User Reviews

Skurriles Komödien-Drama mit einigen lustigen, tragischen, nachvollziehbaren und nicht nachvollziehbaren Momente und Entscheidungen. Der Film zeigt, wie das Leben komplett ändern kann, aufgrund von äusseren Umständen, selbst wenn es nur die Arbeit betrifft.

Si bien muchas situaciones son exageradas para lograr ese humor negro la película nos muestra de verdad hasta donde podríamos llegar a deshumanizarnos por mantener un estatus social. Una belleza técnica bien filmada que sacara mas de una risa culposa.

The film suffers from that typical, monotonous CGI look where the entire image is just one big muddy mess. And honestly, I’d had enough within the first five minutes. Two-plus hours of that unnatural imagery? No thanks! Washed-out colors on CGI trees, heavy noise across the entire frame, light blooming around light sources, artificial color artifacts throughout the image, and excessive soft-focusing on the computer-generated objects.

An old-school dark comedy about a man who may or may not go to extreme lengths to secure more desirable employment after being laid off.

Can’t always sit at the cool kids’ table. Park Chan-wook is hit or miss for me, and so far, more miss. Fun elements here and there, but the tone left me vacillating between confused and bored. The stylistic flair is undeniable; the fun wasn’t.

(Mauro Lanari) "The limit of Park Chan-wook's cinema is its excess (of writing, staging, interlocking parts, overlaps, oppositions) and consequently its mechanical nature, a pace both rigorous and chaotic" (Vari). "Narratively and visually extremely elaborate, full of virtuosity, super-saturated" (Corato), with a whimsical direction as expected, and the gift for synthesis that is nowhere to be found. Do we still have to endure the Korean hyper-dramatization from high school anime? And where would be the "war among the poor"? The fundamental misunderstanding is that the film features no victims of capitalism, only its thoroughly collusive protégés, head technicians who, along with their families, behave as they did to forge their careers. Impossible to side with them. Already cruel, murderous, and dehumanized, they will be replaced by their proxy: automated labor. "Funny, desecrating, profound, and disturbing"? Neither grotesque, nor ironic, nor dramatic, the protagonists act to preserve their socioeconomic status, and killings have the same value as the extraction of a decayed tooth. That's their own lookout. 4½

With all its flaws in jumping into an unimaginable sequence of decisions with not enough build up to support the absurdity, No Other Choice is simply a masterclass in filmmaking. Another gem from Korea, combining humor and horror in a way few other contemporaries can accomplish.

Since "Oldboy" I've been a fan of this director, but here he really did a poor job. The whole film feels like a cheap French comedy. Weak acting, slapstick, and annoying music. Somehow nothing in the film really works, and even in the moments where some tension could build, it just ends up being boring. I was really hoping for a satire like "Parasite", but unfortunately it's just a farce that doesn't take itself seriously and therefore can't be taken seriously either.

Very good surprise, I really enjoyed this film a lot ! It was weirdly fun, swapping from humour but keeping the tensed atmosphere ; very good acting and I really enjoyed how free the camera was, lot of fluidity and not locked. I recommand !

Les remakes peuvent connaître des fortunes diverses, se révéler bien meilleurs que les originaux ou bien pire… ou parfois aussi nuls les uns que les autres !… ou alors tout à fait réussis… franchement, c’est un peu la loterie en tant que spectateur… Et là, pas de bol, le renommé Chan-Wook (qui n’est plus un débutant) s’est planté en beauté… en refaisant « Le Couperet », notre film bien franchouillard de chez nous (ou plutôt franco-belge pour être plus précis) la fameuse tragi-comédie de Costa-Gavras et l’un de ses meilleurs films, sinon le meilleur ! En effet, le film coréen se traîne le cul pendant plus de deux heures et quart et seule la première demi-heure semble tenir à peu près la route… Par la suite, le film ne parvient jamais à retenir la subtile ironie de l’original et se viande un peu trop régulièrement dans la simple bouffonnerie. En outre, même la fin s’avère assez ratée en somme et bien peu concluante en comparaison de celle du Couperet (qui était surprenante comme une sorte de dernière -cruelle- facétie…). Notons néanmoins (pour faire le deuxième point quand même) une réalisation soignée et un passage émouvant avec sa femme en chandail sans soutif ! une ravissante actrice coréenne, soit dit en passant. Mais globalement, rien ne fonctionne vraiment dans ce film, surtout en comparaison du film original qui lui marche dessus tranquillement sans forcer, à tous les étages et dans tous les compartiments. Bref… le choix est donc… vite fait : le remake est pourri et l’original garde son titre.

