Original Korean and Mandarin version
at Cinéma du Parc and Cineplex Forum (with English subtitles),
Cinema Beaubien, Cinema Cinéma du Musée, Cinémathèque Québécoise
and Cinema Le Clap Ste-Foy (with French subtitles)
At Cannes 2022, Park Chan-wook won Best Director for Decision to Leave
(Décision de partir / Heojil kyolshim), a romantic thriller about an ace cop who
falls for a murder suspect. The film played as a Special Presentation at TIFF
2022 and is also South Korea’s 2023 Oscar entry for Best International Film.
Hae-Joon (Park Hae-il) and his wife live apart on weekdays, he working in
Busan, and she in the seaside town of Ipo. When Hae-Joon is sent to investigate
the death of a man who fell from a mountaintop, he finds himself drawn to
Seo-rae (Tang Wei), the man’s Chinese widow who is beautiful, mysterious and
seemingly un-sad about her older husband’s passing. The chemistry between
the two is undeniable, with Hae-Joon – a serial insomniac – now even able
to get some sleep. But Hae-Joon’s judgement begins to cloud. Is Seo-rae
playing him or not? The story takes many twists, moving from Busan to Ipo.
Beautifully shot (views from above, reflection in mirrors), the film is directed
by Park (Oldboy, The Handmaiden) and co-written with Chung Seo-kyung.
It was inspired by “The Mist,” a Korean song that reoccurs in the film.
