Legendary director Park Chan-wook is known for his gritty stories, captivating cinematography, and black comedy. His newest film follows Man-su, a recently unemployed man who has a bright (and very criminal) idea to get back into the job market. But as we learn more about Man-su's life, it seems his motivations may be a little more complicated.

Park’s black comedy filters through his characters who are often desperately navigating an absurd society. While social satire is central to his work, Park never forgets the individual character and the unique horrors that come from the human mind. This can be seen throughout the director’s back catalogue – and his penchant for weaving new elements into existing stories.

Oldboy (2003) loosely adapts Marley Caribu’s 1996 manga with some memorable sequences and added twists. Thirst (2009) is a modern-day adaptation of Émile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin (1881) reimagined as a vampire story. The Handmaiden (2016) resets Sarah Waters’ The Fingersmith (2002) in Japan-occupied Korea and includes some satisfying narrative revisions.

No Other Choice’s innovation is its humour. While its source material – Donald E. Westlake’s The Ax (1997) – isn’t exactly packed with laughs, Park saw its comic potential. In fact, the film is partly inspired by the inherent silliness and tragedy of Looney Tunes. In an interview with Letterboxd, Park says ‘I’ve never considered it as mixing two different elements together— I’ve always considered tragedy and comedy to be one thing’. As Mansu sets out to destroy others, but destroys himself in the process (à la everyone’s favourite tragic anti-hero Wile E. Coyote), the cartoonish violence unfolds into unexpected meaning.

And if Park has you re-evaluating the dramatic pathos of Looney Tunes, you can catch up with the gang at the Dukes this month! Join us for No Other Choice from 6-12 Feb and The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie from 13-19 Feb.

Written by Jodie Passey. 

Book Your Tickets for No Other Choice Here!