No Other Choice (2025)

The film is long and tedious in places. The idea itself is interesting, but the implementation let me down, I was waiting for more

I swear, after the hundredth phrase "we'll call you back" and a dozen responses into the void, I will begin to consider the main character's plan not a crime, but the only logical way to find a job.

The movie is more in the style of Bong Joon-ho. Black humor, a social girl, ambiguous characters, and an unusual production, which is also necessary for a good viewing.

P.S. I wonder why he put on so many gloves in the first "murder", but the whole scene is so staged that I applauded the absurdity.

P. P. S The title would be better translated as "There is no other choice."

It's a very funny South Korean black comedy, I thought, but the film beautifully changes genres on the go.

the plot seems to be loud and on the rather popular topic of social inequality, which causes problems of unemployment and moral concepts.

everything gets tied up long and dreary. all the tin and fun starts closer to the second half and it was probably worth the wait.

as a satire, it turned out cool. as a thriller, it's also quite good and intense.

Normal, easy thriller

The amazing montage in Park's paintings is worth watching his work for. At the same time, I liked the film with restraint. But there is confidence that over time it will gain even more weight and value. The topic is such that it will only become more relevant, unfortunately.

Somehow, according to the description, you really expect more, more of a thriller
, but
you can't watch the movie about that, but it won't stick in your memory.

I didn't understand him. It just doesn't seem to be mine.

A deep film.

According to the description, something intense is expected, but no. The pace is quite measured, you need to get used to it, and not wait for frenzy and fluttering. Festival cinema, 9 minutes standing ovation at the premiere. Black comedy/drama, here not for action, but for subtle shades of emotion. I really liked it

The most boring movie has been released, don't be fooled by the wave of Koreophiles who overestimate any Korean films and TV series. It's kind of a cool idea, but in the end, there's no blood, no humor, or anything interesting. but! You'll see a lot of actor Park hoon chui or Ye mong song or whatever his name is... if it is he who is important, then velkam

And I feel like there's some kind of hidden meaning in this movie, metaphors, symbolism. But, damn, it didn't get into the mood at all. I was expecting something more funny from the description. And here. Well, somehow it's all very sad and hard. You project all this on yourself, like, you live such a good, familiar, rich life, and then you have to sell Herax and the house, overexpose the dogs, your daughter is so strange, your son doesn't communicate. In general, the desire to arrange a small separate fuck for individual people... Who have exactly the same fucking problems. And instead of some pretty cool and funny movie, as I expected from the description. Different losers who have been kicked out of their jobs deal with their problems in different ways. But you need to tune in to it. And don't believe the descriptions — this is Asian cinema, here the descriptions are not what they seem.

It's a good movie, I expected something different from the trailer and description, but it was interesting to watch, I liked it, it was beautifully shot :)

I haven't watched it to the end, it's boring

A movie about true love

The film follows the story of the first victim. She's the most interesting. The second and third victims are walk-throughs. Stories about children could be cut out, they don't lead anywhere. I wanted to know more about the cops, they seemed like funny guys. Cinematography is in place. The plot is clear, to twist the everyday situation to the maximum. The disadvantages are eclectic (black comedy and drama), but that's what Korean cinema is.

At the end of the movie, I thought the logs would fall on the car.

The ending is very sad. Future

It was boring, I expected more, it didn't work out, there were a lot of absurd situations (

Well, pure pleasure) The cinema of a true master. Byung Hong is gorgeous as always

It's an interesting idea, but what a bore it turned out to be.

A vivid satire with crazy plot twists

The trailer set the bar high, but in fact everything turned out to be very poor. I hoped that there would be more competitors and more sophisticated ways to eliminate them. I also thought that my wife would help the main character.

The trailer is brighter than the movie itself

I expected more from this film ...
In the end, neither a tense thriller nor a black comedy in the spirit of Parasites (I understand that it is incorrect to compare, but my expectations were at this level)
It's a one-man movie, and unfortunately Lee Byung-hong didn't take it out. I was missing something.

I liked the movie, it turned out to be funny and deep. A kind of drama and black comedy combined.

