the detective are not working and instead the woman takes the lead. So even though it’s a detective asking questions to the suspect, emotionally speaking, Seo-rae is the dominant force of the story.

While  part one’s interrogation scene took place in a very well-crafted, well-maintained space, here we see a more half-hazard, quickly put-together space going on here, with lots of junk piled up in the back as well. You can tell that this space was not used as much. You can see the pipes crossing horizontally and vertically behind our male character. In fact, when the dinner is delivered by a police officer, they actually have to lower their back in order to go beneath the pipes and get here. Of course, it was garbage food that can’t even be labeled dinner, but. [Laughs]

The Beach

 

Park: For this one, we had to work around high-tide conditions, and keep in mind the sun going down. We went ahead and figured out the exact time to meet these conditions. We were working against the time, and we were very desperate to pull it out. Or else, we were screwed. I tend to board very in-detail, and I tend to follow what I have boarded. My original plan was to have a wide shot of Hae-jun going further away, in a long take. It would be getting dark, the fog would be getting thicker, and we’d see Hae-jun disappearing into the darkness. This was actually the backup plan. We had shot it, using the telephoto lands, with the B-cam. But in the editing process, we thought it’d be a shame to not use this. His facial expression carried on this feeling of grief so well. So this became our very last shot of the movie.

Kim: When they were shooting this, I was on the A cam, shooting what we originally planned. So I didn’t know what was happening. Only after they’d shot it, only on the monitor, did I see it, when they were playing back. I could not deny how great it was. At the same time, I was a little bit unsure, nervous, about it because the focus was not crystal clear. But I think that actually added to this emotional sentiment. The lack of focus is because there’s such a fog around it. Going back to what Park said, actually, fog was adding to this emotion, and gave this painting a feeling to it. We see there, the sun down reflecting on the ocean, creating this surreal element to the entire image. All even though I didn’t plan it. [Laughs]

Especially near the ocean, we added fog with VFX. Adding the fog created another layer onto it, further depth to the experience. All the fog you see in the film has been added by VFX. When we hear the ocean waves, the sound of it also adds another layer and brings this whole experience to another level.

Park: About the sundown we see reflected on the ocean—in the beginning, we couldn’t really tell from the footage, but it was there. We captured it. The color is amped up [in post-production], to make it alive. It’s not that it wasn’t there, we just brought what was already embedded in it. For this moment, I am especially grateful for our B-cam operator, and also the colorist. Also I would like to thank the ocean. Obviously, I had wished that there were grand waves crashing around, but you can’t really tell what’s going to happen on the day. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be a really quiet ocean, but the ocean brought life. If we have missed this day, then we would’ve had to come back a couple of months later in order to shoot it. That was a great concerning factor for us. And the thing is, if the waves were stronger, then that would’ve jeopardized the safety of the actors. It was just the perfect level of waves that we came by.

The ground was slippery, which actually worked for us. We didn’t plan on it, but Hae-jun ended up slipping twice. I would like to apologize to the performer, the actor, Park Hae-il, but that was not intentional. That was a happy accident. That moment, I think, shows how it this man is both sad, and also idiotic, or comical, at the same time. It reflects the tone that we were going for. There’s a pathetic element to it.

Kim: And we promise, Park Hae-il did not get hurt at all. [Laughs]

 

These interviews were edited and condensed, and conducted through a translator.

 

[Helena]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/asian-world-film-festival-to-take-place-november-9--18-2022-in-los-angeles-301661753.html
Asian World Film Festival to Take Place November 9 - 18, 2022 in Los Angeles

NEWS PROVIDED BY Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) | Oct 27, 2022, 15:40 ET

 

 

Asian World Film Festival to Open with "Decibel" World Premiere and Close With "Decision to Leave" VIP Screening

 

Fest to Open with "Decibel" World Premiere and Close With "Decision to Leave" VIP Screening

 

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 8th annual Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) will take place November 9 – 18, 2022 in Los Angeles. AWFF kicks off Wednesday, November 9 with the world premiere of DECIBEL, directed by In-ho Hwang and starring Kim Rae Won and Lee Jong Suk. The action-thriller will unveil at the Regency Village Theater, Westwood and be followed by a Q&A with writer/producer Jin-hoon Lee ("Midnight FM") and a VIP reception. Red Carpet appearances begin at 5:00 PM and the screening at 7:00 PM. 

