The American author Donald E. Westlake wrote more than 100 novels, many of which were also filmed, for example as “Point Blank” with Lee Marvin, “Payback” with Mel Gibson or “Parker” with Jason Statham. But the most exciting is the adaptation history of his horror thriller published in 1997 “The Ax“*, Whose title“ To Ax somebody ”(=“ fire ”) already plays the central theme in a nutshell: After 18 months of unsuccessful job search, a fired paper factory manager decides to finally clear his seven qualified competitors for a new position if necessary.
Instead of in the United States, the novel was first filmed in France and Belgium for the cinema in 2005: the most rather state-supporting director Costa-Gavras created an arthouse drama with “Die Axt”, in which the protagonist works in a cooling and bureaucratic list of competitors. But it is always exciting how different adaptations of the same substance can be, especially when 20 years and 9,000 kilometers are as the crow flies between them: With “No Other Choice”, “Oldboy”-Mastermind Park Chan-Wook is now presenting its updated version of the template-and the result is less reminiscent of the first film adaptation than the large Oscar triumphat of 2020, the Hysterian, but Nevertheless, scalpel-sharp social critical “Parasite” by Parks compatriot Bong Joon Ho.
On the first attempt to kill one of his opponents with a particularly heavy flowerpot, Man-Soo (Lee Byung-Hun) will move back at the last moment.
Of course, Man-Soo (Lee Byung-Hun) lives for his wife Mi-Ri (Son Ye-Jin), the two children together and the two golden retriever-which was numbered for the sake of simplicity. But he also lives for paper. For 25 years he has continued to refine the production processes for his company and made it safer until he is literally fed up with an eel delivery by the new American bosses. A year and a half later, Man-Soo still found nothing new, the severance payment is as good as used up, the mortgage for the family home is hardly paying.
All luxury hobbies are stopped, Mi-Ri returns to her old job as a dental assistant and even the dogs are given away. Nevertheless, it is not enough in the back and front-and after another missed interview, Man-Soo decides to be on the safe side next time: With the tender of a fake job, he gives himself the applications of all paper managers from his surroundings in order to make all the way in advance that could actually do serious competition at the next vacancies …
Black -humorous slapstick
After his masterful “The woman in the fog”, Park Chan-Wook in “No Other Choice”-as so often in his career-completely changes the pitch: Instead of a cool-precisely crime-noose, there is a black-humorous grotesque this time, with MAN-EOO gradually lifting her up to his opponent before an old woman inquire whether he is currently training for weightlifting.
If the murders at Costa-Gavras were still flush and down-to-earth, Man-Soo with his first victim and his wife feels around on the floor for minutes to get the pistol slipped under the sofa. Not a cool bureaucracy, but a hysterical slapstick number that is definitely reminiscent of the final, increasingly physical escalation levels from “Parasite”.
Man-Soo uses an old pistol that his father has decreased in the Vietnam War a dead enemy soldier in order to get his hoped-for via bloody detours.
Despite the more personal story, Park Chan-Wook provides even epic settings that can take it even with his visually stinging works such as “the pickpocket”. But not only the pictures radiate a certain power, the actually so concentrated story is also blown up a lot – even though the number of competitors to be murdered was greatly reduced at the same moment. Above all, the dynamics between Man-Soo and the different members of his family get significantly more weight.
Again and again Man-Soo grabs his murder (experiment), as it works in other families in similar situations, which is then reflected in his handling of his wife and children. A great idea that often also provides particularly fun or emotional scenes. But in the long run it is simple and simply too much – because “no other choice” frays (unnecessary) again and again, which is why, despite the unusual scenario in the excessive two hours and 19 minutes, smaller lengths creep up again and again.
Conclusion: The tone of “No Other Choice” is most reminiscent of “Parasite”-the same black-humorous hysterical overwhelming, the same caustic-social critical bite. But in contrast to Bong Joon Ho, who continues to escalate his family grotesque with absolute precision, Park Chan-Wook always slips off his fraying narrative until he finally leads her to a wonderfully pessimistic happy ending (!?) With an updated final point.
We saw “No other Choice” at the Venice Film Festival 2025, where he celebrated its world premiere as part of the official competition.