---
title: "Decision to Leave"
year: 2022
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/decision-to-leave"
fi1m_id: "decision-to-leave"
imdb_id: "tt12477480"
tmdb_id: 705996
wikidata_id: "Q100889636"
fi1m_score: 82
critics_score: 77
critics_reviews: 32
published: "2026-09-30T21:35:21.558415+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-30T21:35:22.038965+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Decision to Leave (2022)

Directed by Park Chan-wook · 2h 19m · MPA NR · Thriller, Mystery, Romance

## Identity

Decision to Leave

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/decision-to-leave
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** decision-to-leave
- **IMDb ID:** tt12477480
- **TMDB ID:** 705996
- **Wikidata ID:** Q100889636
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12477480/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/705996, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q100889636

**Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 77 from 32 reviews

*In a sentence:* The gentlest film ever made about a policeman going to pieces, with a translation app as go-between

> Park Chan-wook’s quietest film is a murder inquiry with a love story where its case should be, and the love story is the best thing he has made in years. The second half ties itself in plot it does not need; Tang Wei and Park Hae-il untie it.

## Synopsis

Busan. Detective Jang Hae-joon (Park Hae-il), who has not slept properly in years, is called to the foot of a rock face where Ki Do-soo (Yoo Seung-mok), a man who climbed it every week, has fallen to his death. The widow is Song Seo-rae (Tang Wei), a Chinese immigrant who cares for elderly women and speaks a careful, slightly formal Korean, sometimes through the translation app on her phone. She does not seem to grieve much. Hae-joon’s junior partner Soo-wan (Ko Kyung-pyo) is sure she killed him. Hae-joon is married to Jeong-ahn (Lee Jeong-hyeon), who lives in the foggy coastal town of Ipo and sees him at weekends. He begins staking out Seo-rae’s flat at night, watching her eat ice cream and fall asleep in front of the television, and brings her sushi to the interview room.

## Review

Park Chan-wook is the man who gave us the corkscrew in [*Oldboy*](https://film.one/film/oldboy) and the octopus in [*The Handmaiden*](https://film.one/film/the-handmaiden), and *Decision to Leave* has almost no blood in it. A body at the foot of a cliff, a bruise or two, and that is about all. It is a detective story in which the detective falls in love with his suspect, and Park treats the falling with the same care he once gave to hammers. It is his best film since *The Handmaiden*, it runs 139 minutes, and it is about twenty of those too clever.

Hae-joon, played by Park Hae-il, is a good policeman and a tidy one. He keeps hand cream in his desk, his shirts are pressed, his wall at home is covered in the photographs of cases he has not solved. He cannot sleep. Seo-rae, played by Tang Wei, is the widow of the man on the rocks, and she answers his questions with a politeness that never quite becomes an answer. Their first long scene together is in an interview room, where he lays out expensive sushi for her as if it were a date and then seems to remember what room they are in. We found it funnier and sadder than we expected, and by the time he admits to her that he has stopped sleeping we were on his side and knew we should not be.

Kim Ji-yong’s camera is the film’s other detective. When Hae-joon watches Seo-rae’s flat from across the road, Kim puts him beside her, standing at her shoulder while she eats, so that the stakeout looks like the cohabitation he is imagining. The camera looks out from a dead man’s eye, from the screen of a phone, from inside a fridge. Kim Sang-bum cuts on matched actions, her spoon going up as his eye drops go in, so two people in different buildings seem to share a table. It is showing off, and it is also exactly how obsession feels from the inside, which is why we forgave it.

Ryu Seong-hie’s production design gives Seo-rae a flat papered in mountains, in a colour the characters argue about: he says blue, she says green, and Kwak Jung-ae dresses her in the same undecided shade. Hae-joon’s flat is clean and grey and full of pins. Cho Young-wuk’s score is mostly strings that rise towards something and stop short, and Park leans hard on an old Korean ballad called ‘Mist’, which turns up more often than it needs to and works every time.

Tang Wei is doing something difficult here. Seo-rae’s Korean is learned, and Tang plays a woman choosing every word and occasionally handing the job to her phone, which reads out her Chinese in a flat synthetic voice. The gap between what she means and what comes out is where the whole film lives. Park Hae-il’s unravelling is a matter of posture: the shirts stay pressed, the shoulders go. Lee Jeong-hyeon, as the wife who talks about sex the way other people talk about vitamins, has a thankless part and is drily good in it.

