Decision to Leave

relationship between the detective and the suspect, the obsessive romance, the noir elements recontextualized through park chan-wook's unique lens. critics called it a masterpiece of slow-burn tension and emotional ambiguity. i watched those same scenes and felt... nothing. sometimes a movie that works for everyone else just doesn't work for you, and i think that's okay to admit. i kept waiting for the moment where it would all come together, where i'd understand what everyone was raving about. that moment never came. the pacing felt glacial in ways that didn't build tension for me. the character motivations felt opaque in ways that didn't intrigue me. it just confused me, honestly. the ending that was supposed to be haunting just left me going "okay... so what?" maybe the cultural nuances didn't translate for me in ways that would have made the emotional core land. maybe i'm just not smart enough to appreciate what was happening on a deeper level. i did not enjoy this movie in the slightest.