[INTERVIEW] Park Chan-wook says 'Decision to Leave' is sexy without sex scenes

Filmmaker Park Chan-wook / Courtesy of CJ ENM

Cannes-winning director defies cliches, stereotypes in new film

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Since his breakout with "Oldboy," (2003) which won the Grand Pix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, director Park Chan-wook rose quickly to become the face of Korean cinema on the international scene.

From "Joint Security Area" (2000) to "The Handmaiden" (2017), Park's work has encompassed dark humor and heart through insightful storytelling. Known for his distinct visual style and extreme violence, Park has developed a personal signature across his filmography.

Due to his unique cinematic vision, Park has been nominated many times for and swept awards at various international film festivals, and his recognition at Cannes earned him the nickname "Cannes Park" in Korea.

At Cannes, Park also won the Jury Prize with his vampire horror drama film "Thirst" in 2009 and took home the Best Director award this year for his latest film "Decision to Leave," totaling three awards.

"Decision to Leave," starring Park Hae-il as Hae-joon and Tang Wei as Seo-rae, follows an insomniac Korean police detective chasing after an enigmatic and mesmerizing widow, a Chinese immigrant, who is suspected of pushing her husband off a cliff.

Park's new film is unlike any other cop-suspect romance film that depicts a femme fatale who seduces a police detective.

"To avoid cliches, I multilayered the plot. After Hae-joon switches districts and moves to the coast, where his wife works at a nuclear plant, there are plenty of melodramatic twists and turns to the seemingly predictable plot. Seo-rae's feelings for the detective become unambiguous in the second half of the film," he said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.

A scene from the film "Decision to Leave," for which director Park Chan-wook received the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival in May / Courtesy of CJ ENM

He also discussed creating original characters that defy stereotypes. "The male protagonist is a policeman, but not like the ones we're used to seeing. He's meticulous and tidy and carries personal items in suits tailored to have 12 pockets in his jacket and six in his pants. The female protagonist, a murder suspect, has dignity and a direct manner," he said.

The tension between the two leads is depicted in a sophisticated and refined manner as it excludes provocative sex scenes.

"I wanted to make something classically refined where the characters' emotions are swirling internally, but on the outside they are quiet. The story's emphasis is on adult romance, dealing with mature relationships. As we get older, it becomes harder to express our feelings due to given situations and circumstances," he explained.

The "auteur" said he had Tang and Park in mind when writing the script.

"Even before finishing the script, I met up with Tang and offered her the role. Tang's personality traits, which I observed when meeting her, were reflected in the rewriting of the script. I did the same thing with Park," he said.

He praised the Chinese actress' passion to learn Korean. "She was quite stubborn about learning Korean step-by-step in order to catch the nuances of her lines. She didn't just try to memorize the lines fast. She truly understood the meaning of the lines," he said.

The two leads have smoldering chemistry on screen. Park conveys Hae-jun's moral dilemma between his sense of duty as a detective and the ungovernable forces of his heart, while Tang keeps the audience guessing about her character until the film's ending.

Actors Tang Wei, left, and Park Hae-il in a scene from the film "Decision to Leave" / Courtesy of CJ ENM

Like other filmmakers of his generation, Park's earliest work centered on men: bad, delusional characters prone to misunderstanding. His more recent films, however, moved toward the perspectives of women.

Films like "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (2005), "Thirst" (2009) and "The Handmaiden" showcased funny, violent and even frightening characters that carry complexity.

"I don't put extra effort when it comes to creating female characters. Regardless of gender, age or ethnicity, I try my best to develop original characters that are somehow relatable," he said.

Unlike his previous R-rated films, which included steamy or brutal scenes, "Decision to Leave" is rated PG 15. The two characters develop a platonic relationship, but any eroticism is also shown without nudity or sex scenes.

For instance, there is a certain warmness and intimacy in the way they look into each other's eyes and when Hae-jun applies lotion on Seo-rae's hands. The music and intense colors add up to the eroticism presented in the film.

"Many say this is a sexy film without sex. I think this kind of reaction shows that eroticism, concerning the nature of the film and the protagonists' relationship, is often psychological. It's the mood and emotional intimacy rather than physical acts that move people's hearts and make the film seductive," he said.

Park also shared the meaning behind the movie title, "Decision to Leave."

"I came up with the title after talking to screenwriter Jeong Seo-kyeong, with whom I wrote the film. Deciding on something almost never results in an action. Implementing decisions often lead to failure. We thought it describes how Seo-rae's decision to leave Hae-jun fails perfectly," he said.

His next project is the HBO series adaptation "The Sympathizer," starring Robert Downey Jr.

"Decision to Leave" hit local theaters on Wednesday.