Strangely, though he has been on the radar of most American cinephiles since his film “Oldboy” won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004, master South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook has never been nominated for an Oscar, and has only had one of his films submitted for Best International Feature once (shortlisted 2022 film “Decision to Leave”).
There is a good chance that his latest film “No Other Choice” could remedy that, especially listening to how director Park speaks about the film during its press conference in advance of its world premiere at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.
“No Other Choice,” about a dedicated paper company employee played by “Squid Game” actor Lee Byung-hun who finds himself out of work, and willing to go to great lengths to eliminate the competition in the way of a new job, is a film that has been in the works for 20 years yet could not be more relevant to today.
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“Anyone who’s out there trying to make a living in the current modern capitalist society. We all harbor that deep fear of employment insecurity. And I think that the reason I was able to continue to work at this film for 20 years is because any time during those two decades, I would tell the story to people around me, no matter where I went, I told it, no matter what country or culture, they would all relate to the story. And they would always say, well, that’s such a timely story,” he said of the film, which is an adaptation of the 1997 Donald E. Westlake novel “The Ax.”
One point director Park makes that would particularly resonate with Academy members is how the story of “No Other Choice” speaks to his experience as a filmmaker. “I saw many things that we shared with the people who work for the paper company, because one of the things was the way of the attitude toward the occupation itself. Some people might not think what you do isn’t that precious or great, but we really don’t care what other people think,” said the director.
“Another reason why I related too deeply to those that have been fired from the company, and that is because us as filmmakers, after we finish a film, it’s almost like you go into a very long unemployment, where you don’t, you’re not committed to any next project that can be you can stretch for months to years, and that’s something that I have also personally experienced,” he added.
While no public decision has been made yet on which film South Korea will submit for Best International Feature this year, it was clear from how the cast spoke of him that there is enough reverence for director Park in his home country to support “No Other Choice” being the likely choice. “It is probably on every Korean actor’s bucket list, no matter what genre, no matter what story, if you would ask an actor out there if you want to work with director Park, they would say they would be happy to jump on the opportunity without second thought,” said Byung-hun.
The international star, who also voices the villain in “KPop Demon Hunters,” also said that when he first read the “No Other Choice” script, “I thought this has to be probably one of the most commercial films created by director Park Chan-wook. I thought it was extremely intriguing and so fun.”
There lies a big reason why the Neon release has awards potential. Not only is there the sentiment that director Park is past due for an Oscar nomination, black comedy “No Other Choice” manages to stay true to his provocative nature without being as isolating as some of his past work that has been too brutal for voters — or even South Korea’s selection committee.