Incredible camera and light work, it's impossible to tear yourself away! Yes, the plot is probably a bit slow, but I would watch it for 4 hours. The installation is beyond praise. She was captured from the first seconds. Just one word - delight!!

- "are you rocking??"

It's a very funny movie, although I expected drama. It was beautifully shot.

That's what happens when you're on xx for more than three months.

I'll say a platitude, but how good Lee Byung-hong looks at 55 with Russian actors and even with Goldwood, his appearance is a level higher...

A kind of movie. They just shouldn't have shoved trash humor into him. Because of this, I almost turned it off in the middle. But then it got better, as a result, the impressions are not bad, the film will be remembered. It turned out to be a conceptual thing, adjusted for the Korean mentality, which is a bit strange for me. Although I would not praise him as much as it is customary to praise him everywhere.

Blood-red papyrus

Thanks to Chang-wook Park, I got to know South Korean cinema. Why, I fell in love with him. Back in 2003, it was his "Oldboy" (so-called "Classmate", but that's not what I'm talking about now) who revealed to me a wonderful stylistic and genre mix of American (entertainment), European (art-house) and Russian (soul? Let's call it that for simplicity) approaches to making movies. Plus, of course, the Asian flavor, but without the replays that have been confusing me for a long time, say, in Japanese films. Behind "Oldboy", "Sympathy for Mr. Revenge" and "Sympathy for Mrs. Revenge" were viewed, which together formed a triptych called the "Revenge Trilogy". And for almost a quarter of a century now, I have been watching the development of this film market with interest, and I am glad to popularize it thanks to the same "Squid Game" (and not only). And not once during this time have Korean films failed me.

Of course, Chang-wook Park himself did not disappoint this time. However, as it turned out, American writers did not disappoint either. It's funny that just recently I wrote in a review of "Bugonia" in the sense that such an independent Lanthimos shot one of his best films, which is a remake of a South Korean tape. But here it's exactly the opposite. Chang-wook Park became interested in the tabloid fiction of American Donald Westlake, in particular the crime novel called "The Axe" and its European adaptation by Frenchman of Greek origin Costa-Gavras. But, in general, who cares if the final result has its own unique voice.

I won't say it's Park's best movie. ("Oldboy" is forever in my heart), but one of the best films of last year for sure. And at the upcoming Oscars, I will definitely be rooting for him... Oh, and he wasn't nominated. Those bastards!

Anyway, it has everything that has always attracted me to Korean projects. It's a dark story, but there's always humor in it. A life situation, but full of absurdity. Charismatic characters who commit very heinous, but at the same time understandable and somewhat forced acts. By the way, I'll mention separately that I started watching the "Method of Elimination" without knowing absolutely anything about it, except for the name of the director and the performer of the main role. Therefore, I will not say anything about the plot once again - if you are in the dark, then this is how you approach the film. It is enough to know that this is a film about a man who lost his job some time ago and cannot find a suitable place again. As for Lee Byung-hong (the same "Squid Game", among other things), I once again became convinced for myself that, firstly, he is, of course, a master and does not eat his bread in vain, and secondly, well, he is a natural Korean Mads Mikkelsen! There are external similarities, and the manner of the game, and the ability to handle both dramatic and comedic scenes equally coolly, using similar techniques. And they both look hilariously cool in their uniforms (and both wore them last year)!

In general, not a single minute was wasted. He stared, afraid to look away. I have shamed several songs in the soundtrack and added them to the playlist with pleasure: Korean ballads! It's all beautifully shot. The visual range is gorgeous. The master's strong work on a relevant topic. I advise you not to skip it.

While writing the review of "Five Nights with Freddy 2," I freaked out, and canceled the ten-point scale, replacing it with a five-point scale. Yes, with half points. But still! So, for the "Exclusion Method" I make an exception (tu-dum-shh ...) and specifically for it I return 10 points.

RATING: 10 Dunder Mifflin out of 5 (yeah, out of 5, with a slide, so to speak)

I started sobbing on the stage with water from a pot, on the stage of the first batch I sobbed to the ballad, on the stage of digging a hole in a uniform with chemical protection I openly screamed.

And what a montage!

