Park Chan-wook hopes viewers reflect on how often they say ‘no other choice’
Director Park Chan-wook poses on the red carpet for the film "No Other Choice" during the 82nd Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Friday. AP-Yonhap
Park says 20 years of planning led him to shift from US to Korean production
VENICE, Italy — Director Park Chan-wook returned to the Venice International Film Festival for the first time in 20 years with his new film “No Other Choice,” which drew a nine-minute standing ovation following its world premiere on Friday.
The black comedy follows middle-aged Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun), who is laid off after 25 years at a paper company. Facing humiliation in temporary jobs and rejection from potential employers due to age, he begins to believe that eliminating competitors is the only way to get rehired. His awkward yet bold attempts set off a chain of grimly comic events.
His new film premiered the previous night in the competition section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. It marked his first time walking the festival’s red carpet in 20 years, since presenting “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” in 2005.
“No Other Choice” is based on American writer Donald Westlake’s 1997 novel “The Axe,” which was previously adapted into the 2005 film “The Axe: An Absurdly Dangerous Guide to Employment” by Greek filmmaker Costa-Gavras. Park first encountered the novel in 2005 and has pursued a film adaptation ever since.
In an interview with the Hankook Ilbo on at a hotel on Venice’s Lido island on Saturday, Park recalled the long and winding road to bringing the story to screen.
“I had to work with Michele Ray-Gavras (the wife of director Costa-Gavras) who held the rights to the novel,” he said.
“She even put in her own money to push the project forward, but securing investors proved difficult and production kept being delayed. At one point she suggested, ‘Why not try making it in Korea?’ But I refused. I had spent years pursuing it as an American film, and my reaction was, ‘Why on earth would I make it in Korea?’”
His perspective shifted years later while working on “Decision to Leave" (2022). “That was when I seriously started asking myself, is this really a story that cannot be transplanted to Korea? And the answer was, yes, it can,” he said.
In the two decades since he first considered the adaptation, the world had changed. “Smartphones appeared, AI (artificial intelligence) became dominant and automated paper mills became so modernized they now look almost like something out of science fiction,” he said. “Because of that, the film turned out funnier than I originally imagined.”
Director Park Chan-wook poses on the red carpet for the film "No Other Choice" during the 82nd Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Friday. AP-Yonhap
Korean context, universal themes
While addressing global themes of layoffs and family collapse, “No Other Choice” highlights struggles familiar to Korean audiences: middle-aged workers facing discrimination in rehiring, the financial burden of children’s education and the indignities of gig labor.
Park weaves humor into the darkness, with Man-soo’s clumsy crimes provoking laughter and wordplay like “the test sheet” symbolizing his trials. Characters frequently repeat the phrase “no other choice” as an excuse, whether for layoffs, betrayals or even murder.
“Every character has an alibi or an excuse. I hope viewers realize how often they say ‘no other choice’ in daily life,” Park said, adding that he deliberately removed spaces in the Korean title to emphasize its everyday use as a throwaway phrase.
As in his past works, Park’s meticulous visual style is evident, from layered close-ups of faces to precisely arranged compositions of people and objects.
“I value accuracy and thoroughness in depicting characters and stories. Beautiful images follow naturally from that process,” he said.
The premiere at Venice’s Sala Grande theater ended with sustained applause and a standing ovation, signaling strong early reception for one of Korea’s most acclaimed directors.
The film "No Other Choice" follows Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun) as he tries to secure reemployment by eliminating potential rivals. Courtesy of CJ ENM
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.