Director Park Chan-wook's latest darkly comic thriller "No Other Choice" officially opened the 30th Busan International Film Festival, marking the acclaimed filmmaker's first time serving as an opening film director. The movie, which won the international audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival after its world premiere in Venice, explores themes of corporate desperation and survival through Park's signature cinematic style.
At a press conference held at Busan Cinema Center on Wednesday, Park Chan-wook appeared alongside his star-studded cast including Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Yeom Hye-ran, and Lee Sung-min. "The personal and the social – they're completely intertwined, pointing both outward and inward," Park explained when describing the complex themes driving his new film. Both the director and lead actor Lee Byung-hun admitted to feeling nervous about the milestone, with Lee noting, "Never happened for me either. So yeah, I'm genuinely nervous."
Adapted from Donald Westlake's 1997 novel "The Ax," the film follows Man-su, a laid-off manager at a paper company who takes extreme measures by eliminating potential competitors for a coveted position. However, Park has transformed what could have been a simple critique of capitalism into something more profound. The director uses paper manufacturing as a metaphor for the film industry itself, with both industries facing obsolescence due to digital disruption and populated by middle-aged professionals clinging to outdated skills.
"Viewers will project their own narratives onto this," Park explained during the press conference. "But as a filmmaker, I know some dismiss movies as mere entertainment, offering no practical help. But there are those of us who stake everything on this work. Despite knowing nothing about paper manufacturing, I recognized that obsession immediately." Lee Byung-hun drew direct parallels to their industry's struggles, stating, "People keep asking about parallels to our dying industry. Sure, film has problems, but the real crisis is in the theaters. How do we get audiences back into those spaces? That's the question haunting every one of us."
The threat of artificial intelligence and technological replacement became a central topic of discussion. Park revealed that he added an AI-automated factory scene so late in post-production that even the cast hadn't seen it before the screening. Lee Sung-min reflected on this modern anxiety, saying, "AI is coming for actors too. That existential fear of replaceability permeates everything now. That's the film's real message – we're all potentially disposable."
Beyond its thematic depth, "No Other Choice" showcases Park Chan-wook's masterful visual storytelling techniques. His camera work becomes a character itself, lunging forward when audiences expect stillness and pulling back during moments of confrontation. The director creates momentum that mirrors the protagonist's psychological unraveling, while violence arrives with his trademark precision – both beautiful and brutal. Desire simmers through voyeuristic frames that make viewers complicit in the action.
Lee Byung-hun described the challenging experience of working under Park's detailed direction: "Every scene contained maybe 10 layers of physical business beneath the dialogue. I'd deliver monologues while dodging reflected sunlight, nursing a toothache, suppressing leg tremors – all simultaneously. Exhausting, but this is why you work with Park Chan-wook." Park Hee-soon added insight into the director's working style, noting, "Between takes he'd wander off, photographing random objects, seemingly relaxed. Then he'd return demanding something completely different – each take accumulating into something neither of us anticipated."
Son Ye-jin's performance as Mi-ri provides crucial balance to the film's increasingly intense atmosphere. "I approached her as the sole realist in this chaos," she explained. "While everyone spirals toward extremity, Mi-ri maintains almost disturbing optimism. Her pragmatism becomes its own survival mechanism." The actress's grounded portrayal serves as an anchor amid the film's baroque flights of imagination.
One of the movie's most memorable sequences features a violent confrontation set to the Korean pop classic "Red Dragonfly." Yeom Hye-ran revealed how this scene evolved through controlled improvisation: "We had perfect storyboards, but Park kept adding layers. Lee Byung-hun and Lee Sung-min threw out suggestions, transforming a simple scene into elaborately choreographed chaos." This collaborative approach demonstrates Park's ability to blend meticulous planning with spontaneous creativity.
The cast expressed genuine affection for Busan, where portions of the film were shot. Lee Byung-hun observed, "Those hillside neighborhoods look almost Mediterranean – houses stacked impossibly up slopes in wild colors, simultaneously exotic and familiar." The city's unique landscape adds another layer of visual richness to Park's already complex cinematic tapestry.
Park Chan-wook emphasized the universal relevance of the source material, explaining, "Some materials demand immediate adaptation, but 'The Ax' proved timeless. The gap between 1990s America and today's Korea is negligible. Every generation faces this same fundamental anxiety – the fear of being cast aside, of becoming irrelevant." This timeless quality helps explain why the story resonates across different cultures and decades.
As the press conference concluded, Lee Byung-hun made an urgent plea to potential viewers: "This demands theatrical viewing. The details, scale, how sound and image interconnect – only theaters can properly deliver what we've created." His words echo the film's own themes about the importance of preserving traditional craftsmanship and shared cultural experiences in an increasingly digital world.
