If you were to ask me five years ago: “Which Asian director would be the first to win the ‘Best Director’ Oscar?” I would have replied Park Chan-wook, no competition. His body of work is varied, and even if some of his films don’t land with me 100% of the time (like Thirst (2009, my review here), which is still a solid film), he made some of the most astonishing and compelling films (both visually and story-wise) of this century. And I am glad to report Decision to Leave (original title Heojil kyolshim) joined them, and he is only getting better with age.
The fundamental draw of this film is the simple story that gets told in a decisive way. I don’t know how to describe it better, as this film knows what it wants to be, what notes it wants to hit, and it does it every single time. I wouldn’t consider Decision to Leave a twisty crime story because you have a good idea of what’s happening from the beginning. But it takes somebody as talented as Park Chan-wook to make this story into the 139-minute epic it is. Despite the runtime, I was never bored and was always fascinated with our protagonists (brilliant performances by Park Hae-il and Tang Wei) and what their next move would be. Also, the nature of their relationship and the push-and-pull game between those two makes for a fascinating watch.
I have seen many online calling this film “Hitchcockian” in its nature, and I would politely disagree. If we need to compare it to anybody (and I don’t think that’s the case; the movie stands brilliantly on its own, and Park Chan-wook is one of the best directors of the 21st century), it was Brian de Palma who came to my mind. Weirdly, this film reminded me of Blow Out (1981, my review here). Both of these films are straightforward story-wise, but their protagonists are clever people who utilize technology to their advantage. But let me repeat myself, let’s not compare this film or its director to anybody/anything, especially since it has the quality to stand on its own with no problems.
One aspect I didn’t see mentioned anywhere about this film is the utilisation of modern technology and how brilliantly the movie goes about it. I know what you are thinking: “What? A crime film using the latest technology? How groundbreaking indeed!” But the difference between many others and Decision to Leave is the cleverness mixed with believability. They don’t use their smartphones for anything you and I can’t do right now. They use it for translation (as Tang Wei is Chinese, not Korean), voice recording, and taking pictures… I know; it all sounds trivial, but the film makes it look cool. Not only that, but it also makes the movie more believable, as again, they also don’t use any tech nonsense other films do. No “hacking”, no unbelievable apps doing impossible things, just a detective utilising his tools to the best of his abilities. In many other films, it would almost be distracting how often they rely on smartphones, but Park Chan-wook knows his stuff and makes it work seamlessly into the story.
Now, I will attempt my favourite writing “discipline” – talk about the ending without going into spoilers. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say Decision to Leave isn’t about the crime as much as it is about the relationship between the protagonists and their weird affiliation/affection with each other. I called it before “a game of push-and-pull”, and I still stand by it as it describes it perfectly. In the last ten minutes, I knew something would happen; I was trying to guess what, but the film is (purposely) vague I didn’t see it coming until a minute before. And when that ending happened, it managed to hit me. The last few minutes will stay with you for a while, and it’s one of the most poetic (?) endings I have seen in a while. It’s weird, sad and unexpected (again, I knew something would happen, I simply wasn’t expecting that), and it worked, as the film doesn’t end straightaway. Yet again, the brilliance of Park Chan-wook shows here as he knows he needs to allow you to be in this moment for a bit, almost “bathe” in it. And it worked.
Overall, Decision to Leave might not be for everyone, but it hit me correctly. The movie tells a simple story in a very compelling way, it’s visually stunning, and it has an ending that might just hit you in the gut. I know this seems to be a stacked year for directors, but I would love for Park Chan-wook to get at least a nomination for this film because he deserves it. The fact he has yet to be nominated for either directing, writing or producing (I had to triple-check that because I could swear he was nominated at least once) is heresy. I have a tiny hope this film might change that.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke