DECISION TO LEAVE
Added 2022-10-03 06:24:55 +0000 UTCI caught this one over the weekend, and while I admired a lot of aspects of it, it was a bit of a disappointment for me, compared to other works by Park Chan-wook. Though I feel his films deserve multiple viewings from me before I feel confident in a solid opinion. But while we are on the subject...what's your favorite Park Chan-wook film?
Comments
Oldboy or The Handmaiden. Difficult to choose because I saw both years ago, need to revisit to know for sure. The Little Drummer Girl mentioned by Jared, is on my watchlist.
Oskitello
2022-10-04 04:44:55 +0000 UTCAlways cool when directors get to extend their vision like that, e.g. Twin Peaks The Return or Too Old To Die Young
Jackson Littlewood
2022-10-04 04:34:44 +0000 UTCI know it doesn’t count cuz it’s a show, but i binged the fuck out of The Little Drummer Girl, and I just wanted it represented in this comment section lol. 6 hours of Park Chan Wook is my idea of a day well spent.
Jared Angcanan
2022-10-04 04:24:28 +0000 UTCI’ve only ever seen two of his films: JSA and Oldboy. I remember being underwhelmed by JSA given how much it had been talked up (Tarantino named it as one of his favorite films made between 1992-2009). I felt like it was just some earnest, albeit well-made, military legal thriller—something that Hollywood churned out well enough in the ‘90s. It would make for a great pairing with A Few Good Men. Oldboy, on the other hand, is a twisted gem of a movie. I’ve read some critics dismiss it as some tawdry, hollow revenge tale, but… I thought it was masterfully done. I agree with Jackson, that third-act twist takes it to a whole different level. I prefer it to Kill Bill. I daresay QT does too. I bet it’s the kind of revenge film he wishes he made.
Bennett Oliver
2022-10-03 14:38:27 +0000 UTCI've already spoken my peace of The Handmaiden many times here. Beautiful to look at, deeply intriguing with a perfectly wound plot, sexy, funny. Everything I want from a film. One movie that has grown into one if my favorites is Thirst. It's such an interesting take in a vampire story so deeply weaving religious themes into a pretty fucked up vampire story. And, just like all of his work, it's really darkly funny. It does take a watch or two to really appreciate cause it has some odd pacing and very strange characters but over time I've come to love it a lot.
Tyler Shobe
2022-10-03 13:57:11 +0000 UTCI’ve only seen a couple of his films, so I almost don’t feel qualified to answer this. From what I know about it, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance could end up being my favorite, but for now it’s Oldboy. For about 2/3 of it, I really didn’t understand why everyone loves it so much. It was just a very well made Tarantinoesque revenge tale. Then, in what I’ve discovered is very Park fashion, the twist hit and completely changed the way I thought about everything in the entire movie. The ending is just one of the most perfect gut punches ever put to film. I like the Handmaiden a lot and I even think the filmmaking elements (particularly that second act) are more masterfully crafted than what we get in Oldboy. I was just a bit disappointed by what’s basically a happy ending in it. I really would’ve preferred an Oldboy-style gut punch. I mean, it’s a movie where women triumph over men and the colonized triumph over colonizers, and I felt like it was played very straight as opposed to the filmmaker acknowledging how dreamlike/fictitious that inherently is. I’ve only seen it once though so it’s entirely possible I’ll pick up on more subtle ways of conveying that idea that could already exist.
Jackson Littlewood
2022-10-03 07:06:42 +0000 UTC
