Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.5

Decision to Leave 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

"The moment your love ends, my love begins."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 18, 2024

Filmmaker Park Chan-wook is perhaps best known in the U.S. for Oldboy, a tense, bizarre, jaw-drop revenge thriller that might just be one of the finest of its kind the world over. Decision to Leave, though, is Oldboy's polar opposite: a slow-boil game of cat and mouse that twists as often as it turns but does so with almost serpentine shrewdness and disarming guile. The fundamentals are exceptional -- cinematography, music, performances and the like -- but it's the calculated nature of its narrative, deceptive as it is unnerving, that gets under your skin, tickles the back of your neck, and leaves you breathless by the film's heart wrenching end. There's no hammer-swinging hallway violence, no gore or stomach-turning beats to speak of, nor much more than a murder mystery whose solution is addressed so early you may be left wondering what's left to do. But that's where Park Chan-wook finds his footing, transforming a whodunit or a howdtheydoit into a dark dual-character study as much about love and loneliness as it is about murder and betrayal.

A man falls to his death from a mountain peak in South Korea, begging the question: accident, suicide or foul play? A slip, a jump or a push? With that seemingly simple trio of choices, detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il, Memories of Murder) enters the scene, taking on a case that couldn't possibly involve a second party... yet leaving him with the strangest suspicion that the dead man's wife, Seo-rae (Tang Wei, Lust Caution), had something to do with her husband's untimely death. But as Hae-joon investigates further, he finds himself drawn to Seo-rae so strongly that he surprises even himself, crossing lines and bending rules as he pulls against the webs of deception and desire in which he seems to be trapped. Directed by Park Chan-wook, written by the filmmaker and Chung Seo-kyeong, with stark, haunting cinematography courtesy of Kim Ji-yong, the film also stars Lee Jung-hyun, Go Kyung-pyo, Park Yong-woo, Kim Shin-young, Jung Yi-seo and Seo-Hyun Woo.

At some point the desire to learn the particulars of the central murder ceases to be important. The film eventually obliges, offering a harrowing answer to the once-pressing question, but at that point it's much more about how the revelation affects Hae-joon and Seo-rae rather than whether or not it closes a case. And it isn't the last murder either. Park Chan-wook stages each one with casual yet grisly efficiency -- visceral yet entirely plausible -- but handles the relationship pulsing and budding, sometimes flailing, beneath the action with stunning believability and suspense. If Seo-rae is guilty, will Hae-joon arrest her? Or will his affection overshadow his duty? If he allows Seo-rae to go free, will he stay with her or part ways? And what if she kills again? Those are just some of the questions you'll ask, and you'll continue adjusting questions, forgetting to ask questions, losing track of how much you want anyone brought to justice; nothing's off the table in Decision to Leave. Even as the film's ticks off its final moments, I was spinning, wondering who or what I was rooting for and how or why anything that was happening could be considered deserved. There's a sadness and tragedy to the film that feels unavoidable, ultimately turning the film into a lament for impossible love and lost time.

Park Hae-il and Tang Wei are exceptional in their ever-shifting roles, especially as the detective and femme fatale are forced to change the rules of their relationship again and again. There's such somber isolation to Park Hae-il's eyes, a looseness to the fit of his clothes, and a slump in his shoulders that present a man far more at ease at a crime scene than in the emptiness of his personal life. Likewise, Tang Wei brings a wolfishness to her performance that lies just under the surface, suggesting the all-too-real possibility that she is a killer, whether she murdered her husband or not. Her eyes are demure then suddenly narrow and sharp, her clothes oversized and poorly fit in a subtly contrived fashion, her posture suggesting submission but her hands always close together, as if concealing a murder weapon under everyone's noses. Decision to Leave hinges on her every word and action, and it's her performance -- maybe even a performance within a performance -- that allows the film to flex its dramatic muscle and grasp for more ambitious prospects than a mere murder mystery. The supporting cast is equally up to the task, even if one or two characters border on cartoonish or appear as obvious red herrings. Not that much of that will matter. All you'll care about in the end is if Hae-joon and Seo-rae can find a happy ending or if it will plummet to its death, much like Seo-rae's husband.

