Decision to Leave (Heojil kyolshim)

South Korea, 2022, 138'
Directed by: Park Chan-wook

Cankarjev dom Cinema Decision to Leave (Heojil kyolshim)

Screenplay:
Park Chan-wook, Seo-kyeong Jeong
Cinematography: Kim Ji-yong
Music: Cho Young-wuk
Cast: Tang Wei (Seo-rae), Park Hae-il (Hae-jun), Go Kyung-Pyo (Soo-wan), Lee Jung-hyun, Jeong Min Park, Teo Yoo (Lee Joo Im), Jung Yi-seo, Hak-joo Lee, Seo Hyun-woo, Yong-woo Park (Ho-shin), Seung-mok Yoo, Jeong Ha-dam, Yeong-suk Jeong

The latest offering from Park Chan-wook, one of South Korea’s most prominent filmmakers, pays a tribute to the legacy of film noir. Best Director Award at Cannes 2022.

A man falls from a mountain peak to his death. The detective in charge, Hae-joon, comes to meet the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. Seo-rae does not show any signs of agitation at her husband’s death. With her behaviour so unlike that of a grieving relative, the police consider her a suspect. Hae-joon interrogates Seo-rae, and while observing her on stakeout, feels himself slowly developing an interest in her. Meanwhile the difficult-to-read Seo-rae, despite being suspected of a crime, acts boldly towards Hae-joon. A suspect who is hiding her true feelings. A detective who suspects and desires his suspect.

Decision to Leave is a story for adults. It’s a love story, and also a detective drama. But what I really want to emphasize is that it’s a story about loss, that anyone will be able to relate to. Rather than treat it as a solid tragedy, I tried to express it with subtlety, elegance and humor.
Park Chan-wook

About director
Born in 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. An ardent cinephile, Park juggled film directing and criticism in the 1990s before his commercial breakthrough, Joint Security Area, which broke local box-office records. However, it was his follow-up, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, that formulated Park’s intense, signature cinematic style. Winner of the Cannes Grand Prix for Oldboy and the Jury Prize for Thirst, Park-Chan Wook stands at the forefront of Korean cinema renaissance.