Director Park Chan-wook of Cannes' Men Returns Home in Glory: "My Films Are Commercial Movies for the Public"

▲Director Park Chan-wook (left) and actor Park Hae-il (right) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Director Park Chan-wook, who won the Best Director award at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival for the film "Decision to Leave," which concluded on the 28th (local time), returned home triumphantly on the 30th.

Director Park arrived in Korea through the arrival hall of Terminal 2 at Incheon International Airport around 6:10 PM that day.

He humorously commented on his award, saying, "The award I wanted was the Best Actor and Actress awards, but I ended up receiving a completely different one."

He added, "When actors receive awards, it creates the perception that 'if you work with that director, you will receive good awards,' which helps with casting in future projects, so I had hoped for that, but it's a bit disappointing."

With this Best Director award, Park now holds three trophies from the Cannes Film Festival. He said, "Winning for the third time doesn't bring any special emotion, but I am a bit worried that I might be limited to being seen only as an art film director," adding, "The films I make are always commercial films for the general audience."

He continued, "Perhaps my films are so entertaining that they might not quite fit with places like the Cannes Film Festival," and laughed, saying, "I am concerned that this award might leave the impression of me as an art film director distant from the public, so I would appreciate it if people could discard such preconceptions."

Regarding actor Song Kang-ho, who previously won the Best Actor award at Cannes for the film "Broker" and expressed a desire to work with Director Park Chan-wook someday, Park said, "Mr. Song has already worked with foreign directors and even won major awards, so he has become an international star, and I’m not sure if it will be his turn to work with me yet," showing his unwavering affection by adding, "Of course, he is always the first actor I want to work with."

Park Hae-il, who arrived with Director Park that day, congratulated him, saying, "I sincerely congratulate Director Park Chan-wook on his Best Director award," and added, "It was an award you fully deserved, and I hope there will be good opportunities in the future as well."

Meanwhile, "Decision to Leave" is Director Park’s new work after six years, depicting the story of detective Hae-joon (played by Park Hae-il), who is investigating a mysterious death, and Seo-rae (Tang Wei), the deceased’s wife.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.