*This article contains some spoilers for "No Other Choice."
No Other Choice, which opened on the 24th, is a work in which director Park Chan-wook took a step closer to the general public compared with his previous films. Through it, Park Chan-wook broke through the artistic vein that made him a master but not mainstream. He did not fall into the self-contradiction of self-replication. We looked into the facets of that choice that inevitably draws you in.
# job to hold or job to lose
In No Other Choice, the protagonist Mansu is fired when the paper mill Taeyang, where he had worked for 25 years, is taken over by a foreign company. The new company Mansu seeks to rejoin is Mun Paper, the only paper company in the declining paper industry that has opened a new sales channel. Even that company is just as uneasy in an era when factory automation is dominant. Mansu, who had considered himself blue-collar despite being on the threshold of management, finds his job reduced to a position that could be lost at any time.
Sunlight is one of the elements that torments Mansu in the film. Even during his job interview for reemployment, the dying sunlight reflects on Mansu's face and momentarily blinds him. Such dazzling sunlight makes it impossible for anyone to keep their eyes open, and for Mansu it becomes something that clouds his judgment at decisive moments. The sunlight, typically depicted as warm rays, takes on a paradoxically opposite meaning in No Other Choice, and this distortion heightens the tension. In addition, like sunlight, an unavoidable natural phenomenon, dismissal and job loss also arrive for humans like a natural disaster.
# there is a "choice"
As the title No Other Choice suggests, the film emphasizes opportunities for choice throughout. After losing his job, Mansu could have perhaps reflected on himself and honed his skills, or, following the advice of his wife Miri (played by Son Ye-jin), sold the house and reduced household goods to pursue other work. Or, like Sijo (played by Cha Seung-won), he could have taken on other work even if it felt humiliating at first. Miri could have thoroughly investigated the truth instead of overlooking Mansu's actions, and Beommok (played by Lee Sung-min) could, as his wife Ara (played by Yeom Hye-ran) suggested, avoid sinking into despair after losing his job and open a music café following his craftsman's advice. The important thing is not the job loss itself but the attitude after job loss. Yet all of them reject opportunities themselves and dismiss their actions as "there was no other choice."
The first time "No other choice" is uttered in the film is no different. The foreign manager who acquired Taeyang Paper tells Mansu, who came to inquire about restructuring, simply "No other choice." It is the first moment the film rationalizes the phrase No Other Choice. Faced with capital logic, a worker who put in 25 years at the paper mill becomes reduced from a key employee to a dependent of the company. However, just as Mansu and those around him could have made different choices, corporate bodies have far more options and methods available than individuals do. Dismissal is just one procedure, not the only answer. The film thus reminds us that everything we take for granted is not necessarily inevitable.
# losing money and losing virtue
Mansu boldly proposed to Miri, a single mother, and is a kind father to the children, but the moment he loses his job and his self-esteem, he becomes possessive toward his wife. Because it is not direct violence such as beating, it is more chilling. A man who hesitates repeatedly even in front of job competitors is merciless when it comes to stripping his wife's clothes and searching her underwear. A person who had previously struggled to commit violence justified by his own resolve has no hesitation in committing violence against the family who depends on him once he loses his reason.
Also, early in the film Mansu emphasized solidarity with colleagues, saying "If you all leave, who will I work with?" Yet at the last reemployment interview he is worried only about living alone. When asked by the interviewer whether he opposes automation at the paper mill, he probes, "But isn't at least one person needed?" It may be the difference before and after experiencing unemployment and dismissal, but it shows how shallow his sense of belonging was. Through these events, Mansu becomes peculiarly cowardly after losing his economic power. That does not mean generosity naturally comes from abundance. Rather, No Other Choice, even in the same situation, reminds us of nonviolent options that might be chosen despite poverty and harshness. You could be different from Mansu. It is a passage where audiences can step back and contemplate.
# a different strand of Park Chan-wook
Throughout the film, director Park Chan-wook depicts Mansu's reality, cowardice and violence with a featherlike lightness. Faced with issues of survival and livelihood, everything can feel light, and at the same time it is a story that can make you laugh because you can view it from a distance. It fits the saying that from afar it's close to comedy, up close it's tragedy. That is why No Other Choice is a black comedy. It makes you smile bitterly and makes you laugh through tears. Each scene offers an immediate impression, but because the emotional line is not one-dimensional as the story unfolds, it delivers complex emotions.
Furthermore, No Other Choice resonates with anyone who has challenged job searching and employment, especially as reemployment for people in their 40s and 50s becomes a social issue and in an era when AI automation forces humans to compete for jobs. If the director's earlier beloved works such as Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave honed dramatic stories like desperate revenge or love with a sharp edge, No Other Choice takes a more moderate approach to a widely shared story. Its intuitive storytelling also differs in tone from previous works that led viewers to find hidden symbols and metaphors. Preferences can be debated, yet because it is Park Chan-wook, expectations continue and the draw that brings viewers back even after knowing what to expect remains No Other Choice.
[Photo] Provided by CJ ENM.
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