Decision To Leave Teaser: Park Chan-Wook Returns With A New Mystery Thriller
Park Chan-wook is back, baby! The director of such twisted yet richly-emotional and deeply-empathetic thrillers as "Oldboy," "Thirst," and "The Handmaiden" (along with his equally-warped English-language directing debut, "Stoker") has a new movie coming out in 2022. Titled "Decision to Leave," the mystery-thriller centers on a detective ("Memories of Murder" and "The Host" actor Park Hae-il), who finds himself falling for an enigmatic widow ("Lust, Caution" and "Blackhat" actor Tang Wei) after she becomes the lead suspect in his latest murder investigation.
If you're hoping to learn more about the film, which Park Chan-wook directed from a script he penned with his writing partner Jeong Seo-kyeong, you might be a little disappointed with the "Decision to Leave" teaser. At only 24 seconds long, it's far bigger on vibes and alluring imagery (like a close-up of a mouth blowing a water drop over the top of a hand) than plot details. But, then again, Park Chan-wook movies are usually as much about the vibes and visuals as the actual story, so that only feels right in a way.
Watch the Decision to Leave teaser
The official synopsis for "Decision to Leave" reads as follows:
"A man falls from a mountain peak to his death. The detective in charge of the investigation, Hae-joon (Park Hae-il), comes to meet the dead man's wife Seo-rae (Tang Wei). When she becomes a suspect, Hae-joon finds himself slowly developing an interest in her."
"Decision to Leave" will compete for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival taking place from May 17-28, 2022. It joins a lineup that includes David Cronenberg's much-anticipated return to sci-fi and body horror, "Crimes of the Future," as well as George Miller's fantasy-romance "Three Thousand Years of Longing," Kelly Reichardt's dramedy "Showing Up," and "The Artist" director Michel Hazanavicius' zombie comedy "Final Cut." That also makes "Decision to Leave" the latest in a long line of Park Chan-wook movies to head to the annual event after the likes of "Oldboy" (which won the festival's Grand Prix in 2004), "Thirst" (which won the Jury Prize at the 2009 iteration of the festival), and "The Handmaiden."
No worries, though: If you're one of the many, many film buffs who won't be attending the prestigious festival, global distributor and online streaming service MUBI has already picked up "Decision to Leave" for a Fall 2022 theatrical release in the U.S. and UK. In other words, you won't have to wait too long to find out what dark goodness Park Chan-wook has cooked up for us this time.