Busan, South Korea ¨C 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.
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