Decision to Leave (South Korea, 2022)

A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.

Finally, the master Park Chan-wook is back since his last feature film The Handmaiden in 2016. A time such as that should be declared a holiday. For Decision to Leave, Chan-wook earned himself the prize for best director at Cannes 2022. It sets itself apart from his earlier works slightly because in the middle of this crime drama, there's somewhat of a love story going on, and though of course it doesn't fully commit to that genre I've seen it being labeled as a romantic mystery. What's still present is the slick and fascinating editing that's always prevalent in Chan-wook's films, making every scene way more interesting than any other director would have. 

Whatever the genres involved it's a great film with multiple plot twists during its involving story. Chan-wook also decided to use Chinese actress Tang Wei, known from Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018) and Lust, Caution (2007) as the leading lady, and she's an absolute force.

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery. 2h 18min.

The Handmaiden (South Korea, 2016)

1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to elope with him, rob her of her fortune, and lock her up in a madhouse. The plan seems to proceed according to plan, until both girls discover some unexpected emotions.

I'm very late to the party with this one, and everyone has basically praised it enough, but one more recommendation can't hurt. Extremely well shot, full of memorable scenes (keep an eye out for the giant octopus), and a superb direction by the legend Park Chan-wook all makes it one of those films you just need to experience. You'll quickly notice how every scene is fine tuned to perfection and nothing was left to chance. It's based on (or loosely inspired by, if you ask the novels writer) an English novel called Fingersmith, which is set in London's Victorian era and you can really get the sense of that and not only because of the mandatory comedic scene involving a corset. Beautiful visuals and cinematography which is to expect when watching a film by Chan-wook, and even compared to his previous feats such as the deliciously edited Stoker (2013) and the fantastically written J.S.A. (2000), The Handmaiden ranks as one of his finest works.

My curious eye for art also picked up some interesting things, like when one of the characters is reading from an actual existing woodblock-printed book erotica, painted by the Japanese artist Hokusai. One of his most famous pieces include The Great Wave off Kanagawa, but the fact that he drew erotic art was news to me. In the film, his piece The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife is featured, and it's quite something. It has some sort of horrifying beauty to it and you get the feeling that it could be part of a much bigger mythos.  A fascinating flashback to old art.

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Romance

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (South Korea, 2006)

A young woman who believes she's a cyborg hears voices and harms herself while at work making radios. She's hospitalized in a mental institution where she eats nothing and talks to inanimate objects. She's Young-goon, granddaughter of a woman who thought she was a mouse and a mother who's a butcher. Young-goon comes to the attention of Il-sun, a ping-pong playing patient at the institution who makes it his goal to get her to eat. 

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK must be one of Park Chan-wook's (Thirst, Oldboy) more unusual films, with a cast of institutionalized crazies. The mental hospital is full of colorful and nutty personalities, delivering a lot of comic relief. Regardless of what you may gain from the plot, Park Chan-wook has done an excellent job with the screenplay and blending a romantic drama with a surreal and quirky comedy-twist. An odd and sweet film with plenty of humor.

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance