No Other Choice (South Korea, France, 2025, 139′)

Italian subtitles

Tuesday 29 September, 9 pm, Associazione culturale Comala, Corso Francesco Ferrucci, 65/a

In collaboration with Associazione culturale Comala.

On Tuesday 29 September at 9 pm, Job Film Days, in collaboration with Associazione Culturale Comala, presents No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook. The director of the “Vengeance Trilogy” (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, Lady Vengeance) turns the fear of losing one’s job into a ruthless black comedy about how far a man can go when he feels he has no alternatives left.

Admission: free.

International title: No Other Choice
Original title: Eo-jjeol su-ga eop-da
Director: Park Chan-wook
Screenplay: Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don McKellar, Jahye Lee
Photography: Kim Woo-hyung
Edit: Kim Ho-bin, Kim Sang-beom
Music: Cho Young-wuk
Cast: Lee Byung-hun, So Yul Choi, Lee Sung-min, Son Ye-jin, Yeom Hye-ran
Production: CJ ENM Co., CJ Entertainment, Moho Film 
Distribution: Lucky Red

You Man-su, an expert employee of paper company Solar Paper, where he has worked for twenty-five years, loses his job when a US company acquires it and lays off most of the staff. Until that moment, his life seemed perfect with a house, wife and two children. Now, everything has changed. He must juggle fruitless job interviews and precarious odd jobs. Both his stability and his family’s are at risk. Faced with yet another rejection, Man-su makes a radical decision. 

The movie is based on the novel The Ax by Donald E. Westlake published in 1997 it has already been brought to the screen by Costa-Gavras in 2005 with Headhunter. No Other Choice was presented at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, and it is a black comedy on the cruel world of today’s work.

Park Chan-wook.Korean director, screenwriter and producer, after graduating in philosophy, he worked as a cinema critic before going to frequent cinematographic sets becoming an assistant director. These first experiences paved the way for his debut behind the camera in 1992 with The Moon Is… the Sun’s Dream. He starts this way a filmography that explores a profound personal vision on the genre filmmaking intertwining and black humor. The “vengeance trilogy” (Mr. Vendetta, Old Boy, Lady Vendetta) established him on the international stage. 

Partial filmography: The Moon Is… the Sun’s Dream (1992), Trio (1997), Joint Security Area (2000), Mr. Vendetta (2002), Old Boy (2003), Lady Vendetta (2005), Thirst (2009), Stoker (2013), Mademoiselle (2016), Decision to Leave (2022), No Other Choice (2025).