DECISION TO LEAVE

Director: Park Chan-wook

2022, South Korea, 138min., NR (PG-13)

Language: Korean w/ English subtitles

Cast: Tang Wei, Park Hae-il

 

In a romantic/thriller/mystery that has Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo in its DNA. Hae-jun, an insomniac detective played by Park Hae-il, suspects that the man who fell off a cliff was murdered, and investigates his beautiful Chinese wife, Seo-rae (Tang Wei.) Hae-jun falls for the mysterious widow, even though he is married and Seo-rae is the prime suspect in his increasingly complex and obsessive investigation. South Korea’s film and TV programs are finally getting recognition for their unique, class-conscious innovations, from Parasite (Academy Award, Best Film) to Squid Game (Emmy Award for Best Director) to Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave (Best Director Award, Cannes Film Festival.)

“It’s a gorgeously and grippingly made movie and Tang Wei is magnificent.”

Five stars. Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.