Toronto/CMEDIA: Adapted from a novel by Donald E. Westlake (The Ax), ‘No Other Choice’ an incisive, darkly comic satire on corporate greed from Director Park Chan-wook follows a newly unemployed man Man-soo, played by Lee Byung-hun who, desperate to land a coveted position, hatches a ruthless plan to dispatch his competition.
Asha Bajaj from Canadian-Media and Trans World Features on the sidelines of TIFF 2025 in conversation with Park Chan-wook and star Lee Byung-hun of the TIFF 2025 film ‘No Other Choice’ following the film’s North American Premiere at the 50th Edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Here is the excerpt:
To Lee Byung-hun: Was the film that you made with director Park Chan-wook a critical and box office success for both of you?
Yes it was a critical and box office success for both of us. We socialized, we ate together, Park would even come over and we would share a drink. So it wasn’t odd to meet again even on set and what I felt once again this time is that he’s ever more detailed and careful this time around every scene. Once again this really reminded me how great of a director he is a maestro.
To Park Chan-wook: It is fortunate that you have decided to collaborate again. What were the additions to the original novel from which the film was adapted?
‘No Other Choice’ is an incisive, darkly comic satire about a newly unemployed man, Man-soo, who was desperate to land a coveted position, and hatches a plan, What I added in addition to the original novel is that I wanted to drive it towards that family to clarify their confusion. So I realized that I needed some comedy to emphasize the foolishness of his actions. When he realises there are other job seekers who match his pedigree, he hatches a plan, invents a phony paper company, reach out to each of his rivals, lure them into a meeting, and, one by one, dispatch the competition.
To Park: Does the bending of the green branch towards you indicate that the protagonist likes to do planting. And the trees and leaves are by the ladies. My question is who were you referring to?
That was a very long question. There was paper and nature and some branch breaking up and we talked a lot about one of the reasons why we discussed this topic and showed so much of it in the film. This is one of the reasons how my character would dispose of the dead bodies and such aggressiveness. It’s not nice. There are a lot of interpretations to what my character did. Branches being broken was a reflection of how the protagonist was feeling at the time.
To Park: Towards the end of the movie the audience is introduced to the idea of AI. Over the years of working on the script and revising it, the script has also changed with the times. Can you reflect on this fact?
Through the Introduction of AI, I wanted to show the tragic action of how Man-soo pats on that role with his stick even though the company has told him that that’s not necessary anymore. But he can’t let go of that habit, and perhaps more than habit, he thinks that even though machines are smart, this old fashioned man believes in man’s actions.
To Park: How long do you think he will be hired for? He has been hired to monitor trials of automation and once AI is stabilized would be able to keep that job?
AI doesn’t need lights. So it thought on its own and it’s turning off the lights and basically it’s representing how this man is no longer needed in the factory. He needs to leave the factory. So it’s almost as if the AI is pushing Man-soo into darkness. So I wanted to show the AI’s decision in this matter.
