No Other Choice director Park Chan-wook said he is thirsty for box-office success and wants the love of many viewers.
On the afternoon of the 23rd, an interview with No Other Choice director Park Chan-wook was held at a café in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno District, Seoul.
No Other Choice (director Park Chan-wook, distributed by CJ ENM, produced by Moho Film·CJ ENM Studios) tells the story of Mansu (played by Lee Byung-hun), an office worker who felt his life was so satisfying that he could say "he had achieved everything," who is suddenly fired and prepares his own war toward reemployment to protect his wife Miri (played by Son Ye-jin) and their two children and to hold on to the home he worked hard to acquire. Based on the original novel X by American novelist Donald Westlake, it is a remake of Costa-Gavras's film Ax: A Guide to the Dangers of Employment.
It was previously invited to the competition section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival and selected as the opening film of the 30th Busan International Film Festival, and it has been officially invited to events such as the 50th Toronto International Film Festival and the 63rd New York Film Festival, drawing global attention. In addition, it was selected as Korea's official entry for the international feature film category at the 2026 Academy Awards, raising interest in whether it can make the final shortlist.
About the reactions immediately after the film's release, he said, "I hear them from my team, but I don't think my team tells me everything. Maybe they only tell me good things to protect my mental state. I manage my mental state too," and he added with a laugh, "I read something director Guillermo del Toro said in an interview that you can't accept only good reviews. You have to acknowledge critical reviews, but because you don't want to accept bad reviews, you might refuse to accept good ones. I think I'm like that too. He called us kindred spirits."
No Other Choice received praise and rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival but failed to win an award, leaving regret. Even so, Park Chan-wook said, "I'm satisfied because it's the best response among my films."
Regarding this, he said, "During the festival, dailies come out and experts and critics give scores. When those were tallied, there had never been a time we were continuously first. This was the first. At a press screening there was applause in the middle, and that was also a first," and he added, "Rather than personal or film awards, if there was hope, I thought it would be good to win best actor. Lee Byung-hun acted so well and has a lot of screen time. I thought that could be hoped for. For box-office success, I felt best actor would be better than my individual awards. If the criterion is whether it helps the box office, it seemed better if Lee Byung-hun won. Because I make films based solely on that criterion," he said, drawing laughter.
Meanwhile, No Other Choice opens on the 24th.
[Photo] Provided by CJ ENM
[OSEN]