IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES

There’s a scene early on in Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave that crystallises both its main character and the precision filmmaking deployed by the majestic South Korean. Hae-joon (Park Hae-il), an insomniac detective living and working in Busan, has arrived at a local beauty spot to investigate the death of a man who fell from the top of a rock formation, smashing his skull far below. In the very definition of methodical, Hae-joon decides to climb back up the rock to literally retrace the last fatal steps of the victim in reverse.

“It shows his pride, his professionalism, his sense of responsibility as a detective but also the fact that he is the person who would always go by the book,” says Park, when settles down for a chat with the grey-haired guru the day after the film’s rapturous unveiling at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. This being “Director Park”, as his collaborators dub him, there are several more layers to consider. By the very end