South Korea’s submission to the Oscars in Best International Feature category.
Dazzlingly shot and edited, Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave is a police procedural of uncommonly nuanced psychological depth and sensitivity. Taking its cue from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo in its examination of neurotic romantic obsession, Park’s brilliantly cast film features Tang Wei (the costar of Ang Lee’s controversial Lust, Caution) as the widow of a man who died under suspicious circumstances while rock climbing. Park Hae-il (who played a suspect in Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece Memories of Murder) is the detective with severe sleep apnea who falls in love with the widow despite her becoming the prime suspect in the case. Park Chan-wook, who won the best director prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, is in complete command of the full bag of cinematic techniques he honed in contemporary classics like Oldboy and The Handmaiden. At turns thrilling and tender, South Korea’s official submission for best international feature at next year’s Oscars is must-see material from a modern maestro. ~LB