The South Korean entertainment industry has taken the international scene by storm, from its pop music acts up to award-winning shows and features, including Parasite and Squid Game. Now, adding to the country's plethora of successful films, comes Park Chan-wook's mystery romance film, Decision to Leave, starring Tang Wei as the woman whom Park Hae-il's character suspects of murder. The director spoke to Variety about what inspired him to take the noir genre route, as well as the reasons behind his decision to add a romance narrative to his extensive line of violence-filled works.
Shining at the forefront of the country's modern feature scene, Park boasts quite an impressive portfolio that explores the cinema's darkest side, with Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Lady Vengeance, and The Handmaiden, all of which have received critical acclaim and favorable reviews. With his latest feature, Decision to Leave—though it was heavily considered a neo-noir film—the director explained that he didn't initially want to go down that path: “To be honest with you, I didn’t start off trying to make a modern portrayal of the noir genre, but rather I wanted to start off from that genre and then move beyond it."
Park has always incorporated romance into his films, but viewers can easily overlook this due to the violent nature of his work. So, with Decision to Leave, the South Korean filmmaker chose to tone it down a notch. “Before making this movie, I thought to myself, if I tell everybody that I’m making another love story, would they laugh at me?” Park also told Variety, adding that he brought it on himself because the love story in his films has often been overshadowed by the violence and sex he incorporates into them. He then continued: “So I realized I had to get rid of that veil in order for people to see the romance story that rests inside. I had to tone down the violence and nudity that takes over people’s [views] of my films. And that’s when people will finally be able to see the romance story within.”
Decision to Leave follows detective Hae-joon as he becomes entangled "in a web of deception and desire" as he investigates Seo-rae, a lady whom he accuses of killing her own husband. It is still unknown whether her husband's abrupt death from a fall on a hilltop was an accident, a suicide, or a murder, even though the widow appears to be innocent. The film has received significant international awards, including the Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Film, the Grand Bell Award for Best Film, and the Grand Bell Award for Best Original Screenplay. It also earned the director the Cannes Best Director Award and the Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Director. In addition, the film's cast members also acquired accolades, with the lead actors winning the Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively.
The film's cast members also include Lee Jung-hyun, Park Yong-woo, Go Kyung-pyo, and Jung Yi-Seo, and it is co-written by Thirst screenwriter, Jeong Seo-Gyeong. Decision to Leave is now available to stream exclusively on MUBI. You can watch the trailer below.