Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
Auteur Park Chan-wook proves Korean cinema's global appeal again
Director Park Chan-wook poses on stage after notching the Best Director award for his romance noir “Decision to Leave” during the closing ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, Saturday. EPA-Yonhap
By Park Han-sol
Park becomes 2nd Korean filmmaker to clinch Best Director at Cannes
By Park Han-sol
Six years after the erotic psychological thriller “The Handmaiden” with a feminist edge premiered at Cannes Film Festival in France, filmmaker Park Chan-wook has returned with the romance noir “Decision to Leave” that earned him the Best Director prize on Saturday (local time).
With his latest win, he became the second Korean auteur ever to clinch the honor at Cannes, after Im Kwon-taek for the 2002 historical drama “Chihwaseon.”
This also marks the director's third prize awarded at the prestigious film festival, following the Grand Prix for the 2003 neo-noir thriller “Oldboy” and the Jury Prize for the 2009 horror drama “Thirst.”
During his acceptance speech in the Grand Lumiere Theater at the awards ceremony for the 75th edition of the festival, the 58-year-old highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a universal source of fear and anxiety for the last two years, also became an opportunity for the world to realize the importance and value of cinema.
“The film industry was suddenly met with an era marked by empty theaters. But this was also a chance for all of us to recognize how precious these movie houses are,” he said. “Just like how we have hope and power to overcome this disease, I believe that we cineastes can defend theaters and films for good.”
He went on to express gratitude to his two main actors, Park Hae-il and Tang Wei, adding, “Above all things, my love for the two is indescribable.”
Director Park Chan-wook, center, poses with his leading actors ― Tang Wei, left, and Park Hae-il ― at the screening of “Decision to Leave” at the Cannes Film Festival, May 23. Reuters-Yonhap
“Decision to Leave,” starring Park as Hae-joon and Tang as Seo-rae, follows an insomniac Korean police detective on a chase after an enigmatic and mesmerizing widow ― a Chinese immigrant who is suspected of murdering her husband.
The film is born from the marriage of filmmaker Park's two longtime interests ― fictional police detective Martin Beck from the 10-part Swedish novel series “The Story of a Crime,” written by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, and the 1967 Korean pop song “Mist.”
“I wanted to make a crime movie featuring a thoughtful and polite detective as the main character (like Beck). And I also wished to create a romance flick using the classic Korean pop song, 'Mist.' The film you watched is a combination of the two,” he said during a press conference held after the festival's closing ceremony.
On the historic, simultaneous wins of two Korean films ― “Decision to Leave” and Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's Korean debut “Broker” for Best Actor ― at Cannes this year, Park added that such cinematic collaborations taking place in East Asia are meaningful.
“While my film stars Chinese actress Tang, 'Broker' (with an all-Korean cast and dialogue) is directed and written by a Japanese filmmaker,” he said. “It's meaningful that such exchanges of human resources and capital are taking place in Asia … And I feel proud to see that Korea can be at the center of that.”
A scene from Park's neo-noir thriller “Oldboy” (2003) / Courtesy of Show East
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. These include the 2000 mystery thriller “Joint Security Area” and the so-called “The 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.
A scene from Park's psychological thriller "The Handmaiden" (2016) / Courtesy of CJ ENM