Decision to Leave

Decision to Leave

Hae-Joon, a seasoned detective, investigates the suspicious death of a man on a mountaintop. Soon, he begins to suspect Seo-rae, the deceased's wife, while being unsettled by his attraction to her.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
  • Stars: Tang Wei, Park Hae-il, Lee Jung-hyun, Park Yong-woo, Go Kyung-pyo, Jung Yi-seo, Lee Hak-joo, Jeong Ha-dam, Lee Yong-nyeo, Jung Young-sook, Kim Shin-young, Park Jeong-min, Yoo Teo, Go Min-si, Seo Hyun-woo, Yoo Seung-mok, Kim Do-yeon, Jeong So-ri, Shin An-jin, Cha Seo-won, Joo In-young, Choi Sun-ja, Jin Yong-uk, Choi Dae-hoon, Kim Mi-hwa, Kwak Eun-jin, Ahn Seong-bong, Kim Gook-jin, Kim Sang-hyun
  • Director: Park Chan-wook
 Comments
  • glenaobrien - 1 April 2024
    A compelling Korean noir that messes with time and perspective
    In Decision to Leave, Park Chan-wook has created a Korean noir that messes with time, perspective and narrative structure in a way that disorients but also engages the viewer. The film it most brings to mind is Hitchcock's Vertigo (1948) with a policeman obsessed with an enigmatic woman and its themes of suicide and loss. One moment detective Jang Hae-Joon (Park Hae-il) is watching Song Seo-Rae (Tang Wei) from his car, then he observes himself from the seat of car, walking into the room to speak with her. They move in and out of events they experienced together as if they were able to defy time and space, inserting their past and present selves into the moments that have created their relationship. At any moment conversations and characters are seamlessly relocated to different settings at different moments in the timeline. It's a clever and meticulously constructed technique that walks the tightrope between experimentalism and incoherence. The pacing is slow but the narrative and filming techniques have an almost hypnotic effect that keeps you glued for its admittedly somewhat lengthy runtime. Chan-wook (director of Oldboy, Stoker, and The Handmaiden to name a few) demonstrates again that he is in the front rank of Korean film.
  • HuzaifaHusaini - 14 November 2023
    "A MUST WATCH"
    Decision to Leave is a potent brew of love, emotional manipulation , and obsession. Though it hasn't got over the top action sequences like earlier Park Chan Wook work "Oldboy" it hasn't got the beautiful costumes and art of "The Handmaiden" but what it has got is it's heart and soul in place with strong screenplay, powerful performance from leads specially Tang Wei (Lust, Caution) is a perfect choice. Park Hae il has played an Insomniac as good as Stellan Skarsgard and Al Pacino. Cinematography is beautiful, It has got beautiful green and blue colour pallets like Chan Wook Park's previous work. Music is Beautiful and Haunting at same time like Director's previous work. The last act left me breathless and restless. Decision to Leave is another gem in Park Chan Wook's neckless. A must watch indeed...
  • dromasca - 4 August 2023
    cold passion
    We always expect surprises and extremes from the Korean director Park Chan-wook. 'Decision to Leave' (Korean title is 'Heojil kyolshim') seems to deviate from this rule. There is no complete lack of shocking shots, but we are far from the eroticism or violence of his previous films. This 2022 production is a combination of police investigation, psychological thriller and above all a toxic and obsessive love story. It's a coming-of-age film that confirms that Park Chan-wook is one of the most exciting Korean directors of the moment.

    Hae-joon is a police officer specializing in complicated crime cases. In the first part of the film we find him in Busan where interesting cases abound, some of them unexplained. Hae-joon is an insomniac and his marriage is faltering. His wife works far away and the couple only see each other on weekends. The investigation into the mountaintop death of an immigration official who was an experienced mountaineer brings him into contact with Seo-rae, the victim's much younger wife, a beautiful woman of Chinese descent, who becomes the prime suspect. Hae-joon follows the woman and becomes interested in her for reasons beyond the professional reasons. The death is classified as suicide, but neither the case nor the relationship between the two ends there. 13 months later, the two meet again in Ipo, a much quieter town by the sea. Hae-joon tries to fix his own marriage while Seo-rae is remarried to a financial analyst who has quite a few enemies. His death becomes the first murder in Ipo after a long time. Hae-joon investigates again, Seo-rae is again a suspect. However, the cases are much more complex than the policeman suspects and his feelings towards the young woman do not help him at all in the investigations.