No Other Choice is a tale of two movies. I enjoyed the satire and slapstick-filled first half, less so its cold and didactic second half. Overall, the movie’s dizzying style and committed performances won me over. Recommended. detroitcineaste

I was intrigued by the acknowledgement to the legendary filmmaker Costa Gavras ( the director of such classics as "Z", "L'Aveu", "State of Siege" and "Missing") and noted that it must have been added by his son, Alexandre, one of the producers on this film. It's a shame that his name should be attached to this derivative, slowly-paced, crime "thriller". Given the source material - the novella "The Ax" by the late, great writer of crime fiction, Donald E. Westlake - it's amazing that a such a boring, yawn-inducing, lengthy, film has been made. Sadly there's no longer a Sidney Lumet or Don Siegal around, whose directorial skill would do justice to the story. As an attempt to push Korean cinema further into the global cinema marketplace, it has its points but they are more of the "emperor's new clothes variety". There's no doubt that the technical skill to make a film is high - the autumnal cinematography-is well done and you cannot fault the set design, make-up, costume, even the animal training - but is there anything "fresh" or "unique" about it. Not for me. If you want to watch a film about a man's murderous drive to achieve wealth and societal position, look no further than "Kind Hearts and Coronets" which has all of the above skills but has the added flourish of wit.

A bundle of visual tricks. There are films that tell a story. Others are the story themselves. 'No Other Choice' clearly belongs to the second group. It’s a very evident example of cinema being cinema. Its linear narrative leaves no room for script flaws or ambiguous readings. Park Chan-wook feels extremely solid both in storytelling and direction. There’s a level of technical execution that seems to have passed every possible subject in film school. I honestly can’t tell whether this film would be a cinema student’s worst nightmare, or if they’d start pulling their hair out watching every tracking shot, every transition, every frame. Everything feels coldly thought out, calculated, and applied with surgical precision. Here, the camera isn’t just another character — it is the narrative itself. Literally. The storytelling relies so heavily (and so effectively) on visuals that, if the film were silent, it would still work just as well. There’s a constant choreography between image and action. That said, there are moments when this perfection creates a certain distance for me. In some stretches, I sense an artificiality in the lighting — I can’t tell whether it’s practical or digital — that slightly pulls me out of the sensory experience. It’s not constant, but when it happens, I catch myself frowning. Plot-wise, it’s not the most interesting or surprising proposal I’ve seen. At times, it feels like a blend of 'Parasite' and 'Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance'. What is compelling is how it connects different situations, not only enriching the narrative but pushing me to ask what I would do in the protagonist’s place. Sacrifice, love, obsession, danger, competition, mental drift. These concepts hover over the entire film. The central question becomes: how far would someone be willing to go to avoid losing what they already have? Lee Byung-hun manages to convey insecurity and determination at the same time, and his physical performance is essential — his body speaks just as much as his face. There’s expressive depth in the way he moves, looks, and occupies space. That fits perfectly with a film that leans so heavily on visual language. Son Ye-jin works more as a complementary presence. I never fully grasp what her character is thinking, though her intentions are clear. Beyond that, she doesn’t leave a particularly strong mark on me. Every time Lee Sung-min appears on screen, my attention shifts entirely to him. I enjoy his presence. 'No Other Choice' doesn’t feel transcendent to me. It doesn’t leave me with major moral conclusions. Well — maybe it does, but I’m not left dwelling on them afterward. The emotional impact is restrained. I finish the film with technical admiration rather than a knot in my stomach. It’s not a huge deal, but it is fully aware of every decision and intention it makes. For me, that’s enough to keep it from slipping into pretension (at least in absolute terms). It earns my respect, but it doesn’t completely shake me. A dense bundle of cinematic techniques that may — or may not — compensate for a lack of narrative engagement.