AWFF's closing film will be South Korea's Oscar submission DECISION TO LEAVE, directed by Park Chan-wook, winner of Cannes 2022 Best Director Award. The neo-noir, romantic mystery will screen on November 17 at the Directors Guild of America, Hollywood after a pre-exhibition reception. AWFF's Closing Night Gala, a star-studded, multimedia affair in which the Snow Leopard and other special awards will be bestowed, is slated for November 18 at the Saban Theater, Beverly Hills.

Celebrating the work of filmmakers of Asian descent, AWFF has grown year over year. AWFF 2022 will feature 20 submissions for the 95th Academy Award for Best International Feature Film as well as multiple contenders for the 80th Golden Globe, Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language Award. Expanded programming across 10 days will include centerpiece and special screenings, thematic film days, industry forum discussions, and other celebrations. Screenings and additional activities will unfold November 10 - 16 at the AMC Marketplace, Marina Del Rey and at the Culver Hotel, Culver City, CA.

"AWFF's theme for this our eighth iteration is the 'Power of Connectivity,'" said Georges N. Chamchoun, AWFF Executive Director, "Eight is a significant number for many Asian cultures, evoking good fortune and social communication, among other qualities, and calls forth AWFF's ongoing role nurturing connections between Hollywood and Asia."

Chamchoun continued, "Asian films achieve greater artistic prominence every year and with DECIBEL, DECISION TO LEAVE, and our entire 2022 slate, we're bringing many of Asia's finest new and established creative voices to Hollywood."

Sponsors and partners of the Festival include Aitysh USA, Peer, Dr. Dao Medical Center, Win Slavin Fine Arts, Dutcher Crossing, Panavision, The One Heart Movement, The Bruce Lee Foundation, Barco, Korean Cultural Center (KCC, LA), Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), AKIpress, Asia Society, and Jackson's Deli & Market.

 

Spoiler

ABOUT THE ASIAN WORLD FILM FESTIVAL (AWFF)

 

The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), founded by Kyrgyz public figure Sadyk Sher-Niyaz, brings the best of a broad selection of Asian world cinema to Los Angeles to draw greater recognition to the region's wealth of filmmakers and to strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. Uniting through cross-cultural collaboration, the Festival champions films from more than 50 countries across Asia, from Turkey to Japan and from Russia to India and the Middle East. All participating films are provided with the unique opportunity to be guided through the challenging awards season. They're also showcased to Motion Picture Academy members, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the entertainment Guilds for enhanced exposure, media attention, and awards consideration. AWFF is a non-profit organization under Aitysh, USA.

Connect with AWFF: Instagram  Twitter  Facebook

 

Press Credentials Contact:
Opening Night Red Carpet Credential Application 
Closing Night Red Carpet Credential Application
Festival Credential Application
 

Media Contact at Weissman/Markovitz Communications:


Rick Markovitz  818.760.8995
347615@email4pr.com

SOURCE Asian World Film Festival (AWFF)

[peonie]

November 6, 2022

 

LACMA Art + Film Gala 2022

The starry annual event — always a fashionable stop on L.A.'s social calendar thanks to title sponsor Gucci — this year honors 'Decision to Leave' director Park Chan-wook and artist Helen Pashgian.

 

BY DEGEN PENER

Plus Icon

 

NOVEMBER 5, 2022 7:23PM

 

At its 11th annual outing, stars and power players came out en masse for LACMA’s celebrated Art+Film Gala on Saturday, Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.

 

A bevy of celebrities wore Gucci on the red carpet at the museum, dressed by the long-time supporter of the evening, before heading into a dinner honoring South Korean director Park Chan-wook (whose critically acclaimed Decision to Leave is South Korea’s official entry in the 2023 Oscars after snagging a best director trophy for the auteur in Cannes) and artist Helen Pashgian, a pioneering member of California’s Light and Space art movement.

 

PHOTO CREDIT :  MICHAEL KOVAC/GETTY IMAGES FOR LACMA

 

Source:  The Hollywood Reporter

[Helena]

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2022/11/689_339330.html
Filmmaker Park Chan-wook honored at LACMA Art+Film Gala

By Kwak Yeon-soo | 2022-11-07 14:03

Director Park Chan-wook attends the 11th LACMA Art+Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California, Saturday. AFP-YonhapNews

 

Filmmaker Park Chan-wook was honored at this year's Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Art+Film Gala. Another honoree was American visual artist Helen Pashgian, a pioneering member of the Light and Space art movement of the 1960s.

