Decision to Leave

Park Chan-wook puts a ravishing spin on a timeless story of romantic obsession and a detective who falls for his suspect.

It’s not as immediately gripping as his previous work, but it lingers like perfume.

Possibly the sexiest movie of the year and certainly one of the best.

Park’s willingness to court a lot of momentary confusion about who’s who and what’s what will be a little much for some. I feel this way: When the filmmaking and the acting’s on this level, Park can zag around all he wants.

One of the smartest, most satisfying murder mysteries in years.

The narrative is structurally audacious, and regularly deploys flashbacks and clever cuts, and scenes within scenes. It’s also the most melancholic film of Park’s career...

Chan-wook Park achieves an extraordinary resolution, combining natural elevations and intimate abysses with lyricism and profound beauty. [Full review in Spanish]

By the time it works its way to its tragic conclusion, Decision to Leave has spun a fully immersive web of romantic intrigue that demonstrates without doubt that Park is just as good in a restrained mode as he is when he lets it all fly.

Its crawling pace and repressed emotion can be stifling at times, though, and the movie's second half deliberately repeats elements of its first, which makes for a long, winding road along which we confirm our worst fears about everybody involved.

Park Chan Woo wraps the mystery in sumptuous visuals, ranging from his attractive looking stars to locations in the Busan area, including scenic beach fronts and a mystical temple.