Fantastic film. It's not a propulsive film - i felt it start to lag, but then it's like quicksand and it **** you in. Unexpected in moments, leads down a path to veer somewhere else. The ending allows you to see the whole film through a nihilist, brutalist lens, when its real theme comes shining through. With a touch of hope Feels like a director's vision with minimal studio notes.

Overall, the movie was okay. Very slow like other Korean films. Watch the film and enjoy it for what it is. You can think about the message after.

In ‘No Other Choice,’ the characters constantly allude to the title: when US executives argue that layoffs are necessary; when an unemployed man insists he has no choice but to work in the industry he's been in for decades; when eliminating the competition becomes imperative to get a job… Park Chan-wook returns with a satire of Korean society and the middle class, the one condemned to work forever to maintain a system that has no qualms about replacing a cog whenever it suits it. In his new film, the Korean director takes us into the twisted pursuit of a man who, overwhelmed by the inevitable, delves into the darkest corners of his own being in his quest to be “happy.”

The world has woken up to the fact that English speakers can enjoy a movie with subtitles. For a lot of people Parasite was their “Road To Damascus” moment. Having long been a fan **** movie with or without the one inch barrier, I had no qualms about seeing this on the strength of the trailer. This movie had so many strands which worked seamlessly and did not jar at all. There was humour, violence, pathos and a story that brought all the strands together with a conclusion that worked. I totally enjoyed this and I feel most people who do watch this will also.

If this social satire is on everyone's lips, it is because it is easy to empathise with the film's “hero”; his desperate situation is not at all at odds with reality if one thinks about it carefully. To overlook it would be a regrettable mistake.

Park Chan-wook is one of those directors whose name alone carries an authorial weight that is difficult to ignore. Throughout his career, he has built a filmography marked by moral extremes, acid humor, and a rare ability to provoke the viewer without ever providing easy answers. In No Other Choice, the filmmaker returns to themes that run through his work, but does so in a surprisingly more direct and accessible way. It is a film that speaks to the general public without abandoning its identity, using absurdity as a tool to reflect on the contemporary world, especially on work, recognition, and professional dismissal.Here, Chan-wook presents perhaps his most “digestible” work since Oldboy, not because he softens his ideas, but because he organizes them into a clear narrative, guided by a strong protagonist and an extreme situation that grows almost inevitably. Still, this accessibility does not come without a cost: at times, the film loses focus by trying to deal with too many elements at once. Even so, the balance is largely positive and confirms the director as one of the most interesting voices in contemporary **** Other Choice is a film that intelligently balances social criticism, acid humor, and drama, even when it almost slips into its own excesses. Park Chan-wook constructs a narrative that speaks to the audience by addressing themes such as competitiveness, professional identity, and human disposal, without turning it into shallow or propagandistic **** absurdity serves as a mirror of a recognizable reality, and the protagonist functions as an extreme representation of common anxieties. Despite some narrative deviations, the film maintains interest from beginning to end, thanks in large part to the director's confident direction and Lee Byung-hun's remarkable **** is a work that confirms Chan-wook's maturity and shows that accessibility does not have to mean a loss of identity. Entertaining, unsettling, and provocative, No Other Choice stands out as one of the most interesting films of the beginning of this year and as an example of how cinema can criticize the world we live in without giving up on engaging the viewer.

I Can't Help It—A Eulogy for the Displaced251227 (3.1)"A eulogy for those of us who have no ground left to bury the 'inevitable' ugliness of our lives." The film delivers a biting satire on the cruelty of capital and competition, yet the mise-en-scène is almost too lush, making the grim message a bit heavy to digest. Whether viewed through a literary lens of loose tension or a cartoonish lens of exaggerated climaxes, there is a strange sense of displacement—it feels like a Korea that isn't Korea, a modern era that isn't quite modern. It is a world where the dignity of labor is discarded in a desperate bid for **** story follows Man-su, a dedicated paper mill worker of 25 years who turns into a cold-blooded strategist after losing his job to a US acquisition. To reclaim his middle-class life and the mansion he grew up in, he orchestrates a lethal "recruitment process," eliminating his competition one by one. His descent from an accidental killer to a meticulous simulator of crime mirrors the loss of his own humanity. By the time he secures a management position in a dark, AI-driven factory where human presence is merely a hindrance to productivity, he has buried his conscience under the same soil as his victims. Supported by a family that chooses to become accomplices rather than lose their status, Man-su’s "happy ending" is a chilling testament to a society where we justify any atrocity with the phrase, "I couldn't help it."

