Most filmmakers are lucky if they make one masterpiece in their lifetime – Park Chan-wook can’t seem to stop doing it. No Other Choice is his long-awaited adaptation of Donald Westlake’s 1997 corporate satire-thriller ‘The Ax’, about alaid-off employee who decides to thin out the job pool. Reuniting with leading man Lee Byung-hun, director Park executes asharp, timely and blisteringly funny tale of personal greed, while pondering the lurking evil ofAI.
LWLies: You’ve spoken about your desire to adapt ‘The Ax’ into afilm afew times over the years, but Iwonder how your understanding or perception of that story has changed since you first readit?
Park: Idon’t exactly remember, because it’s been so long since Iread the novel – Ithink it was around 15years ago – but arecent revelation Idid have is that Ifelt that it was necessary to include the introduction of AI technology. Ifelt that was the only way to properly reflect the realities oftoday.
Is that something that you are personally concerned with both in the filmmaking world and in the wider world – the prevalence and speed at which AI is becoming more accepted?
Yes, I’m greatly concerned about it. Of course, it could be atechnology that could become beneficial and improve our lives. Specifically in the context of filmmaking, for young filmmakers with no money and just imagination, Ithink it could be ahelpful tool to easily and affordably realise their vision of, for instance, afuture society. So there are those benefits of AI technology, but my concern is definitely greater than the benefits Isee in it. Three years ago, afriend started using AI, and he no longer saw aneed for his secretary, so he fired his secretary. Considering the speed of development of AI, who could tell how quickly they will develop in the next year or in the next two years, and how many people will lose their jobs because of that? I’ve also heard reports of AI in the gaming industry, where AI has refused the user’s commands. Even people around me, whenever they ask AI questions, they always receive deceitful answers, and that alone scares me greatly. Considering all of that, unlike something like the washing machine, Idon’t think this is atool that will simply make our lives more convenient.
Get more Little WhiteLies
Another element of No Other Choice Ifound interesting is how much the concept of well-paid employment is tied to masculinity – certainly for Yoo Man-su, but also for the other men that we meet in the film, alot of their identity is tied to their jobs. I’m curious if this is areflection of how you perceive modern South Korean work culture.
Certainly, Idid emphasise that element more in the film than in the original novel. Ido think this element works better for the audience in Korea since Korean society does have stronger traces of patriarchy. But you mustn’t forget that the issue of masculinity and such already featured in the original novel, which is an American novel. After showing this film to audiences from different countries, they were all equally nodding and laughing and sympathising with what’s happening on the screen. So Ibelieve that it’s arelevant issue for anywhere in theworld.
The film to me also seems quite concerned with how selfish capitalism forces us to become, or tries to force us to become.
Yes, the reason Iimmediately knew Iwanted to adapt this novel into amovie, even before Iclosed the book, was because Igreatly empathised with those elements. Man-su is not in asituation where he immediately has to go and live out on the streets and starve. He just doesn’t want to fall below the middle-class lifestyle that he’s been maintaining. When he says there’s no other choice, that’s simply his excuse. So in the scene where Man-su is telling Beom-mo that if he doesn’t have money, he can just sell his house or go and work in asupermarket, the audience becomes aware that Man-su is aware of this fact. Why doesn’t he follow his own words? His whole process of making afake company and ajob posting and collecting resumés to kill his potential competitors is avery capitalist method in nature. The companies pick superior candidates to hire at their company, and Man-su does something worse by picking out these superior candidates to killthem.