Decision to Leave

Have I mentioned that I want to see just about everything that screened at the fall film festivals this year?  It seems that they are all getting a wide release within the next few weeks (I am going to be really busy) so I went to see one of them, Decision to Leave, last night at the Broadway.  This neo-noir thriller about mutual obsession is complex but ultimately very compelling.  Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) is a world-weary police detective suffering from insomnia in Busan with a so-called "weekend marriage" to a woman who lives in Ipo.  While working on another case, he and his partner Soo-wan (Go Kyung-pyo) are called to the scene of a mountain climbing accident that may or may not involve foul play.  The victim's wife, a Chinese immigrant named Seo-rae (Tang Wei), becomes a suspect but, after conducting extensive surveillance, Hae-jun becomes infatuated with her and eventually finds evidence that seems to exonerate her.  However, nothing is what it seems and the narrative takes an unexpected turn when Hae-jun becomes the object of Seo-rae's obsession during another case.  What I really enjoyed is how Park Chan-wook plays with perception.   Images come into and go out of focus in the same scene, particularly during an interrogation scene involving a mirror, which emphasizes that the characters do not see each other clearly and the use of technology, especially video and audio recordings, reveals a disconnect between them.  I also enjoyed the clever editing and innovative camera work used in the surveillance scenes because you never really know where each of the characters are in relation to one another.  While the story is essentially a straightforward police procedural, these stylistic choices, as well as multiple subplots, keep the audience guessing until the haunting conclusion.  Tang Wei gives an enigmatic performance worthy of Hitchcock's best femme fatales and the chemistry between her and Park Hae-il is absolutely smoldering.  Finally, the images on the screen, including overhead shots of mountain peaks and crashing waves, are gorgeous and the woodwind heavy score is incredibly evocative.  This is one of the best movies I've seen this year and I highly recommend it!