Park Chan-wook's New Film 'No Other Choice' Invited to Competition Section of Venice Film Festival... First Korean Film in 13 Years

Director Park Chan-wook's new film 〈No Other Choice〉 has officially been invited to the competition section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, gaining international attention.

The Venice Film Festival office announced on the 22nd (local time) during a live-streamed press conference on YouTube the 21 films invited to the competition section, including 〈No Other Choice〉. It has been 13 years since a Korean film has entered the competition section, following the late director Kim Ki-duk's 〈Pieta〉 in 2012.

The festival described 〈No Other Choice〉 as a story about a laid-off worker who tries to eliminate competitors while seeking re-employment. This is Park Chan-wook's second time entering the competition section of the Venice Film Festival, and the first in 20 years.

Director Park was invited to the competition section with his last work in the revenge trilogy, 〈Lady Vengeance〉, in 2005, where he won three unofficial awards: the Best Young Lion Award, the Best Innovation Award, and the Future Film Award. Prior to that, in 2004, he was invited to the non-competition section with the omnibus film 〈Three... Monsters〉.

Upon receiving the official invitation news, Park expressed, "After completing the film and receiving the invitation to Venice, I think to myself that I’m glad I didn’t give up on this work throughout those long years."

The lead actors also expressed their excitement. Lee Byung-hun stated, "I am so eager to see the completed film that I can hardly wait," while Son Ye-jin shared, "It is such an honor and a moving experience to have my first overseas film festival visit be Venice."

〈No Other Choice〉 depicts the story of a company employee, Mansoo, who lived a satisfying life but suddenly gets laid off and embarks on a journey to find re-employment to protect his wife, Miri, and their two children. This is Park's new work, released three years after 〈Decision to Leave〉 in 2022, and is based on the novel 「The Ax」 by American author Donald Westlake.

Lee Byung-hun plays the role of Mansoo, while Son Ye-jin plays his wife, Miri, marking the first time the two have played a couple. Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, and Cha Seung-won are also part of the cast. Park mentioned that he completed filming last January, stating, "This is the work I wanted to make the most."

The Hollywood remake of director Jang Joon-hwan's feature debut 〈Save the Earth〉 (2003), titled 〈Bugonia〉, has also been invited to the competition section.

〈Bugonia〉 tells the story of two protagonists obsessed with conspiracy theories who believe that the president of a famous pharmaceutical company is an alien trying to destroy the Earth and kidnap him. Directed by the Greek master Yorgos Lanthimos, known for films like 〈The Favourite〉 (2023) and 〈The Lobster〉 (2017), the film stars Emma Stone and is a global project with CJ ENM as a co-producer.

This competition section features many other noteworthy works. 〈After the Hunt〉, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Julia Roberts, and Jim Jarmusch's 〈Father Mother Sister Brother〉 are also included in the competition section.

François Ozon's 〈The Stranger〉 and Guillermo del Toro's 〈Frankenstein〉 are both films based on novels of the same name and will compete in the competition section.

The Venice International Film Festival is a prestigious film festival known as one of the top three international film festivals in the world, alongside Cannes and Berlin. The invited films in the competition section will compete for the highest award, the Golden Lion, until the festival's closing on September 6.