The trouble arrives with the second half. The story moves to Ipo, where the fog comes in off the sea and nobody can see across a car park, and the script by Park and Jeong Seo-kyeong sets up a second case that echoes the first with the variables changed. This involves phones, watches, recordings, deleted files and a number of things we will not describe. We lost the thread twice. The first time we got it back and did not mind. The second time we minded, because Tang Wei was on screen and we were doing arithmetic.

Most critics have liked this film, and a few have found it cold. We think the few are wrong. It is the warmest film Park has made, and the coldness they are describing is the plot, which is a different thing. The debt to [*Vertigo*](https://film.one/film/vertigo) is plain and unhidden: a policeman, a woman who may not be what she says, a second act that replays the first. Park is not embarrassed by it and neither were we.

The last scene we will not describe, except to say that it moved us more than the preceding half hour had earned, and that this is both Park’s point and his problem. See it twice. The first time for the case, the second for what is happening in the corners of the frame while the case is being explained.

*Fi1m score 82, published 30 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like it, and many like it a great deal. The reviews describe a murder mystery that turns out to be a love story, and the praise gathers in two places: Park Chan-wook’s direction, particularly the inventiveness of his compositions and the precision of the editing, and Tang Wei’s performance as the suspect, which several critics name as the thing that makes an enigmatic character worth following. Her chemistry with Park Hae-il comes up nearly as often.

The reservations are about the second half. Several critics find the middle baggy or the final third drifting, and some feel the plot’s technology and twists grow overcomplicated. The spread is narrow, with no outright negative reviews, but a few dissent: Slant finds the thriller so convoluted that the romance goes inert, Vulture finds it fragmentary and emotionally distant despite a haunting finale, and Deadline faults the pacing and an unfeeling conclusion. Even they praise Tang Wei.

## Straight answers

**Is Decision to Leave worth watching?**

*Decision to Leave* is worth watching for anyone who wants a detective story that is really a love story, and we scored it 82. Park Chan-wook's quietest film puts Tang Wei and Park Hae-il in an interview room and lets the case fall away around them. The second half adds plot it does not need, and we lost the thread twice.

**How long is Decision to Leave, and what is it rated?**

*Decision to Leave* runs 2h 19m and is rated NR by the MPA in the US. It is a thriller and mystery film.

**Where can I watch Decision to Leave in the US?**

*Decision to Leave* is streaming on MUBI, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video from $4.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Decision to Leave, and is it suitable for children?**

*Decision to Leave* carries a UK 15 certificate but has almost no blood in it: a body at the foot of a cliff, a bruise or two, and that is about all. It is slow, adult in its concerns and not frightening in any ordinary sense. It is not for children, who would be bored long before they were troubled.

**How does Decision to Leave compare to Vertigo?**

*Decision to Leave* takes its shape from [*Vertigo*](https://film.one/film/vertigo) openly: a policeman, a woman who may not be what she says, a second act that replays the first. Park's film is the warmer of the two and the funnier; Hitchcock's is the tighter and the more uncomfortable. Anyone who likes one has good reason to see the other.

**What should I watch after Decision to Leave?**

After *Decision to Leave*, try [*Vertigo*](https://film.one/film/vertigo) (1958, Fi1m 92): The policeman, the woman, the second act that replays the first; Park’s model, unhidden. Then [*In the Mood for Love*](https://film.one/film/in-the-mood-for-love) (2000, Fi1m 91): Two people not having an affair, shot as if every corridor were a confession; and [*Memories of Murder*](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder) (2003, Fi1m 91): Korean detectives failing, in the rain, with more feeling than most films manage succeeding.

