Tag: Decision To Leave

[EXPRESSO] No Other Choice (2025) | Canis Canem Edit

After Decision To Leave, Park Chan-Wook is back with a satirical black comedy, No Other Choice.

Based on the novel The Ax By Donald Westlake, the film sees Man-su, a paper industry expert with a 25 years sterling career, paper being his profession but also providing for his family wealth and being part of his identity…. being laid off without notice.

As his life falls apart and the sudden firing theathens to kill off not only his hobby greenhouse, but his family’s passions, even their future career (with the daughter being a budding violin master to be), as they have to even send away their two dogs to make due, Man-su decides to start killing off his competition in the hope he well get his job in the industry back and maintain his way of life.

Man-su also isn’t particularly cut off to be a killer, but is desperate enough to try and do anything it takes, which often involves being caught in odd or embarassing situations, or worse, being very understanding of other fellows in the paper industry biz it’s trying to kill as he’s got (like many characters say in the film itself) “no other choice”.

As expected of Park Chan-Wook, it’s a very brutal, humane yet relentless film, this time picturing a normal man who is chewed up and then spat out by the corporation that gave him a fairly wealthy lifestyle, and then takes extreme measures as his status quo falls apart, ready to do anything to win the corpo rat race, feeling more than pressured to be what he wants and wants other to think he is, as comformity and optics are king.

Very clever and also pretty damn funny, honestly might be one of Park Chan Wook’ bests, maybe even a masterpiece, it’s excellent.

[EXPRESSO] Decision To Leave (2022) | Mountain Malaise

Let’s celebrate San Valentine’s day by talking about the new opus by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker, The Handmaiden), which has earned rave reviews, after the award for best direction at the 75th Cannes festival last year.

So, the short version of it it’s that Decision To Leave it’s freaking amazing, fantastic, well deserving of the glowing reviews that it got, and that’s the movie you should bring your Valentine date to see, instead of the 4K 3D remaster of Titanic that been re-released in theathers, being that movie’s 25th anniversary and whatnot.

The longer version is as follows.

Decision To Leave it’s about detective Hae-Jun, investigating the mysterious death of a man, apparently occurred while he was climbing a mountain-side.

He soon meets the deceased man’s wife, Seo-rae, a woman of chinese descent and mysterious enough to become the principal suspect in the investigation, especially since she doesn’t seem very afflicted by her husband’s death.

As he keeps digging deeper into the case, by interrogating and learning more about her, Hae-Jun, finds himself fatally obsessed with the widow, making him both scared and enraputed by Seo-rae, to the point he starts mixing his forbidden affair and his duties as detective, swallowed up by a storm of conflicting emotions that impact his investigation and integrity as a police officer.

It may not sound too original, understandibly so, but make no mistake, this a top notch police thriller romance drama, through and through: the investigations are intriguing, the characters are complex, compelling and “perfectly flawed”, the drama it’s excellent, the romance is great as well, and overall direction it’s enthralling to say the least, making for a slightly long watch where nothing feels amiss nor you ever feel like some editing was “needed”.

Absolutely a must watch, just go see it already.