1

Korean auteur Park Chan-wook said he was “especially thrilled” that his new film No Other Choice has been selected as the opening title of the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

At a press conference for the opener held at the Busan Cinema Center’s mid-size theater on September 17, Park said, “It’s my first time bringing a film as BIFF’s opening selection, so I’m even more excited. I’m deeply moved to unveil a project I’ve prepared for so long here at home.”

He added, “I’ve shot at least some scenes of almost all my films in Busan. I love the city so much that I often came down—even while writing—to spend time here.” Noting that several scenes of the new work were also filmed in Busan, he explained his creative impulse: “I wanted to dig into the grand paradox of how a pure motive—protecting one’s family and continuing in a beloved profession—can lead to moral decay.”

Before its BIFF bow, No Other Choice screened in competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival and won the People’s Choice Award at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows “Man-su” (Lee Byung-hun), a man laid off from a paper company who sets off a chain of misadventures in a bid to get rehired.

On weaving in comedy and distinctly Korean circumstances while reinterpreting Donald Westlake’s novel The Ax, Park said, “Two things gripped me: the comic possibilities, and what would happen once the family started to catch on to what Man-su was doing. I tried to portray, with particular care, his fixation on home and the limits and follies he faces in a patriarchal social custom. I think Korean audiences, more than any others, will understand, empathize—and click their tongues—while watching.”

Lee Byung-hun remarked, “Just as paper use is declining and the paper industry is struggling in the film, cinema and theaters are having a hard time. Whether theaters can overcome this and again become places beloved by audiences is something every filmmaker is thinking about.” Son Ye-jin, who plays Man-su’s wife Mi-ri, added, “I do worry about how often and how long I’ll be able to keep making films as an actor. I’ll do my utmost, in my place, so the industry can move in a better direction.”