Decision to Leave 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Decision to Leave's 2160p 4K UltraHD Blu-ray video presentation is, in a word, stunning. Colors are exceptionally convincing, with bright, vivid punctuations of primary power; lovely, lifelike skin tones; rich, inky blacks and vibrant, consistent contrast leveling. Even the coldest paletted scenes have piercing hues, particularly reds, oranges and yellows, which jab at the viewer via crime photos in the background, luscious apples in an otherwise monotone living room, an autumn coat or a pair of crime scene gloves. Cinematographer Kim Ji-yong doesn't shy away from color but embraces it, lending the image a beauty that simultaneously suggests the presence of danger at all times. The presentation's detail is remarkable too, with the crispest of filmic edge definition, perfectly resolved fine textures (that never appear artificially sharpened, despite their striking clarity), and flawless shadow delineation. If Park Chan-wook or Kim Ji-yong want a detail revealed in the darkness, it is. Concealed? It is. Vague? The same. In fact, the merging of artistic intent and encoding prowess is evident from the get-go, with nothing in the way of artifacts, banding or errant noise creeping in to spoil the picture. Decision to Leave's transfer is quite simply a gorgeous offering from MUBI.

Decision to Leave 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

It would be easy to pass over MUBI's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track with lesser praise, but that wouldn't convey just how effective Decision to Leave's lossless experience is. Dialogue is clean, clear and intelligible at all times, even when hushed or whispered. Likewise, ambient effects, however subtle they sometimes may be, create a convincing sense of place and space, whether it be in an apartment, a larger home, a windy clifftop, a bustling marketplace or a beach complete with crashing waves. The rear speakers are active and engaging at all times, even if only to add a small buzz or florescent light hum into an interrogation scene. On other occasions they spring to more obvious life, allowing tense scenes to accentuate the suspense or desperation of its characters. LFE output is subdued, yes, but also exactly whatever it's called upon to be. There are moments of aggression and the low-end channel handles each superbly. Dynamics are terrific and both the quietest and loudest sequences in the film are handled with the utmost respect for the filmmakers' intentions.

Decision to Leave 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NYFF Talks: Park Chan-Wook (HD, 47 minutes) - A lengthy, insightful interview with filmmaker Park Chan-wook (using a translator) at the 60th New York Film Festival. The interview is presented in its entirety, uncut, though I would've preferred the bits with the translator had been removed (replaced with subtitles) to make the conversation between the director and moderator feel more natural and between two parties.

• Behind the Scenes Featurette (HD, 3 minutes) - More of a brief extended trailer.

• Interview with the Director (HD, 6 minutes) - This second interview with Park Chan-wook is shorter, quicker to the point and less comprehensive than the NYFF chat. More clip-heavy EPK than deep dive, it's fairly skippable.

• Park Chan-Wook and Bong Joon Ho Q&A (HD, 29 minutes) - After twenty-nine years, Park Chan-wook and director Bong Joon Ho (Memories of Murder, The Host, Snowpiercer) reunite via Zoom and discuss their craft (and Decision to Leave of course).

• Behind the Scenes in Cannes (HD, 2 minutes)

• VFX Reel (HD, 4 minutes)

Decision to Leave 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Decision to Leave is an incredibly subdued film, yet somehow just as powerful as Park Chan-wook's splashier thrillers, a la Oldboy. Confident, deliberate and tense, it's a romance wrapped in moral quandary and murder, asking questions it's poor protagonist struggles to answer. MUBI's 4K Blu-ray release is just as easy to recommend too, thanks to a stunning 4K video transfer, an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and a solid selection of bonus content. A commentary or two would have gone the extra mile but there's plenty here to make this a must own for fans of Park Chan-wook and South Korean cinema... or really anyone who enjoys a good flick.