Park won the Best Director award for his latest film "Decision to Leave" at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The film has been chosen as Korea's submission for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, scheduled for March 23, 2023.

"I initially wanted to begin with the following words: 'I do not know how to thank you for such an award that is beyond me,' but I remembered advice from a friend that is familiar with both Korean and American culture. She told me that you should not be too humble in America … So I will take in that advice and say the following words instead: 'I am not at all surprised for the award that I obviously deserve,'" Park said in his acceptance speech. 

Actor Lee Byung-hun, who starred in Park's 2000 film "Joint Security Area," took the stage to introduce Park. The actor referenced the Halloween crowd crush tragedy that occurred in Seoul last month, which killed 156 people. "Please join me in keeping all the victims and their families in our thoughts and prayers," he said.

Since his 1992 directorial debut "The Moon is … the Sun's Dream," Park has been the stylish mastermind behind some of the most iconic titles that put Korean cinema on the map. They include the 2000 mystery thriller "Joint Security Area" and the so-called "Vengeance Trilogy" in the 2000s, made up of "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," "Oldboy" and "Lady Vengeance."

In recent years, he has also ventured into projects outside of the silver screen, such as the 2018 British spy thriller television series "The Little Drummer Girl" and the 2022 short martial arts fantasy "Life is But a Dream," shot entirely on an iPhone.

The annual event, supported by the luxury brand Gucci and co-chaired by LACMA trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, aims to honor artists who have contributed to the development of modern and visual art. Among the participants this year were the other Korean celebrities including actors Zo In-sung, Park Si-yeon, Jang Dong-gun, Ko So-young and BLACKPINK's Rose.

[Helena]

The 43rd Blue Dragon Film Awards 제43회 청룡영화상 [Nominations]

 

November 25, 2022

 

 

Best Picture Award 최우수작품상:
'Broker | 브로커'
'Kingmaker | 킹메이커'
'Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현'
'HUNT | 헌트'
'Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심'


Director Award 감독상:
Kore-eda Hirokazu 고레에다 히로카즈 (‘Broker | 브로커')


Kim Han-min 김한민 ('Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현')


Park Chan-wook 박찬욱 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')


Byun Sung-hyun 변성현 ('Kingmaker | 킹메이커')


Han Jae-rim 한재림 ('Emergency Declaration | 비상선언’)

New Director Award 신인감독상:
Park Ri-woong 박이웅 ('The Girl on a Bulldozer | 불도저에 탄 소녀')
Lee Sang-yong 이상용 ('The Roundup | 범죄도시2')
Lee Jung-jae 이정재 (‘HUNT | 헌트’)
Jung Ji-yeon 정지연 (‘Anchor | 앵커’)

Jo Eun-ji 조은지 ('Perhaps Love | 장르만 로맨스')

Leading Actor Award 남우주연상:
Park Hae-il 박해일 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')


Seol Kyung-gu 설경구 ('Kingmaker | 킹메이커')


Song Kang-ho 송강호 ('Broker | 브로커')

Lee Byung-hun 이병헌 ('Emergency Declaration | 비상선언')



Jung Woo-sung 정우성 ('HUNT | 헌트')

 
Leading Actress Award 여우주연상:
Park So-dam 박소담 ('Special Cargo | 특송')
Yeom Jung-ah 염정아 ('Life is Beautiful | 인생은 아름다워')
Im Yoon-ah 임윤아 ('Confidential Assignment 2 | 공조2')
Chun Woo-hee 천우희 ('Anchor | 앵커')


Tang Wei 탕웨이 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')


 

Supporting Actor Award 남우조연상:
Go Kyung-pyo 고경표 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')
Daniel Henney 다니엘 헤니 ('Confidential Assignment 2 | 공조2')
Park Ji-hwan 박지환 ('The Roundup | 범죄도시2')


Byun Yo-han 변요한 ('Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현')


Im Si-wan 임시완 ('Emergency Declaration | 비상선언')

