Beyond No Other Choice: Park Chan-wook’s Private Film Canon
Coming off our digital cover story, the No Other Choice director turns from discussing how he made one of the year’s best movies to spotlighting the ones that shaped him.
Read our digital cover story on Park Chan-wook here
Our recent digital cover story traced how Park Chan-wook uses pitch-black humor and contradiction to interrogate work, power, and human futility in his latest feature, No Other Choice. But in addition to talking about the recent opus, the conversation eventually returned to Director Park’s neverending love of cinema.
Before he became one of contemporary cinema’s most singular voices, Park Chan-wook was a film critic. That foundation still shapes the way he speaks about movies today: with precision, generosity, and the quiet authority of someone who never stopped being a fan.
This interview shifts its focus away from Park’s own work and toward the films and filmmakers that shaped him. What follows isn’t a canon assembled for consensus, but a deeply personal map of discovery — Korean films that once existed on the margins, directors whose work was misunderstood or buried, and masters of their craft who first made him believe that cinema was his calling.
When Park Chan-wook recommends a film, it isn’t casual. It’s an act of conviction, rooted in a lifetime of looking closely. And when an inimitable director and former critic tells you what to watch, it’s time to update your Letterboxd.
IF YOU WERE TO CHOOSE THREE KOREAN FILMS YOU’D RECOMMEND TO OVERSEAS FILM FANS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE — AND WHY?
Park Chan-wook: First of all, without question, Kim Ki-young’s The Housemaid. The film I made is The Handmaiden, but this one is The Housemaid — a black-and-white film from the 1960s. In fact, the first Kim Ki-young film I encountered was Woman of Fire ’82, which he later remade himself, but the original film is the most shocking. It’s also the film that led me onto the path of becoming a director.
Second, Lee Doo-yong’s The Last Witness. Along with Woman of Fire ’82, when I saw it as a university student, it made me realize: “Even in Korea, it’s possible to make films this original.” At the time, Korean cinema didn’t have many works that were considered truly great, but even then there were directors like this making films like this. The fact that such masterpieces did appear — however rarely — gave me tremendous motivation.
And the third film is one I discovered relatively recently—maybe two or three years ago. It’s Ha Myung-joong’s film Tae. I knew he was a good filmmaker, but because he was such a top star in TV and film at the time, he was more widely known as an actor than as a director. Tae in particular wasn’t liked by the government then — they saw it, metaphorically, as containing anti-establishment ideas — so it was a total box-office failure. Its theatrical run was so short that even critics didn’t really get to see it. It became a forgotten work. But recently, when the Korean Film Archive restored it and screened it, I watched it and was genuinely stunned. At least in terms of cinematography, I can say with confidence it’s one of the greatest works in Korean film history. Cinematographer Jung Il-sung — it’s a shocking masterpiece that captures Korean sensibility incredibly well.
AMONG FILMS THAT CAPTURE ICONIC PLACES IN KOREA, WHICH ONE IS YOUR FAVORITE?
PCW: Whether people like it or not, the center of Korea is Seoul. And if you had to pick another place that best represents Seoul, it would be the Han River. So you probably already know my answer: Bong Joon-ho’s The Host. The way it moves along the Han River — the bridges, the scenery around it — blends so well with the drama that it rises to the level where you can call the river another main character.
WHO ARE SOME SOUTH KOREAN FILMMAKERS WHO YOU BELIEVE SHOULD ALSO BE BETTER KNOWN GLOBALLY?
PCW: Well I’d say he’s already quite well known, but director Kim Jee-Woon comes to mind. Of his films, there is one called The Foul King (2000) that is one of my favorite films. It is lesser known, which I find quite surprising, since both director Kim Jee-Woon and lead actor Song Kang-ho are well known. Their partnership in this film is hilarious. I’ve frequently recommended this film to others whenever I have had the chance.
And additionally director Jang Joon-Hwan, whose film Save the Green Planet! recently served as the basis for the Hollywood film Bugonia. I’d say this remake has helped further raise awareness for director Jang. And director Lee Kyung-Mi, specifically her projects Crush and Blush (2008) and The Truth Beneath (2016) — where I supported a bit of the screenwriting. I recommend these films and often gift people Blu-ray’s of them.
“I first thought, ‘I want to become a director,’ after watching Hitchcock’s Vertigo.” – Park Chan-wook
IF YOU COULD ONLY WATCH ONE DIRECTOR’S FILMOGRAPHY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHICH DIRECTOR WOULD IT BE?
PCW: I struggle between Luchino Visconti and Alfred Hitchcock, but I think it would be Hitchcock. For one thing, he made more films, so it would be more advantageous than Visconti if you’re watching for a lifetime. I first thought, “I want to become a director,” after watching Hitchcock’s Vertigo. And beyond Vertigo, there are so many masterpieces that even if you rewatch them over decades, you could endure it — you wouldn’t get tired of him. He’s that kind of director.
BESIDES VERTIGO, COULD YOU PICK ONE OR TWO MORE HITCHCOCK FILMS? OTHER ESSENTIAL WORKS.
PCW: One is the black-and-white film Strangers on a Train. Two men meet by chance on a train, talk, and then agree to cross-murder the people close to each other—an odd premise, but it’s great. And then, of course, North by Northwest — you could say it contains the essence of Hitchcock. The suspense, the humor—an absurd kind of humor — and all of that is expressed in its purest form.
