In the wake of the Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe nominations, roughly six films are battling for three slots in the Best Picture Oscar race: “Bugonia,” “Jay Kelly,” “No Other Choice,” “The Secret Agent,” “Train Dreams,” and “Wicked: For Good.” Each of these films has its merits and a compelling case for a Best Picture nomination. “Bugonia” is a stealth crowdpleaser bemoaning the corporation’s exploitation of the worker bee from a strange but undeniably respected director. Aside from an NBR miss, it has not missed a beat awards-wise, receiving Best Picture nominations at CCA and the Golden Globes. “Jay Kelly” is a deeply personal reflection on the true legacy great artists leave behind, and it has Best Picture mentions at NBR, AFI, and CCA to show for it. “The Secret Agent” is one of the most acclaimed films of the year, anchored by a powerhouse performance from potential Golden Globe winner Wagner Moura. Its unorthodox storytelling and ode to resistance against corruption are sure to resonate with international voters, and it recently scored a Golden Globe mention for Best Feature Film – Drama in a competitive category. The tearjerking “Train Dreams” has won over voters at NBR, AFI, and CCA, and its beautiful rumination on grief has critics and audiences alike fawning over it. “Wicked: For Good” is an undeniable tech juggernaut considering its Oscar shortlist performance, and if Academy voters take to it as audiences have, its Golden Globe miss after landing everywhere else thus far may not matter in the grand scheme of things.
However, I would like to advocate for one film’s chances in particular, as you would be hard-pressed to find a sharper, more gut-bustingly insightful movie this year than Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice.”
The South Korean thriller-comedy has a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at CCA and a nomination for Best Feature Film – Comedy at the Golden Globes, a rare showing of strength both domestically and internationally for a foreign-language film. Though its chances in Best International Feature Film and Best Adapted Screenplay are strong, “No Other Choice” displays excellence across the board in many categories and deserves recognition for its technical achievements.
While he is known to global audiences for his dramatic roles in shows like “Squid Game,” Lee Byung-hun has played a number of out-of-the-box characters in his vast filmography. A more broadly comedic actor could have turned Man-su into a laughingstock. In contrast, an actor who never taps into the character’s obvious farcical elements would fail to be compelling. Still, Lee’s capacity for comedy through the intense escalation of drama is what makes the film truly shine. The beauty of his performance is that he takes the character and all his oddities so seriously that you empathize with him deeply at times and uncontrollably laugh at him at others.
But as remarkable as Lee is here, this film also possesses one of the year’s best ensembles due to the wide range of performances that play off one another, from Son Ye-jin’s subtle, internalized turn as a wife slowly learning just how fragile her husband’s ego is, to Yeom Hye-ran’s zany performance that crescendos in the best scene of the movie, to Lee Sung-min’s simultaneously hilarious and tragic performance. The ensemble is surprisingly vast, with performances spanning the spectrum of emotional reality, yet each feels in sync with the others due to the on-point casting of every character. If that isn’t one of the best casting achievements of the year, I don’t know what is.
The cast may be phenomenal across the board, but what also helps elevate this film to its best-of-the-year status is its visual mastery. Though it failed to receive a shortlist mention for Best Cinematography, nothing can detract from the fact that “No Other Choice” is one of the best-shot films of the year. While much credit is deservedly given to Park Chan-wook’s inventive direction, cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung is equally responsible for the film’s out-of-the-box shot composition. Not only is “No Other Choice” absolutely stunning to look at, any shot in the first scene could be hung in a museum, but its visual presentation elevates the story immensely. From the innovative incorporation of modern technology as a lens crucial to the film’s storytelling, to the cold darkness that Man-su finds himself in as the film goes on, to the unexpected comedy in the framing of characters, what Kim accomplishes as a cinematographer is one of the most impressive achievements of the year.
“No Other Choice” has justifiably been much lauded for its visual appeal. But what is less widely discussed, yet equally impressive, is how immersive the sound work is in this film. It is not your typical sound contender with loud, revving engines or epic battles you can feel in your bones. Still, the way it subverts sound in its amplification and even in its absence makes the cinematic experience hit that much harder. There is one scene that is initially set up as an obvious climax to Man-su’s increasingly terrible decisions, only for the diegetic sound to fundamentally alter the characters’ perceptions of what is unfolding. It contains the most inspired use of sound in the entire year and showcases the potential of how well sound can be incorporated into a story.
Yet no matter how brilliant the ensemble, inventive the visual language, or immersive the sound work (three categories it wasn’t Oscar shortlisted for), no film can truly make its mark if the writing does not make these achievements worth it. Thankfully, “No Other Choice” features one of the year’s finest screenplays. A lesser satire would have relished in Man-su’s violence against his fellow competitors or portrayed the true villain of this film – the corporations that increasingly attempt to take out the human in their pursuit of automation – in a more overtly antagonistic light. But while so many “eat the rich” films take the easy way out by refusing to portray anyone involved in their farce as people and by making the wealthy and influential cartoonishly evil, “No Other Choice” retains a razor-sharp focus on human nature.
On paper, Man-su has many other choices that do not involve murder. Yet none of them are true options for him because they involve a sacrifice of character that he is unwilling to make. What makes this story so unique in a world with no shortage of anti-capitalist tales is that, by examining the genuine underlying insecurities that drive this outlandish conflict, a scathing critique of the environment that encourages these psychographics is made without ever mentioning the words “privilege” or “exploitation.” By not explicitly depicting the true villain of this film, it becomes even more apparent why the status quo remains unchanged. There is no film like “No Other Choice,” and its brutally incisive screenplay is a significant factor as to why.
Ultimately, “No Other Choice” is well-positioned as an Oscar contender, given its three Golden Globe nominations, a CCA-nominated screenplay, and strong awards buzz for Park Chan-wook’s direction, Lee Byung-hun’s performance, and the dazzling, precise editing. And considering its technical excellence in all fields, in a dream world, it would be one of the nomination leaders come Oscar morning. However, as it stands, a Best Picture mention would be more than sufficient, along with whatever else it can pick up. “No Other Choice” is unquestionably one of the finest films of the year, with its biting satire of the arduous job-search process. It balances the sheer entertainment of watching a desperate, deluded man make the worst possible decisions with the tragedy of the job market, which pits people against one another as everyone faces their own struggles. It is not just one of the best international films of the year, but also one of the funniest and most insightful. I can only hope that the Academy takes note and realizes they have no other choice.
Have you seen “No Other Choice” yet? If so, what did you think of it? How many Oscar nominations do you believe it will receive this year? Please let us know in the comments section below and on Next Best Picture’s X account, click here here for the most recent tally of awards season winners, here for Next Best Picture’s precursor tracker, and here for their current Oscar predictions.
You can follow Amy and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars & Film on X @AmyHayneKim
