In 'No Other Choice,' the rat race takes a dark turn

Director Park Chan-wook and star Lee Byung-hun show how cutthroat the capitalist system can be with a satirical story of a man at his wit's end

- Story by Michael Ordoña

LEE BYUNG-HUN LOOKS every inch one of Korea's biggest stars, debonair in his natty, slim-fitting suit, relaxing in this glass-walled room by the pool of a West Hollywood hotel.

The happy tourists don't notice Park Chan-wook, the cinematic master behind such tours de force as "Oldboy" and "Decision to Leave," projecting thoughtful politesse beside him. These two giants of Korean film hadn't collaborated since 2004. It took a satirical American novel chronicling capitalism's crushing effects on a schlubby, middle-age dad to reunite them for Oscar submission "No Other Choice."

"Even if I didn't like the character or story that he posed, I would've still participated because it's director Park." says Lee, speaking, like Park, through an interpreter. "From previous projects, I know his process is incredibly joyful and full of laughter. So I knew I could look forward to the experience."

Park says he started developing the project as an American film about 20 years ago, so he didn't think of casting Lee as the middle-age company man at its center. But when it finally came together as a Korean project instead, Lee "had reached the right age for the role."