One of the most celebrated South Korean film directors of the 21st century, Park Chan-wook actually began his career as a film critic. A career path that harkens back to the French New Wave and the life of Francois Truffaut, Chan-wook went from writing movie reviews to writing, directing, and producing feature films. Thank goodness for this, because his filmography is one of the most important to ever come out of South Korea. Chan-wook’s films are known for being beautifully framed, almost as if every frame is a work of art, as well as being full of harsh subject matters juxtaposed with incredibly dark humor. He’s an innovator, often praised for his ability to accelerate the filmmaking process and for utilizing the latest camera technology for his movies. He’s no stranger to the Cannes Film Festival, where his films often earn themselves plenty of acclaim and all kinds of awards season buzz. Looking over his career as a whole, it’s clear Park Chan-wook is a one-of-a-kind talent with the filmography to back it up.
The Handmaiden
His most recent film, Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden is the culmination of everything that makes his films spectacular. It’s artistic, it’s darkly comedic, it’s often gruesome, and it’s thoroughly and completely beautiful. Based on (or, rather, loosely inspired by) the 2002 novel Fingersmith, the story takes place during the early 20th century and follows a complex scheme to rob an heiress of her riches — until love and deception get in the way. Many consider the film to be Chan-wook’s masterpiece, and that’s awfully hard to dispute.
Oldboy
Park Chan-wook’s neo-noir thriller from 2003 might be his most popular and well-known film to date. Maybe it’s because of Spike Lee’s misguided American remake, but it’s more likely that the film has had such a lasting impact simply because of the sheer originality of it all. It’s dark, it’s vengeful (something that’ll come back into play later in this piece), and it’s something only Chan-wook could’ve made.
Joint Security Area
Taking place in the DMZ between North and South Korea, Joint Security Area is an exciting and entirely plausible look at the incredibly tense environment between the two Koreas. The film was, upon release, one of the most expensive films to come out of the Korean New Wave and remains one of Chan-wook’s most thrilling and affecting films to date. With production value through the roof, Joint Security Area proves to be a supremely memorable film.
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
The third of three films in what is referred to as the Vengeance Trilogy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (or sometimes simply Lady Vengeance) is a classic story of revenge. Lee Guem-ja, who has been in prison for years for a crime she didn’t commit, spent her entire sentence trying to come up with a way to exact revenge on those who got her wrongfully locked away. It’s pretty cut-and-dry plot-wise, but you can expect plenty of flair and all kinds of great action sequences from Chan-wook here.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
The first installment of the Vengeance Trilogy shocked and amazed critics and audiences upon its release. Because of all its blood, gore, and slick stylistic choices, Chan-wook managed to make quite the name for himself and generate plenty of buzz in the act. It might be the lesser of the three films, but it’s still plenty exciting.
Thirst
It might seem like a no-brainer, but Park Chan-wook and vampires are practically the perfect pairing. Thirst, his inherently bloody vampire flick from 2009, proves this to be true. Chan-wook’s sense of humor matches up perfectly with his stylistic violence, resulting in one of the most satisfying monster movies of the 21st century.
Stoker
Easily Chan-wook’s most American film, Stoker features a cast full of non-Korean actors and a script that is devoid of Chan-wook’s typical trademarks. Still, that doesn’t mean that the movie isn’t any good. It’s actually pretty refreshing to see his style applied to someone else’s work, and it ultimately feels like a breath of fresh air (and hopefully serves as a jumping-off point for more films like this from Chan-wook in the future).
I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK
Based on what we‘ve seen from Chan-wook, it might initially seem like a romantic comedy would be the last thing he’d want anything to do with. However, when considering the plot of the film — an offbeat romance about two people who fall in love in a mental health facility — it’s so classically Chan-wook. It’s one of his lesser-known projects, but it’s easily one of his best.
The Truth Beneath
This South Korean thriller from 2016 is kind of like the opposite of Stoker — instead of Chan-wook directing the project without writing the script, The Truth Beneath sees Chan-wook’s script being directed by someone else. Chan-wook’s touch is always a welcome addition to any director’s filmography, which is probably why it won all kinds of awards among plenty of South Korean critics associations. It unfortunately never got to make much traction over in the United States, but here’s hoping it makes its way over some day.
Three… Extremes
Park Chan-wook is responsible for the middle segment of this horror movie anthology consisting of three different segments from three different filmmakers. His short, titled “Cut,” tells a story that seems to be inspired by his own experiences as a filmmaker. It follows a successful film director who’s captured, along with his wife, by an unpredictable extra from a few of his films. It was met with enthusiastic praise, securing itself a spot on this list of Chan-wook’s best.
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