Park Chan-wook Has Shared His Thoughts On Decision To Leave's Themes

Each year brings new trends in so many ways, with movies being no exception. Still, one that has held on longer than most is none other than the South Korean grip on the world. Far from just dominating Hollywood, the nation has been inspiring music and TV shows for the last few years.

The likes of the drama show ‘Squid Game’ and thriller movie ‘Parasite’ have taken over the headlines, but now there’s a new one to add to the list: the romantic movie ‘Decision to Leave.’ It’s brought to life by none other than Park Chan-wook, who has shared his thoughts on ‘Decision to Leave’s themes in recent weeks.

Decision to Leave is unlike anything from Park Chan-wook’s previous work

Anyone familiar with Park Chan-wook’s work might have been surprised when they learned the romance movie ‘Decision to Leave’ was the latest of his movies to hit the big screen. That’s because it’s so unlike anything else from the filmmaker, but that doesn’t mean it was always meant to be that way. Chan-wook is usually known for his violent movies that take away from the underlying romantic themes, with the filmmaker admitting to Variety that he “didn’t start off” trying to make a romantic movie.” Instead, he thought he would begin in that genre before moving “beyond it” as the film progressed.

The filmmaker decided to tone down the violence in Decision to Leave

You might have to take a closer look at some of Park Chan-wook’s previous movies to see the romantic undertones, but they exist. Still, creating ‘Decision to Leave’ saw the filmmaker take a turn away from the violence that so many are used to seeing so the romantic themes could shine through. Apparently, this was a conscious decision, with Chan-wook confessing to Variety he was worried people would “laugh” at him if he announced he was creating a romantic movie. Instead, Chan-wook knew he had to “get rid of that veil” that covered the stories in so many of his other films to show off a more sensitive side in his productions.

Decision to Leave was an instant international hit

While Park Chan-wook might have been worried about his film being a laughing stock, the filmmaker didn’t need to have any concerns about ‘Decision to Leave.’ It wasn’t long before the movie, which tells the tale of a wife accused of ending her husband’s life, became an international hit. Taking home multiple Grand Bell Awards and the Blue Dragon Award for Best Film was just the beginning, with plenty of the stars of ‘Decision to Leave’ winning awards in their own rights for their roles.

Park Chan-wook has shared his thoughts on ‘Decision to Leave’s themes, and it seems everything is finally making sense. While it might be a world away from so many of the movies we’re used to seeing from the filmmaker, it all fell into perfect place.