Park Jang Wook made a candid note about the state of Korean films at a press conference for “Other Choices,” the opening film of the 30th Busan International Film Festival.
Premiering in Venice last month, the drama was adopted from Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel The Axe, and rethinks the story through the lens of a struggling Korean family.
The film follows a man who was fired from his long-standing job at a paper manufacturer. As his outlook decreases, he goes to brutal lengths to secure employment and protect his family. The story park said it resonated with him as an all-talk of the filmmaker’s struggle today. “The lost paper trade is not the same as what we face in cinemas,” he observed. “Both industries we once thought were essential, but both are fighting for survival.”
He also linked the film’s dark themes to contemporary unrests about technology. “The issue of AI is raised in the film’s final act and reflects the fear we all share. Even if it hasn’t changed our industry yet, it’s impossible to measure the pace of development.
Talking to local and international media, Park also expressed unease over the state of the Korean film industry. “The industry is experiencing extremely difficulties right now,” Park said. “Theatre exhibitions face even greater challenges than filmmaking itself. We all wonder whether theaters will overcome this crisis and become a place where viewers really love once again.”
Park emphasized on the big screen that “there are no other options.” “This is a film that requires you to experience in theatres,” he said. “If the audience returns that joy and rediscovers it, it can help the film recover.”
Lead actor Lee Byung-Hun repeated his call for theatrical support. “I found something new for the second and third time in the film,” he said. “The performance and details of the Mise-en-Scène are only alive and lively on the big screen. So people have to watch it in the cinema.”
Ye Jin, the son of her co-star, highlighted the emotional foundation of the story, approaching her role “as both a mother and a wife in very ordinary circumstances,” saying she hoped the audience would lead to a portrait of endurance under pressure. “It could be a story about paper, but it’s also about how people adapt, endure and love,” she said.
The ensemble cast gifts included Park Hae Soo, Lee Sung Min and Yam Hae Ran. But it was the remaining Park warning that was positioned as “there is no other option” not only as a tense adaptation of Westlake’s novel, but as a reflection of an industry addressing existential uncertainty.