 
Supporting Actress Award 여우조연상:
Kim So-jin 김소진 ('Emergency Declaration | 비상선언')
Seo Eun-soo 서은수 (‘The Witch: Part 2. The Other One | 마녀 파트2’)
Oh Na-ra 오나라 ('Perhaps Love | 장르만 로맨스')
Lee Jung-hyun 이정현 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')


Jeon Hye-jin 전혜진 ('HUNT | 헌트')

 

New Actor Award 신인남우상:
Kim Dong-hwi 김동휘 ('In Our Prime | 이상한 나라의 수학자')
Mu Jin-sung 무진성 ('Perhaps Love | 장르만 로맨스')
Seo In-guk 서인국 (‘Project Wolf Hunting | 늑대사냥’)


Ong Seong-wu 옹성우 (‘Life is Beautiful | 인생은 아름다워’)
Lee Seo-jun 이서준 ('Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현')

 
New Actress Award 신인여우상:
Go Youn-jung 고윤정 (‘HUNT | 헌트’)
Kim Shin-young 김신영 ('Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심')
Kim Hye-yoon 김혜윤 ('The Girl on a Bulldozer | 불도저에 탄 소녀')
Shin Si-ah 신시아 (‘The Witch: Part 2. The Other One | 마녀 파트2’)


Lee Ji-eun 아이유 ('Broker | 브로커')

Cinematography and Lighting Award 촬영조명상:
‘Broker | 브로커’
'Kingmaker | 킹메이커' 
'Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현'


'HUNT | 헌트'
'Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심'

Screenplay Award 각본상:
‘Broker | 브로커’
'Kingmaker | 킹메이커' 
'Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현'


'HUNT | 헌트'
'Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심'

 

Music Award 음악상:
‘Broker | 브로커’
'Life is Beautiful | 인생은 아름다워'
'Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현'
'HUNT | 헌트'
'Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심'


Art Direction Award 미술상:
'Life is Beautiful | 인생은 아름다워'
'Kingmaker | 킹메이커'
'Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현'
'HUNT | 헌트'
'Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심'

 


Editing Award 편집상:
'The Roundup | 범죄도시2' 
'Kingmaker | 킹메이커'
'Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현'
'HUNT | 헌트'
'Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심'

Technical Award 기술상:
'The Roundup | 범죄도시2' - Martial Arts
'Emergency Declaration | 비상선언' - VFX
'Alienoid | 외계+인 1부' - VFX


'Hansan: Rising Dragon | 한산: 용의 출현' - VFX
'Decision to Leave | 헤어질 결심' - Costume Design

 

—

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/11/09/entertainment/movies/Korea-Seoul-Kim-Shinyoung/20221109165120588.html
Kim Shin-young nominated for Best New Female Actor at Blue Dragon Film Awards

Spoiler

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr] | November 9, 2022

 

Kim Shin-young during a scene of the film ″Decision To Leave″ which was released earlier this year [CJ ENM]

Comedian Kim Shin-young has been nominated for the Best New Female Actor award at the upcoming Blue Dragon Film Awards.

Kim's nomination follows her work on the silver screen in the supporting role of detective Yeon-su in the film “Decision to Leave,” helmed by Park Chan-wook, released earlier this year. It was her first time acting in a movie.

During her radio show "Noon Song of Hope” on MBC on Wednesday, Kim described her feelings about the nomination as "really funny and surprising."

"I can't believe my name is listed there, next to other actors. I don't know if I will win but I am happy just to have our film mentioned during the awards."  

Kim has been nominated along with actors Go Yoon-jung for "Hunt"; Kim Hye-yoon for "The Girl on a Bulldozer"; Shin Si-ah for "The Witch 2"; and Lee Ji-eun or IU for "Broker" in the Best New Female Actor category.  

Back in May, during an interview with the press, director Park praised Kim's acting, saying that he had “always thought Kim was a born genius and that the movie industry should do whatever it takes to recruit her.” 

Kim debuted as a comedian in 2003 on SBS’s "Gag Concert," best known for her trademark skits where she dressed up as a little boy. She has been hosting “Noon Song of Hope” since 2012. In 2018, Kim became a member of girl group Celeb Five, which debuted with the song “I Wanna Be a Celeb.” The group was at first comprised of four other female comedians — Song Eun-i, Shin Bong-sun, Ahn Young-mi and Kim Young-hee. She is currently hosting Korea’s beloved weekly singing show “National Singing Contest” (1980-) on KBS. 

