It’s hard to believe that six years have passed sinceThe Handmaiden, the most recent film from directorPark Chan-wook, premiered in theaters worldwide. The celebrated filmmaker behindOldboy,Thirst,Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, andStokercertainlyknows how to craft exquisitely dazzling, perplexing, and brazen works, and the trailer for his latest film,Decision to Leave, suggests that the man hasn’t lost his touch.
Ahead ofits world premiereat theCannes Film Festivallaterthis month,CJ Entertainmentpreviewed the first official footage from this much-anticipated cinematic return. Sure enough, it looks like a new Park Chan-wook movie — in all the right ways! There’s intrigue. There’s eroticism. There’s danger, and there’s death. And, if we know the filmmaker, we know that this is but a small taste of what’s in store.
Following a detective (Park Hae-il) investigating the death of a man who fell off a mountain,Decision to Leaveexplores his developing relationship with the dead man’s elusive wife, Seo-rae (Tang Wei), who complicates things when the detective’s personal life and professional obligations soon become intertwined. As the movie’s tagline notes, “the closer you look, the harder you fall.” Suffice it to say, things won’t get easier for our main sleuth as he finds himself in the midst of severe emotional and psychological turmoil.
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In a quick-but-enticing teaser that highlights the upcoming movie’s exquisite visuals, bountiful suspense, and sparse dialogue that has our central characters asking “Am I a pushover?” and “Am I so wicked?,“Decision to Leavelooks like it’ll fit quite nicely into the filmmaker’s esteemed filmography — though we’ll have a better idea of what we can expect when the anticipated movie screens at Cannes. Most certainly, a brand new Park Chan-wook movie will attract a lot of attention, and one hopes thatDecision to Leavewill receive the same glowing adoration that his previous movie received when it premiered at the festival.
Thankfully, we don’t have long to wait to see the movie for ourselves. Followingits big festival debut,Decision to Leavewill receive atheatrical and streaming releasein the fall, courtesy ofMubi.Though the director receiveda wealth of acclaimfor his work directingAMC’sLittle Drummer Girla few years prior, it’s a big deal when Park Chan-wook rolls out a new film. We’ll definitely keep our eye out in the months to come. There’s a lot that we don’t know yet, and that’s ultimately in our favor for this twisty, creepy film.
