Acclaimed South Korean director Park Chan-wook made a triumphant return after 20 years to the Venice Film Festival, where he was greeted with a six-minute standing ovation for the twisted black comedy “No Other Choice.”
Audiences were clearly thrilled to see Park and his leading man, “Squid Game” star Lee Byung-hun, who were welcomed into the Sala Grande Theater with an enthusiastic round of applause before the film even began. Although the Friday night premiere started 30 minutes behind schedule — Luca Guadagnino’s #MeToo drama “After the Hunt” debuted earlier in the evening in the same venue and ran late — the crowd at “No Other Choice” remained lively throughout the 2-hour and 19-minute runtime.
Adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s mystery novel “The Ax,” the story follows a middle-aged man named Man-soo (Lee) who goes to desperate lengths to gain employment after being unexpectedly fired from the paper company he worked at for 25 years. Man-soo’s increasingly certifiable attempts lead to some wild on-screen moments, causing the audience to erupt in laughter… and gasp in horror at some of the crazier sequences. No spoilers, but those audible responses were prompted by copious amounts of blood and dirt and a stomach-squelching scene involving pliers.
As the credits stopped rolling around 12:30 a.m., Park soaked in the lengthy standing ovation and kept the cheers going as he waved to the room and hugged each actor in the film. The ensemble cast, most of whom were at the premiere, includes Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon and Lee Sung-min. After six minutes of clapping and hollering, the crowd quieted down and started to trickle out of the venue until someone shouted “Bravo!” and sparked another, briefer round of applause.
Park, a luminary of Korean cinema, is famous for writing and directing “Oldboy,” “Thirst” and “The Handmaiden,” as well as producing “Snowpiercer.” He recently generated headlines because he and his writing partner Don McKellar were kicked out of the Writers Guild of America for violating union rules that forbade working during the union’s 2023 strike. Park has denied the claims that he wrote on the HBO show “The Sympathizer” while the industry was pencils-down. Park last appeared in competition at Venice with 2005’s “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.” Earlier on Friday at the film’s official press conference, Park explained the reason it took 20 years for him to return to the Lido.
“There’s a very short answer, one word in fact,” Park quipped. “That’s ‘money.’”
Although he labored for two decades to get the proper budget to make “No Other Choice,” Park said he knew the film’s themes would remain relevant.
“We all harbor that deep fear of employment and security,” Park said through an interpreter. “I was able to work on this film for 20 years because no matter who I told over the two decades, they’d always relate and say, ‘It’s such a timely story.’ That gave me the confidence to know it’s a film that will eventually get made.”
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