‘Decision to Leave’ walks the tightrope between crime and passion – Annenberg Media

“Decision to Leave,” the newest movie by South Korean director Park Chan-wook, delivers a distinct form of police procedural the place the thriller lies extra in romance than in homicide.

The story follows detective Hae-joon (performed by Park Hae-il) as he investigates the mysterious loss of life of a person whereas rising more and more hooked up to and obsessive about the sufferer’s widow, Seo-rae (performed by Tang Wei).

As the investigation continues, Hae-joon turns into infatuated with Seo-rae, establishing this relationship as he watches her throughout stakeouts and treats her to dinner in the interrogation room. At a sure level of their entanglement, the two are compelled to make that call on whether or not to stroll away from the different.

The movie seamlessly blends features of a conventional detective flick and a schmaltzy romance paying homage to Korean love dramas. It is a distinct take and tone from Park’s standard work, deviating from the grim brutality of works like “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” and the twisted thrill of “Oldboy.”

Instead, it makes use of gentle comedy and sentimentality to show how the protagonists’ detective-suspect relationship grows into each one thing extra, but nonetheless stays ever-stagnant. Their relationship will be described as intrusive at the begin, as the detective’s heavy respiration fills the theater when he watches her.

Repeatedly, a way is used the place two people who find themselves aside bodily appear to break house and time whereas on the telephone or utilizing binoculars to stand face-to-face in a room.

At a screening held at the USC School of Cinematic Arts on Monday, Park mentioned this by means of a translator, calling it a “goofy method,” but in addition the most “correct technique to categorical a personality’s feelings.”

This sense of closeness is finest seen all through the movie’s beautiful cinematography that makes use of the distinction between the huge image and the little particulars to present the intense intricacy of police investigations. At instances, a large shot of a seaside will painting folks on the scale of ants and others, close-ups present ants crawling on a useless man.

Even refined shifts in digicam focus are essential to the movie. In some photographs, Seo-rae will likely be blurred, out of focus, however Hae-joon will be seen clear as day. According to Park, “This was achieved by means of the use of VFX and the focus principally strikes in accordance to who’s talking the reality at the second.”

This expertise is additional personalised by means of the depiction of Hae-joon’s insomnia. The movie is riddled with inventive transitions, from clearing a desk to make room for a brand new scene to a useless man’s eye morphing into Hae-joon’s. Scenes mix into one another with out actual distinction and create a query of actuality and desires, which is one thing seen in movies similar to “Oldboy.”

Of course, as a result of this movie holds a drastically completely different tone from his gritty traditional, the context of those moments are fully completely different. In one scene, Seo-rae makes use of her caregiving strategies to assist Hae-joon sleep, and the scene dissolves into one thing taken proper out of a Okay-drama.

It reveals the two collectively at a Buddhist shrine on a wet day, conserving one another’s firm as they share umbrellas and Seo-rae rubs chapstick on Hae-joon’s lips. Such transitions make it so the scene each feels actual and additionally dreamlike at the similar time.

This is only one of the methods Park walks the line between police drama and love story. Where it turns into most evident is in the movie’s interrogation scenes.

He mentioned that if this was an bizarre detective movie, these scenes could be dry with “your typical two chairs, the one fluorescent gentle on the ceiling in a darkish setting and excessive distinction glow.”

On the different hand, he mentioned if he made it a typical romance movie, “perhaps the two characters would have been strolling alongside the forest or ingesting espresso collectively at a restaurant in Paris.”

Using manufacturing design and lighting strategies, Park sought to marry the two concepts right into a single, cohesive concept. He mentioned, “It had to be one unified factor: all the stakeouts, all the watching… all of it had to be part of the relationship course of.”

Furthermore, Park’s depictions of recent know-how on display screen, similar to smartphones and different units, strengthens the bonds between characters.

While technological units are infamous for being difficult to adapt in movie, Park was in a position to discover a method to not solely painting them creatively, but in addition make them crucial to the plot. PC cafes, Siri, translation units and smart-watches are ever current in the movie.

Hae-joon always texts Seo-rae in the awkward method youngsters strive to begin textual content conversations with their crushes all through the movie. In all these moments, his face is mirrored behind a loading message, slowly anticipating a response.

Seo-rae, who’s initially from China, has to use a translation app to keep away from mistranslations similar to “solely” into “solitary,” whereas speaking with Hae-joon.

Voice recordings change into particularly vital as a detective watches each element of his suspect’s life, and in the end information their most intimate moments.

By the finish of it, the romance facet of the movie truly overtakes the detective part. While there’s loads of homicide to go round, these instances ultimately attain their finish, however the love between protagonists seemingly continues drifting into uncertainty.

“Decision to Leave” is a wonderful story that’s not solely spectacular from a technical standpoint, however spectacular as a result of it views these strategies as important. In capturing the really feel and feelings of each forms of tales, Park successfully blends two genres right into a single movie with out making both really feel like a disposable subplot.

While slow-moving at instances, it leaves house for viewers to ponder and unravel this thriller of relationships themselves.

In the movie, Seo-rae asks the query, “In Korea, if the particular person you’re keen on will get married, does the love stop?” The similar query will be utilized inside completely different contexts.

When the chase ends–even in loss of life–do their emotions and want for each other finish?

“Decision to Leave” will formally launch in theaters in the U.S. beginning October 14, 2022.