No Other Choice is a beautifully shot film with much to say about all of our daily fights for survival. While Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) attempting to eliminate other paper professionals so he can provide for his family is the main crux of the story, his victims and supporting cast allude to a much broader struggle innate to the human condition. Director Park Chan-wook's exploration of this proves to be thoroughly entertaining and darkly comedic, even if much of the film doesn't have the same moment-to-moment bite as his best works (e.g., Oldboy, The Handmaiden, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, etc.).

Lee Byung-hun plays a loyal worker at a Korean paper factory who gets laid off (by the Americans who took over the company). After months, a potential job comes up, so he decides to eliminate the competition…literally. It’s an unusual story made even more special by noted director Park Chan-wook’s unique slant. There are unpredictable elements, including some magical realism moments, slapstick violence and a sometimes-confusing plot. It’s undeniable that he’s a master with his unique angles, creative camerawork and unexpected moments. Adding to the slightly surreal elements is cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung’s saturated colors and dramatic lighting. This film is in no way like a typical American comedy/thriller. Chan-wook’s distinctive approach makes the interesting predicaments unexpected, surprising and enjoyable.

No Other Choice is a meticulously controlled study in how choice hardens into inevitability, distinguished by a script of rare discipline, extraordinary performances, and visual storytelling that operates as narrative evidence rather than ornament. The writing rejects exposition and tidy psychology, allowing decisions to accumulate through action until consequence feels less like shock than arrival. Violence is framed as work, intelligence as something that accelerates collapse rather than preventing it—each step narrowing what remains possible with chilling precision. The film is also unexpectedly and often darkly funny. Its humor is pitch-black and physical, emerging from awkward logistics, timing, and the absurdity of treating moral catastrophe as a solvable problem. Director Park leans into moments of bodily strain and procedural absurdity without breaking tone, using comedy to expose how rational systems normalize the grotesque. Lee Byung-hun’s performance is central to this balance, blending desperation, relatability, and a near-Chaplin precision that allows dread and laughter to coexist without cancelling each other out. The acting is exceptional across the board, sentimental without tipping into sentimentality. Performances avoid familiar tropes of psychological collapse or redemptive awakening, instead tracking transformation through restraint, timing, and physical presence. Feeling arrives quietly, often after the fact, and lands with force precisely because it is earned. Cinematography and framing signal outcomes long before the script confirms them: spaces tighten, exits vanish, and isolation becomes structural. Love here does not rescue or redeem; it witnesses, adapts, and draws boundaries. Bleak yet humane, intellectually exacting yet emotionally resonant, No Other Choice trusts its audience completely. It is rare, confident filmmaking—Oscar-caliber filmmaking in its refusal to explain, excuse, or console.

Some laughs and quite entertaining to begin with. As the plot progresses though it gets more and more obvious that the main character is a man that cares for no one but himself (and perhaps his family). He also proves himself capable of extreme cruelty against others simply because he has an absurd obsession with the idea that they are in his way. If you find such events entertaining this might be a film in your taste. For me I need to feel identification, sympathy or interest in some character in a film to get involved in the events on the screen. Cruel idiots just isn't my cup of tea, neither in real life nor on film.

