Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice," which opened the Busan International Film Festival, is a darkly comic look at downsizing with parallels to the South Korean film industry.

Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice," starring Lee Byung-hun (L), opened the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of CJ ENM UPI "No Other Choice" star Lee Byung-hun speaks at a press conference at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI UPI "No Other Choice" features Son Ye-jin's (L) return to the big screen after seven years on television. Photo courtesy of CJ ENM UPI "No Other Choice" star Son Ye-jin speaks at a press conference at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI UPI "No Other Choice" is a darkly comic look at the desperate lengths You Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) goes to find work after being downsized. Photo courtesy of CJ ENM UPI "No Other Choice" director Park Chan-wook speaks at a press conference at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI UPI Director Park Chan-wook, stars Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin and the cast (L to R) of BIFF opening film pose at a press conference Wednesday. Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI UPI

BUSAN, South Korea, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice, which opened the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday, introduces viewers to You Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) and his family -- wife, two kids, two dogs -- as he barbecues in his backyard and reflects on a sense of fulfillment after 25 years of hard work at a paper company.

With the first falling blossoms of autumn sprinkling down on him, he pauses to marvel: "I've got it all."

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Spoiler alert: Man-su does not, in fact, have it all.

Soon enough, the onetime "Pulp Man of the Year" is swept up in a wave of downsizing layoffs at Solar Paper, which has been acquired by an American firm.

"You Americans call it getting axed," he calls to the new bosses as they drive away from a factory visit (neglecting to return their safety helmets). "Know what we say in Korea? 'Off with your head!'"

From there, Park (Oldboy, The Handmaiden, Decision to Leave), stirs up a kaleidoscopic blend of black humor, biting social satire and dizzying moments of violence. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last month, has garnered well-deserved raves and comparisons to Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning Parasite -- while also giving a jolt of optimism to a struggling Korean film industry.

After his layoff, Man-su and his fellow unemployed comrades sit in workshops repeating self-help affirmations. But the mantra of finding a replacement job within three months fails to materialize: the closest Man-su gets to his beloved industry is hauling reams of printer paper at a big-box retailer.

His wife, Miri (Crash Landing on You's Son Ye-jin), is the pragmatic one in the family. She announces that they need to slash the household budget -- no more tennis and dance lessons, less meat with dinner, even Netflix gets canceled. Their beloved dogs are rehomed and Miri goes back to work as a hygienist for a younger dentist, who soon sparks Man-su's jealousy.

Perhaps most gallingly, the house -- Man-su's childhood home, for which he worked years to buy and lovingly restore -- will have to be sold to an obnoxious neighbor.

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Man-su, however, has been working on a different idea. Amid the shakeups in the industry, he realizes that the other laid-off veterans are competing for a shrinking number of jobs and decides if you can't beat 'em, kill 'em off one by one.

While mordant humor is laced throughout Park Chan-wook's films, No Other Choice is perhaps his most overtly comedic, with chisel-jawed superstar Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game's Front Man) playing for deadpan laughs no matter how absurd the situations.

And absurd they are, as slapstick attempts at murder go hilariously awry and Man-su becomes entwined in the lives of his targets, who are ultimately all part of the same doomed tribe.

Based on Donald Westlake's 1997 novel The Ax, the film is one Park said he's wanted to make for years.

"When I read The Ax, it was very easy for me to relate to the story," Park said at a press conference in Busan Wednesday. "I immediately knew that I had to bring this story to the big screen."

In No Other Choice, paper -- an analog product being overtaken by automation, digital screens and AI -- is a clear parallel for the film industry. South Korean cinema in particular is struggling, with box office numbers free-falling this year as viewers are choosing to stream at home.

"Right now the film industry is having a very rough time in Korea," Park said. "It seems to be recovering more slowly than other countries since the pandemic. I hope my film will play a little role in the recovery."

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Star Lee Byung-hun said the connection between cinema and the disappearing paper industry in No Other Choice was unmistakable.

Everyone in the movie business "feels the same crisis as characters in the film" he said at Wednesday's press conference.

"Cinema is having a very hard time," Lee said. "Every filmmaker is thinking about how they can find a breakthrough to make cinemas once again become places that audiences love."

Shot with Park's characteristic verve and artistry, No Other Choice is precisely the type of film best seen in the theater. Close-ups, surprising camera angles, and complex scene constructions, along with nuanced performances, are all crucial parts of his storytelling.

"The film changes every time I watch," Lee said. "The details of the mise-en-scène and the performances only come alive on a big screen. There's a reason cinema exists -- you have to watch this on a big screen."

Son Ye-jin, who is making her return to film after seven years of starring on television, added that fans should plan on multiple viewings.

"The first time [you watch], you notice Park Chan-wook's direction and Lee Byung-hun's acting," she joked. "The second and third time you'll be able to notice me and the other actors. You have to watch it at least twice."

Park added that global audiences will find their own lives reflected in the story, as AI-driven economic anxiety and displacement is clear-cutting across countless industries.

"When the audience watches the film, I don't think they will think of filmmakers," Park said. "It will relate to their own story."

No Other Choice made its Asian premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. It will be released in South Korean theaters on Sept. 24.