Job Killer: Interview with Park Chan Wook on ‘No Other Choice’.

Park Chan-wook’s 12th feature film, There is no other choiceThe film begins with Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun) as a proud patriarch at a barbecue, a vision of an ideal platonic home life that he will spend most of the film defending. In the middle of a long life, the film offers its audience joy, pathos, and profound social criticism. Also: murders. After being laid off from a paper company, Man-soo realizes that his best chance of landing his next job is to eliminate the three other qualified candidates.

Adapted from the novel by Donald Westlake ax, There is no other choice He captures – exhilaratingly and provocatively – the enduring and unresolvable anxiety of living within an economic system built on extracting surplus value from its workers. Or the dark irony that if a company makes someone redundant, it’s a strategy; If a person does the same, it is a crime.

With this film, not to mention his previous works such as Big boy and the maidPark proved himself as a director who fully understands that tragedy cannot be separated from comedy. Here, it’s the tragedy that life has to be lived, that we have to work at all, and that so much in this life actually depends on that work, versus the comedy of how someone like Man-soo solves this impossible puzzle by himself.

Edge He spoke with Park about his relationship with his source, artificial intelligence, and how he recovers after image encapsulation.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Edge: Have you ever been fired from a job?

Park Chan Wook: This has never happened to me, fortunately. These types of things happen often in our industry. I was lucky enough to avoid this fate, but there were many times when I felt afraid of abandonment. While working on any project, there always comes a time when differences of opinion form between the studio or producers. In that case, when I stubbornly cling to my original position, I do so knowing that I am exposing myself to that kind of danger.

When a movie comes out and doesn’t do well, there’s the fear that I won’t be able to find a job again, or that I won’t be able to raise money for my next project.

But also this fear is not something that accompanies you after you get your report card from the box office exclusively. Throughout the filmmaking process, this fear stays with you. It stays with you from the initial planning stages of the film. Then, if the movie doesn’t do well, that fear increases, and it never goes away. He is always close to you.

At the screening you attended, you said that you first encountered the source material, which was Donald Westlake’s novel axExpress your love for the movie Point blankwhich you consider your favorite noir. Do you remember how you discovered the film, and are there other Westlake novels that intrigue you?

Point blank It is a film directed by John Boorman, a British director, and I watched it for two reasons. The first is that I’ve always loved John Boorman. The first Burman film I saw was… Innocent.

Secondly, I admire the actor Lee Marvin. because Point blank It was a collaboration between a director I love and an actor I love, and I’ve always wanted to see it. But the movie was difficult to access in Korea for a long time, so I wasn’t able to watch it until later.

As for Westlake, it is surprising that there are not many of his books in translation. Which ax Being translated into Korean was itself an anomaly. So I’ve only read a few of his books.

I’ve been trying to make it There is no other choice For 16 years. You also said that you tried to go through Hollywood first. How is that?

Since the novel was written in an American setting, I naturally thought that turning it into an American film would be the best option. At that time, I had already submitted Big boy, thirst, Lady Vengeanceand StokerSo making a film in America wasn’t scary.

What is the most common feedback you received in these early years?

In 2010, we acquired the rights and began actively pursuing the project. First, we met with French investors. Although it was an American film shot in America, we met French investors thanks to Michele Ray-Gavras, the wife of (director) Costa-Gavras, who was among our producers, and through her we connected with many studios, from France to the United States.

Since then, I kept receiving offers that were a little lower than I wanted, which is why I couldn’t accept them.

As for the feedback from the studios, far from anything, they doubted whether the audience would believe that Man-soo would resort to murder because he lost his job. They wanted to know how I would engage the audience.

Other than that, people’s sense of humor varied slightly. Some said this part wasn’t funny. Others said this part wasn’t funny. We faced some challenges.

You mentioned that there are Easter eggs scattered throughout the movie that I’m curious about. She mentioned that the oven mitt that Man-soo used during his murder attempt can later be seen in his kitchen. A Christmas stocking from the same scene can be seen in a family photo in the background. What other details should I look for?

I cannot guarantee that a framed photo with a Santa Claus costume can be viewed properly. We had him on set during the shoot. In fact, we gathered the whole family, dressed them up and took photos specifically for that framed photo. But I don’t know if it’s actually visible in the final movie. However, it will definitely be in the extended edition I’m preparing for a Blu-ray release.

