The South Korean director, screenwriter, and producer behind the cult classic *Oldboy*, known for his socially conscious films featuring striking visual styles and unsettling worlds, is the president of the jury at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. As the Festival opens its doors today, here’s a look back at five feature films to (re)discover Park Chan-Wook’s work.
With twelve films to his credit and a creative spirit that never ceases to amaze, Park Chan-Wook is the new president of the feature film jury at the Cannes Film Festival. A regular at the festival, the 62-year-old South Korean director and leading figure of the K-pop wave (Hallyu) has made his mark on the global film scene with masterful works such as Oldboy, winner of the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, or films featuring sublime heroines like The Handmaiden in 2016.
“Visceral, subversive, baroque”—these are just some of the adjectives that help us rediscover Park Chan-wook’s work through five films. Throughout his career, the director, screenwriter, and producer has developed at least three obsessions: revenge and its consequences, an ambiguous morality, and a particularly stylized aesthetic.
A figure of the strange, he follows in the footsteps of other previous directors who have presided over the Festival, such as David Lynch (2004) and Tim Burton (2010). Quentin Tarantino, a great lover of Asian cinema and himself president of the jury at Cannes in 2004, is said to have drawn inspiration from Oldboy for his Kill Bill Vol. 1 and its sequel, if only for the stylized violence and fight choreography. The South Korean director counts Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Luchino Visconti, and Alfred Hitchcock among his idols.
Park Chan-Wook is part of the growing media spotlight on Asian cinema and its actors, the most recent being his fellow director and screenwriter Bong Joon-Ho, winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2019 for his film Parasite and president of the jury in 2021.
Oldboy, the classic
Released in 2003, Oldboy is undoubtedly Park Chan-Wook’s most famous film. The story follows a man held captive for fifteen years, suddenly released and searching for answers.
Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, the film explores the themes of revenge, manipulation, and memory. It has been elevated to classic status by film buffs, who admire its sideways long-take fight scene, reminiscent of video games.
Click here to read the full article on Luxus Magazine
Featured photo: © Cannes Film Festival
