Ever since Elon Musk brandished his chainsaw, Americans have increased empathy for those who lose their jobs. Note to Musk: It’s not jobs we want to cut but the hemorrhaging of tax money by the federal government for things like ICE entanglement on our city streets and subsidies for the genocide in Gaza.
Park Chan-wook, in his South Korean madcap film, hits a dead-serious spot: the cavalier power of big conglomerates to downsize, restructure and fire at whim. Though not mentioned in the film, unions are the protective agencies of the people. When nonexistent, how far can a company (or government) go in divesting its workers?
A Madcap Warning
Chan-wook gives us a warning using a little bizarre humor. Jobs help humanity be responsible. Unemployment creates personal devaluation and chaos. Watch what happens in “No Other Choice” and beware.
Chan-wook brings us hard-working, company-dedicated Man-su (Lee Byung-hun), who won the Pulp Man of the Year from the paper company for whom he works. Through his diligence, he has bought his beloved childhood home for his own family. He provides them with a stable life living outside the city. His job also gives him his purpose and his identity. He is a happy man.
But once Americans buy out his company, things change. Restructuring takes place and he, who had just won a best employee award, loses his job. This throws his finances, his life, and his mind into chaos.
So, while we recall Musk smiling in delight as his chainsaw roared, good people, some as far flung as USAID clinic administrators in Sierra Leone, were thrown into an undignified scrapheap. Unappreciated, it’s suicide (remember the Wall Street jumpers of The Great Crash of 1929) or reinvention.
Man-su considers his options. Somewhat creatively, his mind thinks of homicide. He could murder the culprit of his indignity in a revenge frenzy. Or, he could murder all the applicants for the one job that opens in his field.
Things to Think About
How much would we compromise in real life for the job we want, have worked our lives for, and desperately think we need?
When the threat of a Musk-like industry culling is replaced (or paired) with the threat of an all-invasive AI, what will we do then?
Within three years, I’m told there will be an AI transformation. Man-su is just a microcosm of a society headed for undignified replacement. Who will be able to adapt, and who will go crazy? What will this do to the societal structure as we know it today?
“No Other Choice,” submitted to the Oscars by the Republic of Korea, won a spot on the long list of Best International Feature Films. It hits close to home, as Americans worry about inflation, job security, and the oncoming effect of Artificial Intelligence on job growth.
Credits
Director: Park Chan-wook
Screenplay: Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyong-mi, Don McKellar and Lee Ja-hy
Based on “The Ax” by Donald Westlake
Producers: Park Chan-wook, Back Jisun, Michele Ray-Gavras and Alexandre Gavras
Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, and Cha Seung-won
Cinematography: Kim Woo-hyung
Editors: Kim Sang-bum and Kim Ho-bin
Music: Jo Yeong-wook
Official Website and how to see: https://www.neonrated.com/film/no-other-choice
Release: Jan. 16, 2026
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