Decision to Leave

“The closer you look, the harder you fall.”

7.3

2022

2h 19m

ThrillerMysteryRomance

Director: Park Chan-wook

Overview

From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.

Trailer

Official International Trailer #2 Official

Cast

Song Seo-rae

Tang Wei

Song Seo-rae

Jang Hae-joon

Park Hae-il

Jang Hae-joon

Jeong-ahn

Lee Jung-hyun

Jeong-ahn

Soo-wan

Go Kyung-pyo

Soo-wan

Lim Ho-shin

Park Yong-woo

Lim Ho-shin

Yeon-su

Kim Shin-young

Yeon-su

Ki Do-soo

Yoo Seung-mok

Ki Do-soo

Mi-ji

Jung Yi-seo

Mi-ji

Monday Granny

Jung Young-sook

Monday Granny

Lee Ji-goo

Lee Hak-ju

Lee Ji-goo

Hong San-oh

Park Jeong-min

Hong San-oh

Oh Ga-in

Jeong Ha-dam

Oh Ga-in

Reviews

badelf

Based on the pacing and acting, this should be a top-tier movie, but I found it difficult to watch because of the cruddy subtitles I had.

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Manuel São Bento

MORE SPOILER-FREE MINI-REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/other-films-watched-lff-2022 "Decision to Leave is far from Park Chan-wook's best works, but it's still an intriguing, layered story about obsession and "forbidden love". It captures the viewer's full attention during the engaging first part, where the central theme and the respective romance appear to be in sync. However, momentum is lost with the repetitive, lengthy second half in which the same narrative points are approached without the same impact. Surprising humor provides a good balance, but it strangely ceases to be used after a certain point." Rating: B-

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CinemaSerf

When a man is found at the base of a mountain with his skull crushed, it looks like he slipped, or did he commit suicide, or was he pushed? Well it falls to detectives "Jang Hae-joon" (Park Hae-il) and his young sidekick "Soo-wan" (Go Kyung-Po) to get to the bottom of it. They are suspicious enough, but the only realistic suspect is his younger widow "Song Seo-rae" (Tang Wei) - but she has an alibi. She looks after ageing grannies and they swear that she is the milk of human kindness. Gradually, the older policeman begins to obsess a little about her. He stakes out her apartment at all hours, follows her - and she knows it too. Is she playing with him? Toying with him? Skip forwards a few years and he and his wife are in a market where they encounter "Seo-rae" and her brand new husband - a man on the run from folks he owes a great deal of money to. An embarrassed exchange follows before they leave, only for the officer to discover a few days later that there is a corpse in swimming pool and yep, it is that of her new husband. Is she a serial killer? Is she completely innocent? The inspector is convinced she is behind it, but he cannot prove it and his personal and increasingly destructive fascination with the woman, along with her own considerable skills at deception and manipulation lead us to a denouement that, well, certainly surprises. The acting here is strong, especially the young Tang We; there is some humour and we are also given a few clues, ourselves, as to just what might have happened - and whether or not she might be (or not) the perpetrator - there are red herrings a-plenty here. Jung Young Sook offers quite a charming contribution as the ageing and ostensibly corroborating granny "Hae-dong" too. The plot has loads of twists and turns, and essentially offers us two stories rolled into one. It's quirkily entertaining - and we are never quite sure! I really enjoyed this.

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