This year's Blue Dragon Film Awards are slated for Nov. 25.

 

[Helena]

https://www.polygon.com/23445882/decision-to-leave-ending-explained-park-chan-wook-interview
Park Chan-wook explains Decision to Leave’s ‘sacred’ ending and small, crucial details

What’s up with the pockets? The eyedrops? The language barrier? He put a lot of thought into all of it

By Tasha Robinson | Nov 8, 2022, 8:02am EST

Photo: MUBI

Park Chan-wook’s twisty crime drama Decision to Leave is one of the best movies of 2022, and one of the most sophisticated films he’s ever made. It manages to stand out in a career that’s already produced a number of fantastic, memorable movies, from the political drama Joint Security Area to the revenge thriller Oldboy to the incredible period piece The Handmaiden.

But Decision to Leave is also a remarkably subtle film, including in ways English viewers may not fully pick up on. Speaking with Park through a translator after his film played at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, it immediately became clear he’d packed a lot of layered symbolism into the tiny details of the movie, the kinds of things that are hard to pick up, especially on a first viewing — and for non-Korean speakers, maybe impossible to catch at all. Polygon spoke to Park about some of those little character details, and how he intended them to shape the story.

 

Spoiler

In Decision to Leave, married insomniac detective Hae-jun (Park Hae-il, from Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder) investigates Chinese expat Seo-rae (Tang Wei, from Lust, Caution) after her husband dies in what seems like a hiking accident. Hae-jun is a cautious, methodical, melancholy man who obsesses endlessly over his cold cases, and he can’t sleep at night because he thinks too much about all the mysteries he’s never solved.

Seo-rae, a quiet woman who sees right through him, picks up on the dynamic immediately. Hae-jun’s relationship with his wife seems solid and amiable enough, but he quickly starts to fall for Seo-rae. For her part, she doesn’t initially seem like she’s looking to replace her husband, and it isn’t clear until the end of the movie whether she’s manipulating Hae-jun so he’ll clear her of any possible crime or she’s falling for him as well. Park offered a little insight on that ending and other small mysteries that stand out throughout the film.

THE GENRE, THE SEX, AND THE VIOLENCE

Photo: MUBI

One thing that’s surprised some viewers about Decision to Leave is how much this crime story focuses on romance. There’s been some debate over exactly what genre label Decision to Leave falls under — whether it’s more a police procedural, a thriller, a murder mystery, or just a romantic drama with some murder in it.

For Park, though, there isn’t much debate. “This is one of the reasons I reduced the elements of nudity and violence in this film,” he tells Polygon. “In my opinion, most of my prior works have also been romance films, films about love. But people haven’t been able to take it in that way. I think because the nudity and violence was so explicit, so in their face, that that’s all they remember when they walk out of the theater.

“So even when I do make a romance film, people will look at the eroticism rather than the romanticism that was supposed to be conveyed. I wanted to break away from those misjudgments, which is why I tried to get rid of those elements in this film.”

THE LANGUAGE BARRIER

 

Image: MUBI

One major thing about Seo-rae that may not land for non-Korean speakers: She apologizes to everyone she meets for her poor grasp of the language. Sometimes she even speaks Chinese into her phone and has it translate for her. At the same time, the English subtitles mark her as formal and erudite, with nothing suggesting she speaks clumsily. Park says that’s a detail that likely doesn’t land well in translation.

“Seo-rae’s Korean pronunciation is imperfect, but it’s just good enough that a Korean person would be able to understand what she’s saying,” Park says. “When she’s sending a text, she has the most perfect grammar and spelling. By contrast, her second husband has terrible spelling and grammar. When she’s speaking, all her phrases are almost perfect. She actually sounds even more elegant than a modern Korean person, because she learned her Korean through period dramas. She’s like a person trying to learn English through Shakespeare’s writing.”

Park says Korean speakers will likely think Seo-rae sounds “a bit funny,” but that he wanted them to experience a specific process of getting used to her language: “You might be surprised by how it sounds. But the more and more you hear it, you realize that her Korean is more accurate than it sounds, more elegant. So a viewer might end up feeling a bit sorry, or a bit awkward, about having thought her speech was funny earlier.

