Warning: This article contains spoilers forDecision to LeaveandOldboy.
Murder begets romance inDecision to Leave, acclaimed directorPark Chan-wooktwisty new mystery.
The enigmatic widow, Seo-rae (a magnetic Tang Wei), becomes prime suspect No.
Tang Wei and Park Hae-il in ‘Decision to Leave’.Mubi
1 when she fails to show outward signs of grief while questioned by police.
(A moment of laughter during her interrogation also doesn’t help.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This is your first feature in six years.
Park Hae-il and.Mubi
A detective falling in love with a suspect is a classic film trope.
Why did you want to explore this particular storyline?
In that case, the audience has more opportunities to focus on the details.
Tang Wei in ‘Decision to Leave’.Mubi
you’re free to jump right into the emotions of the story.
I can’t really think of one at the top of my head.
It’s a soundtrack that was specifically made for the movie.
Park Hae-il and Tang Wei in Park Chan-wook’s ‘Decision to Leave’.Mubi
So obviously, I watched that film as well.
And in that film, there is also a love story that takes place in a mist-filled city.
Can you tell me more about how you crafted this conclusion?
There’s this man, and he digs a hole and he goes inside.
And it looks like nothing happened.
So he leaves no trace of himself, and basically evaporates from the world.
The story doesn’t really explain why he committed this particular form of suicide.
And I never got to film this story.
I forgot about the idea for a while.
Seo-rae must forever remain an unresolved case to Hae-joon.
This might come off as a cruel kind of emotion, but it was her emotion.
So she has to find a way where she can disappear without a trace.
We are borrowing the power of the ocean.
It’s also a method of patience.
It’s a method of waiting and accepting one’s fate.
This was the only ending, yeah.
But there was a time where I brainstormed an epilogue.
I felt like the balance wasn’t quite right.
So I thought of an epilogue where Hae-joon was completely destroyed.
He lost his work as a policeman that he took so much pride in.
What were you hoping to convey with this ending?
That’s how I want the audience to think of the ending.
Looking back at your past work, you’re truly a master of layering plot twists.
Out of all of your films, which has been your favorite to craft and why?
Oldboy.It was adapted from a Japanese manga.
But I couldn’t think of the right one.
So I returned and I described everything to my producer.
It really remains a very happy memory for me.
But a lot of the details I have reworked, and there is a lot more black comedy.
What kind of conversations did you have with Viet and star Robert about bringing this to the screen?
For the author, Viet, we are around the same age.
So we had a lot to talk about.
Why do you think it resonates so much these days?
I think it’s because Korean people are so emotionally expressive.
There’s a wide dynamic range or spectrum of the emotions that they have.
So in their cultural products, they really want to experience all of these different emotions.
So you might say in a way, a tragedy has turned into a blessing.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.Decision to Leavehits theaters today.
