By Erik Augustin Palm,Web Master
Copyright japantimes
Busan, South Korea – The 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opened Wednesday with Park Chan-wook’s latest feature, “No Other Choice,” fresh from its world premiere in Venice and now making its Asian debut. Unlike the director’s grim thrillers “Oldboy” and “Lady Vengeance,” this new work is a stylized murder-comedy set in South Korea’s paper-mill industry.At an opening day press event, Park explained that while reading Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 horror novel “The Ax,” he recognized its “comedy potential.” The resulting film is a reimagining that takes the story “in a much bolder direction” than the source material.Park’s approach blends cartoonish chaos with real-world anxieties: The protagonist, Man-soo, played by Lee Byung-hun from “Squid Game,” carries out absurd hit jobs to save his family’s home, while subplots hint at shifting economies and elder-care strains.
