As a prominent voice in the Korean New Wave, Park Chan-wook has established himself as a director to look out for. Park's films have gained notoriety around the globe, thanks to their risky and brutal subject material, quirky black humor, and the relentless quality with which Park presents them, using innovative framing and masterful filmmaking. With every new film, he continues to push the boundaries and bring the thrills, so there's naturally a ton of excitement surrounding his projects.
Park received international recognition with his 2003 film Oldboy, which won the Grand Prix prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Oldboy is one of the most popular films to come out of Korea ever and is widely regarded as one of the best psychological thrillers of all time. But even before that, Park had already made the most-watched movie in South Korea of all time as of then, with his second feature Joint Security Area in 2000. As a result, for his next film, he was able to go independent and have complete creative freedom, which led to the first film in the Vengeance trilogy - Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. After that came Oldboy, followed by Lady Vengeance, which caps off the unofficial trilogy. The films solidified Park's place as a master of thrillers worldwide. Since then, Park Chan-wook has made several successful and revered films, including the vampire horror Thirst and the rom-com I'm A Cyborg, But That's okay.
In 2016, Park adapted Sarah Waters' historical crime novel "Fingersmith" for the screen in the form of The Handmaiden. The erotic thriller opened to rave reviews everywhere after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and has gained multiple fans since. Now, the filmmaker is back with a new movie, and this time it is another romantic mystery film called Decision to Leave. The film has already impressed a lot of people at Cannes, where it premiered and competed for the Palme d'Or, and earned Park Chan-wook the best director trophy. The film has also been named South Korea's official entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. If you're wondering where you can watch the new acclaimed thriller from the master, here's all the information you need.
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Is Decision to Leave Streaming Online?
Decision to Leave isn't streaming anywhere online at the moment, but it is set to premiere on the curated streaming service Mubi, which bought the rights for the film at Cannes. However, Mubi is yet to announce a date for when it will be available on the streamer, though we do know the movie will arrive on the service sometime in 2022.
Is Decision to Leave Coming to Movie Theaters?
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2022, where it was a tremendous success. As mentioned above, the film was nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or and Park Chan-wook took home the best director award. The film was also screened at this year's Jerusalem Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival, among others, garnering great reactions there too. Mubi will release the film domestically in the US on October 14, 2022, in theaters across the country. The movie was released in South Korea on June 29, 2022, and it has since become one of the highest-grossing movies of the year in the country.
What Is Decision to Leave About?
Details about Decision to Leave's plot have been kept tightly under wraps. There's always a lot of curiosity surrounding Park Chan-wook's films, and the filmmaker is known for the twists and turns in his films, so it is perhaps best to go into his films without knowing too much about them.
That said we do have an official plot synopsis for Decision to Leave, which reads as follows:
Kind and polite detective Haejun is entrusted with a case of unnatural death in the mountains. While investigating the case, he meets Seorae, the dead victim's wife, and can't help but both suspect and develop an interest in her.
Watch the Official Trailer for Decision to Leave
The official trailer for Decision to Leave on Mubi's YouTube channel showcases the film's delicious cinematography and stylish filmmaking, characteristic of Park Chan-wook, while also introducing us to the characters and the basic setup for the murder mystery plot. The trailer promises a wild thrill ride with a quirky romance and great performances, all supported by breathtaking visuals.
How Is the Critical Reception of Decision to Leave?
Decision to Leave currently holds a 90% fresh rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 52 reviews, and has received almost unanimous praise from all the festivals it has premiered in so far. Ross Bonaime, reviewing the film for Collider, calls it a "darkly funny and expectedly beautiful film." Check out this excerpt from the review for a better idea:
Decision to Leave constantly adds layers to this already twisty and convoluted story, yet it never becomes overwhelmed by the weight of these additions. A shift in the second half of the film recontextualizes aspects of the first half, making us reconsider story beats that we were already still turning around in our heads. But in this shift, Chan-wook’s story becomes even more heightened and exciting, as another murder finds parallels with the first one, and the love story between Hae-joon and Seo-rae grows even stronger. Over the course of Decision to Leave Chan-wook continuously elevates what we’re watching, and the film never becomes too much to handle.
More Essential Korean Thrillers You Can Watch Right Now
Parasite: The Academy Award-winning film from Bong Joon-Ho broke boundaries as it became the first foreign language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture, after also winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival earlier. As much a social drama as a thriller, Parasite tackles the class divide in Korea's society in a smart, unique, and fun way. A poor Korean family slowly creeps their way into the house of a wealthy family, in various roles from cook to driver, by lying about being related to each other, and what follows is a thrilling allegory for the divide between the poor and the rich.
Burning: Adapted from Haruki Murakami's short story, this slow-burn thriller from legendary Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong is a beautiful look at the evil in our hearts, and was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Powered by three great performances, the film slowly builds our main characters and their outlooks on life, so when something goes wrong, you can feel the suspense in your bones with every second passing on screen. The film takes its time, reveling in its beautiful and moody cinematography, and brings a truly poetic tone to the genre of thriller films.
I Saw The Devil: Lee Byung-hun from Joint Security Area and Choi Min-sik from Oldboy, star in this action thriller about the cat-and-mouse chase between a NIS agent and a serial killer. Directed by Kim Jee-woon, the film follows a NIS agent who's out to seek vengeance after his wife gets brutally murdered by a psychotic killer on the run. What follows is a classic tale filled with twists and turns that is sure to grip you all the way through. I Saw The Devil first made its premiere in the US at the Sundance Film Festival.