Park Chan-wook ’s No Other Choice , which marks the Korean filmmaker’s first time playing in the Venice Film Festival competition, scored an 8 1/2-minute ovation Friday after the jet-black comedy thriller’s world premiere.

The 12th movie from the Oldboy , Handmaiden and Decision to Leave writer-director is based on the 1997 novel The Ax by Donald Westlake and follows a man ( Squid Game ‘s Lee Byung-hun ) who is abruptly laid off by the paper company where he worked tirelessly for 25 years. He grows increasingly desperate in his hunt for new work.

The crowd’s response tonight in the Sala Grande was enthusiastic, which left Park looking pleased during the ovation. The fans were noisiest for sure for Lee, the Squid Game star.

The movie also stars Son Yejin ( The L

See Full Page