A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.
- Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 74 wins & 157 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPark Chan-wook's inspiration for the film was the Swedish crime novel series "The Story of a Crime" by authors Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. The series follows the aging police detective Martin Beck and are known for their social critique. Park's pitch was "what if Martin Beck fell in love with a suspect?"
- GoofsAt 1:10, there is a close up of Ki Do-soo's Rolex Day Date with perpetual movement. This is an automatic watch, with sweeping second hand, and yet it is show to 'tick' to the next minute, and the minute hand jumps. This is not how Rolex automatic movements work.
- SoundtracksMist
Performed by Jung Hoon Hee and Song Chang-sik
Featured review
"Decision to leave" is a film with a very complicated plot, and I am not sure I really understand every twist of it. There is an alibi that doesn't seem so waterproof after all when you consider the possibility of manipulating the cellphone of an old lady. There is a scene in which I was not sure if it portrayed (film)reality or just an hypothetical possibility the detective was thinking about.
The good news is I think that you don't have to understand 100% of the plot to grasp the essence of the movie. The essence is that the film is a mixture of crime and romance, a detective falling in love with his suspect.
Director Park Chan Wook has made violent films ("Oldboy", 2003) and sensual flms ("The handmaiden", 2016). "Decision to leave" is both, but in a more subdued manner than in the rest of his oeuvre. In an early scene the detective and his suspect have had their first interrogation and at the end of it they seem more accustomed to each other than a couple after 15 years of marriage.
Detective Hea Jun (Park Hae Il) does not sleep well and so the association with "Insomnia" (1997, Erik Skjoldbjærg & 2002, Christopher Nolan) is quickly made. An association that becomes even stronger due to the foggy weather in some parts of the movie. Maybe some Dutch viewers (as the writer of this review) have also thought of "The 4th man" (1983, Paul Verhoeven) about a woman who's husbands all mysteriously die. The difference is however that in "Decision to leave" the suspicion is there from the first moment on, while in "The 4th man" it only gradually arises.
"Decision to leave" is beautifully shot. I already mentioned the foggy weather, but also the interior scenes are sometimes beautifully framed. Apart from that there are some shots in which eyes are very prominent, indicating that this is not a movie about action but about see and be seen.
The good news is I think that you don't have to understand 100% of the plot to grasp the essence of the movie. The essence is that the film is a mixture of crime and romance, a detective falling in love with his suspect.
Director Park Chan Wook has made violent films ("Oldboy", 2003) and sensual flms ("The handmaiden", 2016). "Decision to leave" is both, but in a more subdued manner than in the rest of his oeuvre. In an early scene the detective and his suspect have had their first interrogation and at the end of it they seem more accustomed to each other than a couple after 15 years of marriage.
Detective Hea Jun (Park Hae Il) does not sleep well and so the association with "Insomnia" (1997, Erik Skjoldbjærg & 2002, Christopher Nolan) is quickly made. An association that becomes even stronger due to the foggy weather in some parts of the movie. Maybe some Dutch viewers (as the writer of this review) have also thought of "The 4th man" (1983, Paul Verhoeven) about a woman who's husbands all mysteriously die. The difference is however that in "Decision to leave" the suspicion is there from the first moment on, while in "The 4th man" it only gradually arises.
"Decision to leave" is beautifully shot. I already mentioned the foggy weather, but also the interior scenes are sometimes beautifully framed. Apart from that there are some shots in which eyes are very prominent, indicating that this is not a movie about action but about see and be seen.
- frankde-jong
- Sep 3, 2022
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Quyết Tâm Chia Tay
- Filming locations
- Songgwangsa Temple, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do, South Korea(visited temple)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,179,864
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $96,200
- Oct 16, 2022
- Gross worldwide
- $22,026,067
- Runtime2 hours 19 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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