This is a “film-student darling”, not a crowd-pleaser. Smart Thematically sharp Performatively solid …but also: Emotionally distant Not very funny for a dark comedy More interesting to discuss than to experience 64 / 100Story & Screenplay. Original societal critique, strong central metaphor, coherent structure. But low emotional impact, absurdity limits engagement, and it’s more “analyzable” than compelling. Acting & Characters. Main performance is convincing and carries the film. Supporting cast is competent but unremarkable. Believability exists mainly through the protagonist’s descent. Cinematography. Functional and clean, but visually unambitious. Nothing distracts, nothing elevates. Editing & Pacing. Solid rhythm, good flow, nothing feels broken. Might as well watch at home than in a theater. Sound & Music. Score barely noticeable, soundtrack does not enhance mood. Sound design competent but minimal. Production Design & Effect. Adequate, invisible by design. World works conceptually, not visually memorable.This is going to be one of the most difficult movies for me to rate. I think this movie is one that some will praise highly as a societal critique and as a deep film, with small details that you could give to students to analyze—such as the metaphor of the toothache, and so **** the same way, you can have a song with beautiful vocals or beautiful lyrics that still isn’t very popular, while something more basic ends up being widely entertaining and added to everyone’s playlist. That’s how I feel about this movie.I’ve watched incredible movies such as Parasite, which has an amazing plot, great acting, is creative, truly deep, and very entertaining. No Other Choice, however, I did not find incredibly entertaining; at times I found it too quirky. It might be nominated for an Oscar, but it would not be my favorite to win.I thought the plot was original. I know it is based on a book, but the idea that—rather than being angry at companies—the main character directs his anger at other employees or competitors like himself is a unique take and central to the critique the movie is trying to **** structure and pacing were good. The dialogue I cannot assess properly, as it is in a foreign language. The emotional impact was low. I think the movie was well written and will probably be highly acclaimed, and it was above average in terms of engagement. It flowed naturally, though the plot itself is absurd—but that is also the **** acting was difficult for me to judge. Although all the actors did well, aside from the main character, no one stood out as particularly impressive. No one performed badly, but it felt like the level of acting you would expect from competent actors. The chemistry between the characters was very good. I didn’t find the film very believable, except for the descending madness of the main character. His performance was very convincing; the others less so.I don’t think the movie was especially strong in terms of cinematography. The visual composition, camera movement, atmosphere, colors, and lighting were all good, but nothing stood out to me. The editing and pacing were fine. Scene rhythm worked, transitions were effective, and the overall flow was mostly right.I would also add that, for a movie marketed as a dark comedy, I didn’t find many scenes genuinely funny.Regarding sound and music, I didn’t notice much of a background score, which I usually do. I also haven’t been able to find the soundtrack after watching the movie, so I can’t rate it highly. The sound design and effects were standard; it’s not a sound-heavy movie. The only thing I can say is that—having seen it in a cinema—the spatial use of sound seemed good. Still, the soundtrack and audio didn’t really add to the **** production design was fine. Sets, costumes, and props were okay, but not particularly noticeable, as the movie doesn’t take place in a visually distinctive setting. There were no special or visual effects.I think the world-building worked—the absurd world presented was easy to understand. Overall, this is a movie I would watch at home, but not one I would pay to see in a cinema.

No Sympathy For Mr. Yoo. Doesn’t make my Top 5 Park Chan-Woo’s (“Lady Vengeance” for the win). Adapted from an American noir novel, seems to be reaching for some of that dark, twisty satire shine (and international box-office) of “Parasite”. Looks great, as expected, and the murder set-pieces are excruciatingly tense.. but one to admire rather than love.

Park has things to say about alcoholism AND the folly of dignity being tied to work AND marital fidelity AND automation and non-biological parentage AND autism (I think?) AND the exploitation of the natural world.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