    Park Chan-wook has stated in interviews that one of the film's inspirations was Scandinavian detective novels. Indeed, the visual experience constructed by the director and his cinematographer Kim Ji-yong reflects this. Many scenes take place at night or in dimly lit interiors, and when the scenes take place during the day, the colors are metallic and the sky is almost always overcast. Nature blends unsettlingly and ultimately overwhelmingly into the story. In the narration, Park Chan-wook uses a very interesting method, alternating the thoughts of detective Hae-joon, the main character, in the real images. The sense that the story is being told from the man's point of view is very well suggested, just visually, without using voice-overs like other directors would have done. The two actors who play the main roles - Park Hae-il and Tang Wei - each play their roles very well, but the chemistry between the two did not seem to work very well. Maybe it's my problem too because I'm not very familiar with Asian communication codes and facial expressions. I was able to connect with each of them individually, but I didn't feel the passion between them that should fuel what's happening on screen. The film is impressive as it is, but I wish Park Chan-wook was more daring like he was in some of his previous films.
  • moftakharianasorimovaheds - 29 December 2022
    When you have both the story and the know how to create
    It was no surprise to me to see one of my favourite directors has created another great movie, what astonished me was the editing in this film. The transitions between scenes are phenomenal. So accurate and smooth that I sometimes paused the movie to watch the transitions again.

    Another strong point was the music, both the original score and the choice of classical music.

    They all acted fabulous, and even though with Korean movies there is always a barrier between the audience and the actors I think they did a very good job.

    Another thing that distinguishes this movie from other movies I saw this year is the attention to details. In many scenes the choice of color palette, the choice of prompts even the notebook and the wallpaper all go hand in hand to give you a sense of cohesion or better said theme.

    In the end, I cannot say this was in my top 20, but definitely in my top 100.

    Highly recommend.
  • Jithindurden - 16 December 2022
    Immaculate romantic movie hiding behind a police procedural
    I'm glad I didn't watch this on any OTT platforms till now and got to watch it on the big screen. One of the most beautiful movies I've seen this year. Park Chan-wook have this unique ability to tell stories that are so crazy in a way that makes you think it's the most natural thing in the world. The humour that is woven through the movie so naturally makes it even more appealing because of the ease of blending all these aspects. In some of his movies, he reminds you while you watch the movie but here I felt like unless you're intentionally taking yourself out of the engaging film and thinking about it, you may not even realize how outlandish all of it is. Tang Wei is incredible here and speaks a ton even when she's not really speaking with those expressive eyes.

    The use of music, editing and visual effects choices were so immaculate in making a lot of its moments feel almost mystic and engrossing.

