If you have seen the tv show “Daredevil,” “John Wick,” or “Guardians of the galaxy” then you have seen how Park Chan Wook influenced films with his masterpiece “Oldboy.” Recently Park Chan Wook released his film “No Other Choice” to prove that he is still a powerhouse as a film director. This film is a masterpiece that has sharp satire about society.
“No Other Choice” follows a man without a name (Lee-Byung Hun) who becomes desperate for a job in South Korea after being abruptly laid off after 25 years by Americans who recently bought the company. When applying for a job at another company he becomes determined to kill the people who he deems worthier. Believing that he has no other choice to get the job to support his family.
At the core of this film is a story about how far some will go for their family. Each character makes choices to keep their family thriving in the world. The son decides to start stealing phones and selling them to help support the family. The mother decides to get a part time job to keep the daughters’ expensive cello lessons going, and then the father decides to start murdering because he believes he has no other choice but to secure a job and keep their family house from being bought.
One thing that intrigued me the most is how hypocritical each character slowly becomes to further themself in society. The main character goes from being confident in his standing to being so desperate he is begging on the floor and drinking after being sober for ten years. The mother goes from never willing to cheat to almost cheating on her husband so she can save her kid from a situation. The most subtle change, however, is the most important thing found in the visual language of the film.
Park Chan Wook follows the rules of cinematography precisely leading to beautiful, calculated shots that go from very warm representing life to much less vibrant and colder after every time he murders. You can feel how the love in the family becomes much more distant, which is masterfully portrayed by Director of Photography Woosh Kim.
Kim notoriously loves the camera Alexa 35, which he uses to its fullest extent putting it in places that are unbelievable. The other visual language is how each scene transitions into each other. Park Chan Wook has always been known for his transitions, especially since the 2024 run of the HBO series “The Sympathizer.”
Overall, Park Chan Wook uses everything he has learned about film to create what could be determined as a perfect film from every single angle of filmmaking. For that reason, I give “No Other Choice” 5/5 stars. I hope this film gets lots of nominations at the Oscars because it deserves every award and more.