### Reviews we read (32)

- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (A-): Ehrlich calls it an unexpectedly romantic procedural whose restrained approach still delivers a deeply affecting finale. He praises Park’s precise editing and staging, while noting that the technology-driven plot and complicated third act can feel overworked. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook-1234727459/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (90/100, inferred): Chang finds the film an invigorating, despairing love story and a luxuriant romantic noir. He especially praises Park’s inventive visual style and Park Hae-il and Tang Wei’s performances. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-10-13/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook-korean-oscar-submission)
- **The AV Club**, Mark Keizer (A-): Keizer praises the film as an intricate, restrained, and probing drama, though its tragic ending feels more intellectual than emotional. He singles out Park’s visual inventiveness and the leads’ finely calibrated chemistry. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/decision-leave-review-park-chan-wook-tang-wei-1849633103)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): Bradshaw gives the film a strongly positive verdict, calling it gorgeously made and gripping. He particularly praises Tang Wei’s magnificent performance and the film’s suspenseful, consistently surprising storytelling. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/23/decision-to-leave-review-tang-wei-stuns-in-park-chan-wook-black-widow-noir)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (90/100, inferred): Rooney finds the film intoxicating and praises Park as a world-class artist at the top of his game. He singles out the leads’ smoldering chemistry and the film’s ravishing visuals, especially its striking compositions. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/decision-to-leave-park-chan-wook-cannes-2022-1235152464/)
- **Empire**, Nick de Semlyen (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a tremendous, sophisticated erotic thriller and praises Park’s inventive visual storytelling. The middle section occasionally feels baggy, but Tang Wei’s mesmerizing performance and the film’s precise camerawork stand out. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/decision-to-leave/)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (85/100, inferred): Newland praises the film as absorbing, enigmatic and masterful, with a hypnotic rhythm. She singles out Park’s precise editing and his ability to make tiny visual details feel charged with meaning. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/decision-to-leave-review-hypnotic-masterful-return-park-chan-wook-1925650)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (85/100, inferred): Lane finds the film an astonishing and persuasive romance, whose elaborate mystery ultimately brushes against tragedy. He praises the visual wit and forensic precision of Park’s imagery. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/17/the-persuasive-potency-of-decision-to-leave)
- **Variety**, Jessica Kiang (Critics Pick): The review calls the film a masterful, dazzling love story wrapped in a mischievous murder mystery. It especially praises the expressive camerawork and the leads’ subtle, compelling chemistry. [Read](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook-1235275058/)
- **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (5/4/5): Strong presents the film as an intimate, sumptuous romance whose mystery keeps its emotional cards close. She particularly praises Tang Wei’s magnetic performance as Seo-rae and the film’s morally complex characters. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/decision-to-leave)
- **Radio Times**, Max Copeman (4/5): Copeman finds the mystery exquisitely made and Hitchcockian in spirit. He especially praises Tang Wei's performance for its depth and intrigue. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-vxnqgb/decision-to-leave/)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): The review finds the film a woozily seductive murder mystery. It singles out Park Chan-wook’s slowed-down, spellbinding approach for praise. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/decision-to-leave-2022)
- **Total Film**, Neil Smith (4/5): The critic finds the film an intoxicating, achingly romantic neo-noir, though its second half loses momentum and it feels too long. They single out the elegant visuals, evocative score, and sophisticated costumes for praise. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/decision-to-leave-review-cannes-2022/)
- **Film Comment**, Imogen Sara Smith (70/100, inferred): The critic presents the film as a notably romantic entry in Park Chan-wook’s filmography. The standfirst singles out its epic detective story and romantic emphasis. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/unsolved-mysteries-park-chan-wook-decision-to-leave-review/)
- **Screen Daily**, Wendy Ide (70/100, inferred): The standfirst presents the film as a seductive neo-noir. It singles out the blurred lines between detective and suspect as central to its appeal. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/decision-to-leave-cannes-review/5171039.article)
- **Sight and Sound** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film’s image-rich, ambiguous approach largely successful, despite a drifting final third. Tang Wei’s magnetic performance is singled out for making an enigmatic character compelling. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/decision-leave-danger-keeps-spiralling-this-tense-tale-obsession)
- **RogerEbert.com** (65/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. Its praise or complaints cannot be determined from the provided content. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/decision-to-leave-movie-review-2022)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No specific praise or criticism can be verified from the supplied text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/movies/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook.html)
- **Slant Magazine**, Chuck Bowen (2.5/4): Bowen finds the thriller pointlessly overcomplicated, leaving its emotional story inert. He praises the beauty of a beachside disappearance, though he says the film does little to make its tragedy meaningful. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook/)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (45/100, inferred): Ebiri finds the film fragmentary and emotionally distancing, though its haunting finale nearly saves it. He especially praises Tang Wei’s layered, captivating performance. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/decision-to-leave-movie-review-directed-by-park-chan-wook.html)
- **The Skinny**, Ross McIndoe (★★★★★): The review praises the film as a consistently accomplished work of filmmaking. It singles out Park Chan-wook’s visual inventiveness and the sensual chemistry between the two leads. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/decision-to-leave)
- **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (B+): Bonaime praises the film as an accomplished blend of romance and mystery. He especially singles out Park Hae-il and Tang Wei for conveying powerful feelings through quiet, restrained performances. [Read](https://collider.com/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook/)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (82/100, inferred): Nayman finds the film a controlled, absorbing high point in Park Chan-wook’s later work. He praises how its restrained visual style serves the story’s uneasy blend of mystery and romance. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2022/10/13/movies/decision-to-leave-park-chan-wook-films)
- **Consequence**, Clint Worthington (80/100, inferred): Worthington finds the film a captivating, inventive take on a romantic crime thriller. He especially praises Park’s inventive camera work and Tang Wei’s precise performance. [Read](https://consequence.net/2022/09/decision-to-leave-review-chan-wook-park/)
- **Polygon**, Tasha Robinson (80/100, inferred): Robinson finds the film a sophisticated, satisfying portrait of obsession and regret, despite its less dynamic procedural story. She especially praises how its quiet character details gradually reveal the leads’ feelings and deepen their relationship. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23402587/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook/)
- **The Playlist** (79/100, inferred): The headline presents the film as an elusive, alluring romance. It highlights Park Chan-wook’s conjuring of seductive illusions. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook-conjures-elusive-illusions-a-seductive-romance-cannes-20220524/)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (78/100, inferred): The critic finds the film difficult but ultimately rewarding, with an ending that lingers in the mind. She praises its intricate psychological romance and the way desire emerges through the characters’ intellectual conflict. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/decision-to-leave-2022-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)
- **Paste**, Brianna Zigler (7.3/10): The critic calls it an extravagant, hopelessly romantic thriller, though not Park Chan-wook’s best work or a masterpiece. She praises its lavish visual style and yearning romance, while noting that the excess can overwhelm the film and leave it feeling as if something is missing. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/park-chan-wook/decision-to-leave-review)
- **/Film**, Rafael Motamayor (7/10): The critic finds the film fascinating and exquisitely directed, though less surprising and innovative than Park Chan-wook’s earlier work. They praise the palpable chemistry between the leads and the director’s skill at building tension through staging and visual composition. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/872714/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook-directs-the-hell-out-of-a-romantic-mystery-cannes/)
- **NME** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film intriguing and addictive, though some twists do not strengthen its narrative. They particularly praise its stunning, inventive cinematography. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/decision-to-leave-review-park-chan-wook-k-drama-3333399)
- **The Wrap** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film gorgeous and richly dramatic, though at times confounding and emotionally uneven. They praise Park’s intricate, visually striking filmmaking and its ability to make ordinary settings feel alluring. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/decision-to-leave-film-review-cannes/)
- **Deadline**, Valerie Complex (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the film uneven but ultimately recommends it, largely for its stellar first half. She praises Tang Wei’s performance and the leads’ subtle, compelling dynamic, while faulting the latter half’s pacing and emotionless conclusion. [Read](https://deadline.com/2022/05/cannes-review-park-chan-wooks-decision-to-leave-1235030449/)