    Maybe unpopular opinion but I felt there were some parallels between this and Deepwater as films this year involving toxic romance that becomes lethal to others. Even though Deepwater is nowhere near Decision to Leave in its execution, it was a very well-written film that has more pulp in it which was marketed falsely which skewed people's expectations of it. Both are very notable films of this year in my opinion.
  • iton-67578 - 27 November 2022
    For Lovers of Tang Wei
    Just thought I would throw in a few thoughts to consider. First, I enjoyed the film (and have seen several others with Tang Wei -- always a joy). This plot seemed at times a bit contrived for the sake of the theme, which I would call: when you cannot be with the one you love, the next best thing is to make them remember you forever. Tang Wei's character seems to be a person who has received little sympathy in her life, despite attempting to help elders (in her own way); she is very intelligent and capable but perhaps is simply unlucky in life; and she wishes to find a worthy man who will love her, but knows she is not one who can be respectable. IF we can believe anything she tells the detective, she has mercy killed her mother (at her mother's request; i.e., the mother decided to leave), killed her somewhat shady and possibly abusive husband, and eventually another elderly lady (who was on the way out health-wise too) -- so, at best, she has a somewhat questionable sense of moral justifications for her actions. I would not really call her a serial killer, but killing does not trouble her when there is a reason in her mind. This may give her a bit of a thrill when she gets off clean after killing the first husband; but she also understands that it makes her an unsuitable match for the moral homicide detective. Yet, she likes him once he falls for her and treats her well, and she truly feels badly when she realizes she has broken his spirit. To show her love and leave him with an odd gift (one which her mother, who decided to leave earlier, also left to her -- a poignant memory of the loving-departed), she tries to rebuild his confidence and make her love known to the detective. Understanding that they cannot realistically be together, she then decides to leave him (and her own ruined life) but in such a way as to leave a lasting memory of her in his mind. In her way, she does love him and is satisfied if he will always ardently remember her. (I think the ending suggests that he will.) It is an odd story, but it reminds me a bit of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" in that the main character cannot enjoy his life but becomes excited when doing his detective work (like this detective needs a murder case to get excited, says his wife), and winds up falling in love with one of the subjects he is hunting/investigating (an android in Deckard's case; Tang Wei in this detective's life) -- who provides him more excitement and love than his co-workers and wife (with whom he cannot relate emotionally). He longs for a thrilling and personally fulfilling escape, and the found lover provides that (in both stories; and in both stories, the female lead does not stay physically with the detective), even if pursuing this relationship ruins his staid career and marriage. For Tang Wei's character, this is perhaps the best end possible, and satisfying in that she believes he will always remember and long for her. She knew him well enough to be confident in that, and I think she was correct. If you are into Tang Wei and wish to see a film that is not a blockbuster-styled flick nor an action-based and simplistic moving comic strip, but rather one you can think a bit about and perhaps watch twice (to get the finer plot details in the second half), give it a go. Then you can consider and debate whether the female lead is a possible personality (I will vote yes, but hopefully not a common type). Bravo from me! I truly enjoyed the film and could watch it again now. Nice work, to all who contributed!
  • slammerhard - 11 November 2022
    A flawed effort that fails to impress Asian and Western audiences.
    It seems that this director has lost the skill to make good films. Compared to other Korean thrillers such as New World and Yellow Sea this is a rather poor effort. By trying to charm simultaneously both Chinese Censorship bureau and European festival board members, the director has made a film which is unable to decide which audience group it wants too target and at the end fails to satisfy either.

    The presence of Tang Wei was probably a calculated move to guarantee the film will hit the Chinese screens. Most of the time, Decision to Leave plays like a less edgier version of modern Mainland noir such as Wild Goose Lake and Black Coal Thin Ice. Storyline is ludicrous, perpetuates lots of old fashioned cliches from Asian love stories. Lots of cinematic references, the most interesting one being the one with the hand cream from The Housemaid (1960.) Tang Wei is good, but there is no chemistry between the two leads, and the male protagonist is too bland in terms of appearance.

    Flawless production design is nothing new in Korean cinema. As a matter of fact you will spend more time ogling over those speckless interior spaces rather than the drama unfolding before your eyes.

    One a positive note, at least there is the presence of former pop idol Lee Jung Hyun . Not that she does anything special, but she is always good to look at.

    Those who happened to be impressed by this film should check out the far more superior examples of China neo-noir such as the films of Diao Yinan, Bi Gan.
  • evanston_dad - 3 November 2022
    Delightful Surprise
    "Decision to Leave" turned out to be a delightful surprise.

    Or maybe not a surprise exactly. After all, I loved the director's "The Handmaiden," and it was largely my love of that film that drove me to this one. But I guess the surprise came in the kind of movie it is. I was prepared for something far more dour, somber, serious. This is a playful and even often funny detective thriller that has one foot solidly planted in the good old film noirs of yesteryear. As noir is just about my favorite film genre, that's never a bad thing.

    "Decision to Leave" is hard to categorize. Part swoony romance, part cat-and-mouse suspense film, part police procedural, it gives us two characters, a detective and a murder suspect, and asks what would happen if both fell for each other and would benefit from the mysteries at the center of the crimes throughout the movie never being solved. The acting throughout is stellar, but special kudos go to Tang Wei as one of the best femmes fatale in recent memory. The movie has style to spare, and brisk editing keeps the thing movie quickly even though it's quite a long movie.

    A real treat.

    Grade: A.