Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” is nearly here.
The latest film from the South Korean auteur behind “Oldboy,” “The Handmaiden” and most recently “Decision to Leave,” will debut in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, followed by a South Korean theatrical release and a domestic release courtesy of Neon.
A new teaser trailer out Thursday gives us a good sense of what we’re in for. Watch it below.
“No Other Choice” is an adaptation of Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel “The Ax,” which had previously been adapted by Costa-Gavras for 2005’s “The Axe.”
Park announced his intention to direct an adaptation back in 2009, but it kept getting pushed back due to other commitments, including 2012’s English language feature “Stoker” and his work on television series “The Little Drummer Girl” and “The Sympathizer.” At one point, the adaptation was going to be English language and he tasked his “Sympathizer” collaborator Don McKellar to help with that version of the script (McKellar still has a co-writing credit).
The new film follows Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun), a man who gets laid off from his job and takes increasingly desperate measures to insure his employment. Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran and Cha Seung-won also star.
Park’s last feature was 2022’s Hitchcockian “Decision to Leave.” “The Sympathizer,” which saw Park co-write every episode and direct the first three, debuted on HBO last year, produced by A24 and Rhombus Media.
Neon is expected to release the film sometime later this year.
