Decision to Leave: Love in the Mist
Park Chan-wook's Decision to Leave (2022) is a hauntingly beautiful romance-mystery that earned the legendary director the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. The film follows Detective Hae-jun, a meticulous and insomniac investigator in Busan, who becomes captivated by Seo-rae, a mysterious Chinese-Korean woman suspected in the death of her elderly husband. As Hae-jun digs deeper into the case, his professional objectivity erodes and he finds himself drawn into an obsessive attraction that blurs the line between detective work and desire.
The film's visual poetry is inseparable from its locations. Park Chan-wook transforms the Korean landscape — from misty mountain peaks to the endless expanse of the ocean — into an emotional canvas that mirrors the characters' inner turmoil.
Between Mountains and Sea
The mountain scenes filmed in Sancheong establish the film's central metaphor from the very first frames. The steep, fog-shrouded cliffs of this remote area in Gyeongsangnam-do provide the setting for the initial death investigation that brings Hae-jun and Seo-rae together. The raw, untamed beauty of the landscape mirrors the dangerous allure of their relationship — magnificent yet perilous.
Haeundae Beach in Busan serves as the primary backdrop for much of the story. The vast ocean stretching to the horizon becomes a recurring visual motif, representing both the depth of Hae-jun's feelings and the unknowable mystery of Seo-rae herself. Seorae Village in Seoul adds yet another poetic dimension to the film. This quiet, tree-lined neighborhood, known for its French cultural influence, shares its name with the film's enigmatic heroine. Whether this connection is coincidental or intentional, visiting Seorae Village gives fans a contemplative space to reflect on the film's themes of longing, identity, and the impossibility of truly knowing another person.
