By Park Hye Ri and Lee Jihae
Video = CJ ENM's official YouTube channel

Two Korean films invited to the 75th Cannes Film Festival have captivated audiences and generated heated popularity.

AFP and other French news sources said director Park Chan-wook's new film "Decision to Leave" on May 23 received a standing eight-minute ovation after its premiere at the festival, as well as drawing favorable reviews from international media.

After the movie's screening at the Grand Theatre Lumiere in Cannes, the British magazine Screen Daily called it "a visually glorious film," adding, "With this seductive, serpentine neo-noir, Park Chan-wook raises the bar on the 2022 Cannes competition programme and reasserts his position as a peerless visual stylist."

The U.K. daily Guardian said, "He's (Park) back in Cannes with this sensational black-widow noir romance," comparing the film's use of technology and plot to those of British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock.

The U.S. entertainment magazine Variety added, "After the world-conquering success of Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' and the small-screen domination of 'Squid Game,' your new, sublimely accomplished Korean thriller obsession is here, and it is Park Chan-wook's 'Decision to Leave.'"


Writers from major media and figures from global cinema also shared their praise for "Decision to Leave." New York Times pop culture reporter Kyle Buchanan said, "You know he (Park) can make masterpieces, but even a smaller, noirish romance from him is awfully colorful and entertaining."

David Grumbach, CEO of the French movie distributor BAC Films, said the work shows how the director rose to "another level" by making a "masterpiece" within the romance genre's boundaries.

"Decision to Leave" is about a detective, Hae-jun (played by Park Hae-il), who investigates the case of a man who falls to his death from a mountain and the detective's relationship with the man's widow Seo-rae (Tang Wei).

The film has been presold to 192 countries including France, Germany and Japan and will be released in theaters on June 29 in Korea and France. 


Another Korean film receiving massive buzz at Cannes is "Hunt," which stars "Squid Game" actor Lee Jung-jae and veteran star Jung Woo-sung.

As the directorial debut of Lee and invited to screen in the festival's non-competitive Midnight Screening section on May 19, the espionage action thriller is about two intelligence officers, Park Pyong-ho (played by Lee) and Kim Jung-do (Jung), who suspect each other in trying to find a mole in their agency.

The movie received a seven-minute standing ovation after its premiere, and its subsequent screenings at the festival were sold out. 

hrhr@korea.kr