"No Other Choice" is a brilliant satire and thriller on It’s become something of a meme, often accompanying a screenshot of Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the screen in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, whenever a character in a film says its title. It’s a bit of teasing irony, where the film winks at its audience, acknowledging what its characters may not: their lives are part of a larger thematic throughline beyond their control. No Other Choice participates in that device, albeit amidst darker circumstances. The device comes into play after Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) is laid off from his management position at Solar Paper, a paper production conglomerate, after 25 years of service. His comfortable lifestyle with his wife, Lee Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), his stepson, Si-One, and his daughter, Ri-One, is upended, forcing them to prepare to downsize everything, including their home. Horrified by the idea of losing all that he had built, Yoo sets out on a desperate plan to pursue a highly coveted job at Moon Paper. Unfortunately for him, several other candidates are gunning for the job. After thirteen months of unsuccessful interviews and unfulfilling odd jobs, Yoo can’t afford to lose out to slightly more qualified and slightly less desperate men. So, he plots to eliminate them, one by one. In other words, he has no other choice. In truth, he does have several other choices. However, one of the great hat tricks of late-stage capitalism is convincing us that those other choices are untenable and that the morally reprehensible is acceptable to gain and, most importantly, retain their economic position. Director Park Chan-wook toys with this reality by emphasizing the cosmic, comedic humiliations Yoo endures during his period of unemployment. Immediately after being laid off (which is humiliating in and of itself, as the eel he receives at the start of the film is part of his severance package), Yoo attends a self-help seminar, where he repeats job-seeking affirmations. When those inevitably fail, the indignities get progressively worse, ending up with him on the floor outside a bathroom, begging for a job. Chan-wook pitches up the humor with sledgehammer force as he shifts into Yoo’s murderous plots. The film’s comedic centerpiece, and one of the year’s funniest scenes, has Yoo holding a gun on his first target, Goo Beom-mo (Lee Sung-min), while he’s sleeping. It’s meant to be a clean murder, but things quickly go haywire when Goo wakes up drunk to see Yoo standing over him. To make matters worse for them (and better for us), Lee (Yeom Hye-ran), Goo’s wife, walks in on them. The three people end up in a slapstick masterpiece, where they all struggle against each other for control of the gun and, on a deeper level, their futures. It’s frenetic, vicious, and riotously entertaining, all within the intertwined atmosphere of desperation and financial stability. Chan-wook builds that atmosphere with playful shifts in perspective and discombulating transitions. He particularly enjoys using video, whether via social media or FaceTime, to hint at the surrealism shaping Yoo’s life. It’s as if our tools of social connection are actively trying to drive him insane, making his actions indefensible, but at least understandable as some form of nervous breakdown. The film’s sillier scenes function in the same way. Watching Yoo and Choi (Park Hee-soon) getting increasingly drunk, the camera spinning around them, plays like a wild, captivating fever dream. But it isn’t, and Yoo dispatches him with the same bumbling approach, albeit with more confidence now that he has more violent notches on his belt. The knowledge that Yoo’s desperation is understandable but also indefensible adds a sobering beat to the hilarity of the experience. Also sobering is how Yoo’s actions impact his family. That insight comes from Lee, who begins to piece together that something isn’t quite right with her husband’s behavior. Her suspicions are complicated by their past, specifically his struggles with alcohol addiction. However, she knows enough to suspect that Yoo might be involved in the recent murders in their city. That places Lee in a psychological crisis of her own: does she write off her husband’s criminality to the consequences of losing his job and stand by him? Or does she hold him accountable in some way, especially when that criminality can disrupt or even destroy their family? It’s another scenario that shows how the take-no-prisoners attitude of capitalism goes far beyond an office building. It also demonstrates how pervasive the concept of “no other choice” can be. "No Other Choice" ends with Yoo getting the job that he committed the indefensible to secure, only to find that his efforts may be for a lost cause. It is another spoke on the wheel of Chan-wook’s incisive satire, where the concept of choice, either an abundance or a lack of them, is beside the point under the specter of capitalism.

An entertaining, engaging, absurdist comedy of errors with a driving performance from Lee Byung-hun as a father on the brink of insanity who is scrambling to maintain the lifestyle he and his family have grown accustomed to. The political/social/economic commentary feels specific and satisfying, especially in the film's final sequence.

Great experience what a great movie thank a making masterpiece.i watch this movie twice

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Watched this without any information beforehand and was throughly and pleasantly surprised! Very funny and dark with excellent repeated themes and lines echoing throughout the movie as a sort of inside joke. Really enjoyed this one and wasn't expecting to. Probably my favorite cinema experience since Everything Everywhere All at Once. Movie was long but it didn't drag at all for me.

Brilliant directing, brilliant acting (love Lee Byung-hun), brilliant editing, brilliant movie overall

“韩国”“失业”“家庭”“大House”……这些关键词放在一起，很难不让人把本片和《寄生虫》放在一起对比，但看完发现其实两者差异还蛮大的。 本片最令我惊喜的其实是女主孙艺珍的表演，虽然之前从来没有看过她的作品。影片从技术方面来讲我认为和《寄生虫》类似，都是看着就明显很高级的，不论是镜头语言、意象、剪辑，但就是给人一种“我在炫技”的感觉，而不是真正服务于故事。

Park Chan-Wook never misses. Masterful performance of Lee Byung-Hun. The film leaves one thinking for a long time after seeing it

No Other Choice is a masterpiece by Park Chan-wook. Without a doubt, he has once again created a work of art, proving that his cinematic, artistic, and narrative talent remains impeccable. This film has been one of the best I’ve seen this year, and Lee Byung-hun’s performance is truly masterful. If the world were perfect, he would certainly be among the Oscar nominees, his acting is formidable, as it has always been throughout his career. He pours all his talent into this great film, and together with Park Chan-wook, they are the ultimate dynamic duo. All my admiration goes to both artists of Korean and world cinema. No Other Choice undoubtedly deserves the highest praise.