Rather than viewing it as an Easter egg, it might be more accurate to view it as part of creating a believable world for the actors. So, once the actors enter this world, they feel that they can easily become their characters. In order to have that confidence and a sense of stable reality, it would have been better to pay attention to props or something else spatially. The more consideration, the better.

The AI ​​appears at the end of the film, which I imagine was not part of the original idea you had when you started the project. When did you learn about adding artificial intelligence to the film?

If this had been made into an American film, such a story would not have been possible. This case was only possible to include because the process took a long time.

Any director making a film about employment, or unemployment, would be remiss if they didn’t mention artificial intelligence. Moreover – and this was important to me – in the end, Man-soo’s family realized what he had done to the family’s name. Of course, Man-soo isn’t entirely sure whether they know or not, but the audience does. The very thing he does for his family will be the thing that leads to its downfall. All his efforts were in vain, which reflects the situation with artificial intelligence.

He painstakingly eliminated his human competitors to secure a job. But what he faces in his new workplace is a competitor stronger than any other human being. This means that Man So likely won’t last long before the AI ​​takes over. He would lose his job again, and at that point, what was all that for? Why were the murders? This can also be seen as a huge amount of wasted effort.

Therefore, introducing AI technology from a creative perspective was a great addition to the film.

How do you feel about the use of artificial intelligence in films? Would you use it in your own work? I feel the answer is “no”.

I hope that never happens.

It’s not easy for young film students out there. And if there is a technology that allows them to make their own films at a reduced cost, in a way that was not possible before, who can stop them? It wouldn’t be possible to tell them not to do it.

What is the question There is no other choice He asks?

Those who have reached the middle class, those who are accustomed to a certain way of life, which was not inherited, which they acquired of their own free will – for this category of people, giving up all that would be very difficult. It will be difficult to accept a slippage from that station. I would definitely have a hard time accepting that.

Of course, this does not mean that I will commit murder – at least three – but it is an impossible situation.

“My child desperately needs private cello lessons. Not only that, it is a vital part of becoming an independent adult.” And letting go would be amazingly difficult. I imagine what I might be capable of in such a scenario.

I wanted to create a space where people could ask themselves this question. Not only to criticize Man-soo, but to ask themselves, what if, what could happen, if there was such a person in such a situation? It’s an exercise in imagination.

What was the most difficult time in your career and how did you recover from it?

When my first two films failed at the box office. Before I do JSAThe period between the first film and the second film, and between the second film and the third film, was the most difficult. I had no choice but to make the rounds with my script—unlike what Man-soo does with his resume—looking for producers and studio executives. Many times I was rejected. That was a difficult time.

By then I was married and had someone to support me, so I turned to film criticism to earn a living. Being a film critic is a great career, but it wasn’t what I wanted, so I struggled. Moreover, I wanted to make my own film, but instead, I had to analyze other people’s films. If I watch an excellent movie, I will be filled with envy. The reality that requires me to live this way seems to mock my pain, a kind of mockery. But I had no other way to survive.

What will you work on next?

In fact, I have two projects already ready. I have a script for a western that has been written and revised several times. There’s also a sci-fi action movie that I haven’t written the script for yet, but I’ve prepared a fairly complex treatment for it.

How do you recover after shooting a movie?

Fortunately, I’m traveling with Lee Byung Hun at the moment. I might have a glass of wine with him. He’s rather serious about wine, so if I drink with him, I have to drink something good.

Do you have any thoughtful, insightful advice for young filmmakers?

In film school, you may learn certain lessons from your teachers. You may also learn from already successful directors. If you are a fan of this genre, you can study the traditions of your chosen genre.

This is all very well, but first of all, the first thing is to have your own voice. And examine yourself honestly. And to tell the story that comes spontaneously from within. In my opinion, spontaneity is the most important thing. I’m not saying “this is common”, or “people like this”, but what is the real thing that comes from yourself and within you? Follow this topic faithfully.

Of course it’s easy for me to say this – anyone can say that – but putting it into practice is something else entirely.

There is no other choice It opens in select theaters on December 25, 2025, with a wider release scheduled for January.