Decision to Leave: The Brutal Korean Thriller Film You Have to See (And Why)
The Decision to Leave is one of the foreign films that started generating Oscar buzz months before its theatrical release around the world. The Korean film begins with a terrifying mystery, involving a widowed woman and a detective who is in charge of the case but is blindsided by a suspect who appears innocent and vulnerable. But this isn’t Low Instinct, it’s not a story where sex is used to distract from what’s going on, but it’s a more intelligent story, where we’re constantly doubting what’s true. A mountain in South Korea is the point where everything begins, to later move through a city full of secrets.
Decision to Leave: Why You Have to Seen This Brutal Korean Film
The film also features striking visuals, vibrant colors, and striking details (there is a scene that will make you want to travel to Korea just to eat sushi), which help build the world of the protagonists and let us experience the story from the perspective of a man who doesn’t know what he’s just gotten himself into. The thing about this story is that you don’t know whom you should believe, and that makes it interesting, besides that all the characters make you want to follow their travels and discover more about them, and the great success is that everything is presented differently. realistically, and that leads one to think that perhaps it is a true story.
It Is New from A Master of Korean Cinema
Decision to Leave (hitting theaters January 12) is written and directed by the legendary Park Chan-wook, who is best known for movies like Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Thirst, and this one also bears his stamp, like the mystery, intrigue, characters hiding secrets and disturbing situations that also seem real. The film is a work of art, but it is not pretentious, instead, it presents a story that builds until it reaches an unexpected and heartbreaking ending.
The History
It all starts when a man is found dead on a mountain in South Korea. At first, it is believed that it could be a suicide, but soon the police begin to suspect that this is not necessarily the case, so a detective must interview the victim’s widow. That interview ends up changing his life in unexpected ways, plunging ever deeper into the life of the mysterious woman, who also comes across as innocent and charming, leading the detective to mistrust his instincts and become increasingly trapped. in his spell, making it harder to find the answers he seeks. It’s like reading a Murakami novel, but with a much more disturbing tone, which leads to a tragic denouement where it is shown that, in the real world, there is not always justice.
Award Nominations
The film already has a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the 2023 Golden Globes, in addition to taking 7 awards at the Blue Dragon Awards and has a total of 80 nominations at other international awards and festivals. In addition, this is one of the favorites for the 2023 Oscars, where it is believed that it could receive nominations for best foreign film, one for its director and possibly recognition for its protagonists.
A Perfect Cast
The Decision to Leave cast is headed by two greats of Korean cinema, first, we have Park Hae-il as detective Jang Hae-Joon, whom we have seen before in movies like Memories of Murder, The Host and War of The Arrows. The “femme fatale” (albeit in a different way) is about Tang Wei, who is recognized for her work on Blackhat and Lust, Caution. Teo Yoo also appears, who is one of the protagonists of the Dr. Brain series, which is a great sci-fi horror story.
A Mystery Full of Twists
Here everything begins with a murder, but nothing is as it seems. There is a clear victim, but also a woman who hides many secrets, an obsessed detective and a series of events that led him to realize that he cannot trust anyone. The truth is revealed little by little (so you can savor and enjoy it), but new doubts arise along the way, and all this leads to the protagonists meeting again and again, to reach a very unexpected and somewhat terrifying outcome, where everything you thought you knew is completely changed.