This film is simply masterful. From beginning to end, there's never a dull moment. The great scenes are memorable, whether they're funny or dramatic. The music is a perfect accompaniment to the film. Park Chan Wook has given us pure art, and above all Lee Byung hun as Mansoo is incredible. He makes his character endearing, funny, unpredictable and unrecognizable, sometimes going mad. The ending is blood-curdling, and I love it because this is realistic. No Other Choice will remain one of the films I'll never tire of watching.

The directing and cinematography are amazing ! Lee Byunghun's performance is brilliant, I loved this film

Park Chan-wook did it again: razor sharp satire on the current job market and AI slop

They say that “Imitation is the highest form of flattery,” and, arguably, that might be true – but only when the imitation works. When it doesn’t, the result is more of a pale wannabe clone, and that’s precisely the problem with this latest release from writer-director Park Chan-wook. This dark comedy essentially seeks to be this year’s equivalent to the Oscar-winning South Korean offering “Parasite” (“Gisaengchung”) (2019) from filmmaker Bong Joon-ho. But, try as it might, “No Other Choice” is no “Parasite” – not by a long shot. The edgy humor that made this film’s predecessor successful was grounded in its skillful handling, knowing just how far to push the bounds of propriety and absurdity without going overboard while still being able to evoke nervous but genuinely earned laughs from viewers. This picture, however, tries way too hard to produce those chuckles, sometimes crossing the line of appropriateness and landing in territory that falls flat, becomes excessive and sometimes even verges on being of questionable taste. These results emerge from a storyline in which Man-su (Lee Byung-hun), a South Korean paper mill manager who genuinely believes he’s attained all of the material, domestic and career satisfaction he could ever want, unexpectedly loses his job as a result of an American company buyout. Upset but undeterred, he vows to land a new job within a few months, but, much to his dismay, he’s still out of work long thereafter. He and his family reluctantly begin economizing, but Man-su is dissatisfied with the direction in which his life is heading. He thus decides to try a different approach to winning a managerial job that’s opened up at another paper company – by eliminating his competitors before they can be hired. On the surface, this deliciously wicked premise might seem like a viable plot for a sinister dark comedy, but that’s not the issue here – rather, it’s a question of (ahem) execution. To move the narrative forward, the picture relies on heavy-handed storytelling tactics that result in overwrought slapstick, dubious comedy bits (some of which aren’t even laughing matters) or material that just flat-out bombs. In addition, the story is woefully bogged down by extraneous subplots involving erroneously suspected infidelity, youthful antisocial behavior and alcohol-induced lapses in sobriety (what’s funny about any of that?). As a consequence, these ancillary story threads needlessly lengthen an already-overlong film, prompting viewers to want to yell at the screen to get on with it already. What’s perhaps most puzzling, however, is the protagonist’s single-mindedness about the need to land another job in paper manufacturing, regularly proclaiming that he has “no other choice.” Why? It’s an argument that’s made repeatedly but never adequately explained, a plot device that, in turn, causes the film to become repetitive, making this production seem even longer than it actually is (I can’t begin to say how often I looked at my watch while screening this one). These attributes also make me wonder how this release was able to earn two Critics Choice Award nominations, three Golden Globe Award nods, and accolades from numerous film festivals and critics’ organizations, given that this is one of the biggest disappointments of this year’s awards season. Indeed, I find it amusing that the protagonist routinely insists that he has no other choice about the options open to him, but, thankfully, we as viewers do have a choice when it comes to this film – by simply choosing to turn it off, a temptation I had to resist many times and almost wish I had.

Great directing, cinematography and performances. It's funny in the strangest way. Despite being 2+ hours long it went by fast. Lee Buying Hun was phenomenal as always but this might be my favorite performance of his.

Beautifully shot. Park Chan-wook wanted to film the autumn and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The film is wild and unfortunately too up-to-date