“There are also instances in the movie where she will use a particular word, but in a strange context. So when someone hears it, they would think it’s wrong at first. The more they hear it, the more they can realize there’s actually a new meaning to that word. All this might be difficult to get through the subtitles, but I’m sure all of you have also had a similar experience with listening to a foreigner trying to speak English, and it doesn’t quite sound correct.”

Decision to Leave has been a hit in Korea, sitting at the top of the box office when it was released earlier in 2022, and ranking in the top 10 all-time Korean box-office hits. But Park says the published screenplay is also a bestseller, which has given more people a chance to study how Seo-rae texts and speaks. “Her classical use of Korean has actually become a new trend,” he says.

THE POCKETS

Photo: MUBI

Hae-jun’s specifically tailored clothing is a peculiar running detail in the film: He’s had his clothes tailored with extra pockets, which he fills with small objects: tissues, packets of antibiotic wipes, and so forth. Both Seo-rae and his wife casually reach into those pockets when they want something, as if he were a walking vending machine. It seems clear Park and co-writer Jeong Seo-kyeong want us to see he’s a meticulous planner who tries to prepare for everything — and the women in his life take advantage of his preparation, a process he accepts passively.

“You’re correct that his pockets are there to express that he’s ready for anything in his life,” Park says. “Because he’s a detective, you might expect that he’d carry a gun within one of these pockets. But the funny thing is that he doesn’t really have a gun. He carries wipes and lip balm. I wanted to express that he’s a generous person who understands everyone around him. He understands why this person does this or that. He’s ready to embrace anything in anyone in his life.”

Park says detectives encounter more “abnormal people in society” than the average citizen, so they need “a wider sense of understanding” of humanity. “You need to be a more embracing person to have that occupation,” he says. “So I wanted to express that he has the right attitude to be a policeman. To add off of that, it is important for a policeman to not have prejudice toward other people. Because if that happens, a policeman might wrongfully suspect someone, based on their looks, or things like that. So that is something I considered very important to have in this character.”

But is there more to it? Park says viewers should pay particular attention to how his wife uses those pockets, as opposed to how Seo-rae does.

“It’s true all the women in his life are taking things out of his pockets, but there’s an important difference between the two women taking things: His wife, despite the fact that she spent a long time with her husband, she doesn’t know what is in which pocket in his jacket. While Seo-rae knows exactly what to get from which pocket.”

THE CHAINMAIL GLOVE

Image: MUBI

At one point in the film, Hae-jun faces a runaway criminal who’s wielding a knife, and the detective carefully pulls out and dons a single chainmail glove, which he uses to defend himself. It’s an odd piece of equipment for a policeman, and non-Korean viewers may wonder: Is a chainmail glove standard police equipment in Korea?

“Not all Korean policeman wear those gloves,” Park says. “But the actor, Park Hae-il, actually has an acquaintance who is a retired policeman, and he advised him that he should keep a glove like that, in case a robber comes into his house or anything dangerous happens. So that’s where that’s from.”

Park says it’s another small character touch meant to emphasize Hae-jun’s pockets and their contents: “Again, it’s to reinforce the image that he’s ready for any situation.”

 

EYES AND EYEDROPS

Viewers may notice a preoccupation with eyes in close-up and with people staring at objects or each other throughout Decision To Leave — a major running theme is the question of who accurately sees what, and who misses what’s in front of their eyes. Hae-jun underlines the themes by repeatedly producing a bottle of eyedrops from his endless pockets, and applying it whenever he’s about to examine a crime scene or an evidence folder. That feels like a metaphor for clearing his vision. But it could just as easily be a sign that he feels strain or drain when he’s dealing with all these crimes, or that his longstanding insomnia leaves him with dry eyes. Which is it?

“I just want to reinforce the point that these aren’t eyedrops because he has an illness,” Park says. “It’s just for when he has foggy vision, so he can see the world more clearly.”

That’s also in keeping with Decision to Leave’s themes about mystery and perspective, and about the difficulty of seeing and understanding other people — even for people as insightful and penetrating as Hae-jun and Seo-rae.