And yes, it's about love.

That's the guy from the squid game.

The music here is good! And it's interesting about my daughter that she made her own notes.

The editing was great, some of the scenes were just incredible (especially the one where the music was playing loudly and they were shouting to talk) and I also liked that there were a lot of details and colors in the frame. It reminded me of getting knives first. Otherwise, it seems to be fine, but somehow boring.

P.S. the girl came up with funny notes
P.P.S. the logs were just begging to fall

Just for once. Boring movie , of course . It's a good idea, though.

The person who previously tried to eliminate his competitors in order to take their place returns to work, where all people are replaced by robots! This is truly brilliant!

The film is interesting because of the issue of freedom, will, and choice (as hinted at by the English version of the title, No other choice). The hero has lost his job, and the family's future is at risk. Interestingly, the youngest daughter does not speak, but plays the violin like a goddess - and it is she, and not the loss of a house, two dogs and a subscription to netflix from the eldest son, who serves as an incentive for him to choose. That is, a daughter is a carrier of sensuality, a conductor of passion in this world (even if music is not a conscious symbol here, it works exactly like Kierkegaard). In other words, the hero literally wants to protect the very essence of life, that innocent and beautiful embodiment of sensuality that will definitely die without his care - but for this he needs to end his life.

It's tempting to write off Pak for self-repetition, because he's always giving his classic social commentary here. Imho, in vain: here he does not forget, of course, about the soulless Korean conglomerates (offhandedly touching on both the name and the abbreviations), but here the criticism is directed more towards people whom he used to protect more, enters the territory of Zvyagintsev's "Elena" (or discusses with his Kent Bon and his "Parasites"). And here it's interesting - he so convincingly justifies and justifies the logic of the hero's actions, as if shouting "there is no choice", convinces us of this, nominally not even condemning the hero, as if even arguing with Dostoevsky about the need for punishment, as the creators of "Ozark" recently did. And it's clear that he's shouting this proof - there was a choice. At every single step.

Pak goes even a little further here, somewhere in the direction of Nicholas Luhmann - that social systems are separated from psychological ones and the bearer of the will himself is not so much important in a vacuum, but important in the environment. The choice is determined at the level of relationships, that is, it is no longer so important whether the subject is free to choose, but how (and by whom) the decision is prescribed in the communication system. And Puck is deliberately misanthropic here, but I saw this evil sting as a useful provocation. You feel it without this whole conceptualization above, but purely at the level of "x%y you will do something, you are all so good, tomorrow the big guys will come - and you f%al your principles in principle." And at this moment, it's not despair that lights up with a vengeance, but the thought of returning my own agency.

In my opinion, this is the essence of the tragedy.

Of course, I've narrowed the kinch down to one issue-it's much broader than that. And if you forget about all this and perceive it as a cheerful thriller, it holds up quite well, the stakes are high, and in some places it laughs out loud.

This is something to watch over the weekend.🤣

I'll put my hand on my ribs and admit: the music gives me 50 percent of the impression of the film. And here she is wonderfully good from the very first shots. Also performed by an invaluable Stradivarius violin, as it says in the credits. She is a living, breathing, wayward and full-fledged participant in the action, setting the tone for everything.
I always fall for the pipe of the Korean pied piper Park Chang Wook - and I can't, and I don't want to leave the film until the very end of the end credits.
How subtly and at the same time vividly the director reveals to us the depths of the soul of the handsome, in general, main character and his sweet wife, and at the same time the companions of those poor devils who also unwillingly said goodbye to their life's work!
And scary, and funny, and very, very vital. Instead of looking for work, does the husband wander around at night, taking rubber overalls, a shovel, work gloves and his grandfather's trophy "trunk"? A hundred pounds, he's cheating! So, you need to dress up to the nines at a club party and light up on the dance floor with a handsome young colleague, so much so that sparks fall from your husband's eyes.
This is about the same logic that guides the beloved spouse in his relentless attempts to regain his job. No wonder husband and wife are one Satan.
It's a great movie, this is the third one I've seen from the director. But the aftertaste, as always, is that now we will see each other in 10 years with his next creation.