Park Chan-wook's latest directorial No Other Choice has been selected by The Korean Film Council as the country's official submission for the 98th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category.
Best known for films like Trio, Oldboy, Thirst and Stoker, Park Chan-wook's new film stars Squid Game-fame Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin in lead roles. No Other Choice premiered at the Venice Film Festival, a first for Park Chan-wook in 20 years, and got a six-minute standing ovation for the twisted black comedy. The film is competing for the Golden Lion at the Festival.
This will be the second time that Park's film will be seeking award glory as his Decision to Leave also represented Korea at the Oscars.
Producer Kwak Sin-ae from the Film Council said, "It stands out for its outstanding quality and the actors' performances, and it has a high level of completeness, along with a globally recognised director and a distributor with Academy Award experience."
In No Other Choice, Lee and Son are joined by Moving-fame Park Hee-soon, The Spy Gone North-fame Lee Sung Min, The Uprising-fame Cha Seung-won, Hospital Playlist-fame Yoo Yeon-seok, and The Glory-fame Yeom Hye-ran. The upcoming film is based on the 1997 Donald Westlake novel The Ax.
The film revolves around Yoo Man-su, a paper-industry veteran, who is determined to land a new job after being fired from his current company after 25 years of service. He is ready to go to extreme lengths for acquiring a new job--so far that he does not hesitate to resort to murder.
The film is also slated to screen at Toronto and open the Busan International Film Festival.
Park has backed No Other Choice alongside Back Jisun of Moho Film, and Michèle Ray Gavras and Alexandre Gavras of France's KG Productions. Miky Lee of CJ Group serves as executive producer while CJ ENM financed the project.
The shortlist of movies selected for the upcoming Oscars will be announced on December 16 while the final five will be revealed on January 22, 2026.