“Throughout the movie, we see a lot of mist,” Park says. “We also notice that people’s clothes are on the borderline between green and blue. There’s a lot of uncertainty visually, which is a theme throughout the movie. It represents how the characters don’t know their own emotions. They’re also unclear about other people’s emotions. They aren’t sure whether Seo-rae is supposed to be a femme fatale who is trying to take advantage of people.”

 

THE SONG ‘MIST’

 

 

Korean viewers are likely to have a lot more feelings associated with the song “Mist,” which recurs several times throughout the movie, including over its end titles. The original 1967 version of the song, recorded by famed folksinger Jung Hoon Hee, is the kind of ubiquitous earworm Park expects everyone in his culture has been exposed to at some point in their lives. In a Q&A after a Decision to Leave screening at Fantastic Fest, Park revealed he also looked for the most famous male cover of the song, with the intention of using it in the film as well. He settled on a version by another well-known singer-songwriter, Song Chang-sik.

But while he originally meant to end the movie with Song’s version over the credits, he decided that didn’t work within the themes he wanted to draw out of the film. “I realized it broke the balance,” he says. “If you end the movie just hearing the male voice, it makes the movie seem like just a sad story of one man who met and lost a woman. I tried hard to keep the balance between them throughout the movie.”

Instead, he asked Song and Jung to return to the studio and record a new duet version of the song, which then became the movie’s official original song release.

English speakers will have a hard time finding an accurate translation of “Mist” online. Park says streaming service Mubi translated the lyrics for the film’s subtitles, and those subtitles “are the most correct English translations available.”

“The story [of Decision to Leave] started from the song ‘Mist,’ Park says. “Specifically within those lyrics, there are the words ‘Open your eyes within the mist.’ So I really focused on those lyrics. I wanted to make a character who is trying really hard to see through the foggy, unclear world.”

That idea returns to Hae-jun and his eyedrops, and his attempts to pierce that fog, but it also underlines the movie’s romantic themes, where Hae-jun and Seo-rae are both clumsily fumbling through their misunderstandings of each other. “It’s about loneliness, about trying to find someone to be with,” Park says. “It’s about trying to find someone to love, despite all the loneliness in your life.”

WHAT DOES THE ENDING OF DECISION TO LEAVE MEAN?

[Ed. note: End spoilers for Decision to Leave ahead.]

The end of the movie is a shocker: Seo-rae chooses to bury herself alive in the wet sand on a rugged coastline as the tide comes in, so she either drowns or suffocates under the sand. She leaves behind a message for Hae-jun that will hint at her “decision to leave,” but not fully explain her plan. The movie ends with him chasing her clues, finding her car, and arriving too late to the scene of her suicide, where he finds no evidence about what she did, or even whether she’s dead.

Astute viewers will realize that in part, Seo-rae kills herself because she fell in love with Hae-jun at the moment where he fell out of love with her — she says as much in her message — but she understands they can never be together, because she’s a murderer. At the same time, she accurately uncovered his obsession with cold cases, and she’s leaving him with a mystery he’ll never be able to unravel — exactly how she died, and what happened to her body. By choosing a form of death that will keep him endlessly guessing, she’s guaranteeing he’ll always remember and obsess over her, the way she obsessed over him.

Park has often said what links his movies in his mind is the theme of responsibility — the way his characters do or don’t take responsibility for their own actions. In this case, Seo-rae’s way of accepting the consequences of her murders is a way of atoning that may leave viewers melancholy or angry, but Park feels it’s a significant choice for her to make either way.

In part, he says, that comes from the difference between accepting responsibility for your choices, and actually acting on that acceptance. “It comes from a deep sense of ethical perspective when someone says, ‘You need to feel a sense of responsibility for something,’” he says. “But it is a completely different topic to take action for what you feel responsibility about. This is something very different and difficult. So just feeling that sense of responsibility versus taking action for something you feel responsibility about — I want to emphasize that taking action is a kind of sacred act.”

“So for instance, if someone had committed a big sin and they cannot find a way for reparation, and they ended up committing suicide — we cannot call this action good, per se. But we can understand and even respect their emotions and thoughts, when they felt this was the only option left for them.

“So the characters in my films, whenever they’re taking responsibility for their actions, it’s not always successful, and it’s not always commendable. You might even say it’s stupid. But I do want to say that this commitment to action itself can be considered sacred.”

Decision to Leave is in theaters now.