After giving the best years of his life to a paper mill, Man-su (Squid Game star Lee Byung Hun) has been axed. Standing to lose everything and fearing too much competition in his niche sector, Man-su hits on an ingenious scheme to guarantee the kind of position he so richly deserves: He will invent a fictitious paper company, invite his peers in for a meeting, and dispatch of his rivals, one by one.
Adapting the 1997 novel The Ax by Donald E. Westlake (previously filmed in France by Costa-Gavras), virtuoso filmmaker Park Chan-wook whips up another delicious blend of high style, suspense, and satire, in keeping with his previous classics Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Decision to Leave. Park’s latest sees him reteaming with Don McKellar, his collaborator on HBO’s The Sympathizer.
Oscar Submission: South Korea
Cooperating Organizations
Media Partner
Park Chan-wook
Lee Byung Hun, Son Yejin, Park Hee Soon, Lee Sung Min, Yeom Hye Ran, Cha Seung Won
South Korea
2025
In Korean with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Credits
Executive Producer
Miky Lee
Producer
Park Chan-wook, Back Jisun, Michèle Ray Gavras, Alexandre Gavras
Screenwriter
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don McKellar, Jahye Lee
Cinematography
Kim Woo-hyung
Editor
Kim Sang-beom, Kim Ho-bin
Production Design
Ryu Seong-hie
Original Music
Cho Young-wuk
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Secret in Their Eyes
This month's Talking Pictures screening is a multi-layered, poignant thriller interweaving the personal lives of a prosecution investigator (Ricardo Darin) and a judge, with a manhunt spanning twenty-five years. Stay for cookies, coffee and a chat after!
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.