## Details

- **Director:** Park Chan-wook
- **Director:** Park Chan-wook
- **Writer:** Park Chan-wook, Jeong Seo-kyeong
- **Cinematography:** Kim Ji-yong
- **Editor:** Kim Sang-bum
- **Music:** Cho Young-wuk
- **Production design:** Ryu Seong-hie
- **Costume design:** Kwak Jung-ae
- **Producer:** Park Chan-wook, Ko Dae-seok
- **Cast:** Tang Wei as Song Seo-rae; Park Hae-il as Jang Hae-joon; Lee Jeong-hyeon as Jeong-ahn; Ko Kyung-pyo as Soo-wan; Park Yong-woo as Lim Ho-shin; Kim Shin-young as Yeon-su; Yoo Seung-mok as Ki Do-soo; Jeong E-suh as Mi-ji
- **Runtime:** 2h 19m
- **Certificate (MPA):** NR
- **Release (the US):** 21 October 2022
- **Genres:** Thriller, Mystery, Romance
- **Budget:** $10 million
- **Box office:** $17 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL5bU-M_qEg

## Where to watch in the US

- MUBI: streaming, uhd
- Apple TV: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- Apple TV: rent $4.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $4.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $13.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-30.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, IE, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, TH, TR, UA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Golden Globes 2023: Best Non-English Language Film (nominated)
- International Submission to the Academy Awards 2023: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Vertigo* (1958), Fi1m 92: The policeman, the woman, the second act that replays the first; Park’s model, unhidden — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/vertigo.md)
- *In the Mood for Love* (2000), Fi1m 91: Two people not having an affair, shot as if every corridor were a confession — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/in-the-mood-for-love.md)
- *Memories of Murder* (2003), Fi1m 91: Korean detectives failing, in the rain, with more feeling than most films manage succeeding — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/memories-of-murder.md)
- *The Handmaiden* (2016), Fi1m 85: Park and Jeong Seo-kyeong’s previous script; louder, crueller, and just as much in love — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-handmaiden.md)
- *Lust, Caution* (2007): Tang Wei earlier, playing another woman whose every sentence has a second purpose

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/decision-to-leave