Neon has acquired the North American rights to “No Other Choice,” the latest feature from acclaimed South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook. The deal arrives ahead of what rumors suggest will be a world premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Park’s 12th feature is an adaptation of Donald Westlake’s 1997 novel “The Ax,” a grimly satirical tale of corporate desperation and moral unraveling. Costa Gavras had previously adapted it into a 2005 film.
”No Other Choice” stars as Cha Seung Won, Park Hee Soon, Yoon Ga Yi, Lee Byung Hun and Son Ye Jin. Notably, Lee already teamed up with Park on 2000’s “Joint Security Area” and 2004’s “Three Extremes.”
The story follows a desperate and unemployed man, seeing his marriage deteriorating, who concocts a grimly audacious plan to identify and kill his fellow job applicants so that he is the only qualified person left.
The film, described as Park’s “lifelong passion project,” will be his first outing since 2022’s acclaimed “Decision to Leave.” He also co-created, wrote and directed the recent acclaimed HBO limited series “The Sympathizer.”
Park, 61, is the Korean mastermind behind “Oldboy,” “The Handmaiden” “Decision to Leave” and “Lady Vengeance.” His films, usually set in thriller or noir territory, delve deeply into the physical and psychological violence of its characters; he loves to depict sex and murder.
Park’s work straddles genres—neo-noir, horror, melodrama—while remaining unmistakably his own. With “No Other Choice,” he appears poised to once again walk the line between genre filmmaking and existential inquiry.
Still no distributor for "Bucking Fastard," "Alpha Gang," "The Last Photograph," "Closing Night," and "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd." The issue seems to be quality more than a lack of willingness to buy.