One of the most romantic films I’ve ever seen weirdly enough starts with not only a death but a potential murder. Park Chan-wook is back after almost 7 years since his last film The Handmaiden and in my opinion, it was well worth the wait. The film follows detective Jang Hae-joon as he investigates the mysterious Song Sea-rea the wife of the suspected murder victim.
The film is beautiful in many ways, the cinematography is striking from the very first frame, the editing is lavish and so unique, the cast is incredible. Everyone feels like real life people and are just engrossing to watch. Regular composer for Park Chan-wook, Jo Yeong-wook creates a score which is simply elegant and is so effective in many scenes.
Ironically enough this has similar story structure to Park Chan-wook’s first film JSA, that film starts with an investigation which evolves into a film about unlikely people becoming friends. With Decision to Leave the plot reminds me of something you would see on Murder, She Wrote. Starting with a murder mystery and as you watch, it then slowly twists into becoming a romance film, it’s something truly gripping and engaging. Everything about this film is just a showcase of a film making genius showcasing his craft and it’s utterly spellbinding to watch and because of that Decision to Leave is one of my favourite films of 2022 and I cannot wait for this film to get its physical release.
