Films to watch at Chuseok this year

With a full week of Chuseok and other holidays ahead from Oct. 3 to 9, there’s no better time to escape into the big screen. From dark comedies and gangster spoofs to touching animations, this year’s lineup offers something for every kind of moviegoer.

This year’s box office race is heating up with highly anticipated domestic films — Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice,” the gangster comedy “Boss” and Yeon Sang-ho’s low-budget feature “The Ugly,” alongside Hollywood film “The Wedding Banquet” and animated features such as “Bad Girl: Run Hani,” “Your Letter” and “Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc.”

The movie lineup for the holiday season presents a fascinating mix of genres. “Oldboy” director Park’s “No Other Choice,” which premiered on Wednesday, is a black comedy about a man’s desperate battle to regain control of his life after being abruptly laid off.

Starring Lee Byung-hun, the film has already garnered praise at the Venice, Toronto and Busan film festivals. While the story is dark, the film is noted for being more accessible than Park’s previous works.

Also aiming to capture a wider audience is the comic action film “Boss,” set to be released on Oct. 3.

The movie takes a humorous twist on the classic gangster genre, as rival gang members hilariously try to “yield” the boss position to each other, each preferring to pursue their own passions. The film features familiar and prominent actors including Jo Woo-jin, Jung Kyung-ho, Park Ji-hwan and Lee Kyu-hyung.

Actor Jo Woo-jin in a scene from “Boss” / Courtesy of Hive Media Corp.

Meanwhile, director Yeon’s “The Ugly,” which has already topped the box office, is expected to attract even more viewers during the holiday season.

With a small production budget of around 200 million won ($143,000), the movie tells the story of Lim Dong-hwan (Park Jeong-min), the son of a famous visually impaired stamp carver.

The plot kicks off when Dong-hwan finds the skeletal remains of his mother, Jung Yeong-hee (Shin Hyun-bin), who disappeared four decades ago. His discovery leads him to uncover hidden family secrets. The film features Park Jeong-min as the young Yeong-gyu and Kwon Hae-hyo as his older self.

The film has been praised for its compelling and thought-provoking story and stellar performances from the cast.

Adding to the diversity of the holiday season is the American comedy “The Wedding Banquet,” a remake of director Ang Lee’s 1993 film. Directed by Korean American Andrew Ahn, the film features Oscar-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung as a grandmother who discovers her gay grandson’s fake marriage plans. The film’s humorous story and Youn’s appearance have made it a highly anticipated release here.

Animated features such as “Bad Girl: Run Hani” and “Your Letter” will also compete at the box office during the holiday season. “Bad Girl: Run Hani” a 40th anniversary tribute to the “Run Hani” comic book series by Lee Jin-joo, is also targeting the Chuseok crowd. The film tells a new story of a street race competition between the legendary runner Hani and her rival, Aeri.

The Japanese animated film “Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc,” which was released Wednesday, is also expected to join the Chuseok holiday race. It remains to be seen if it will be a box office smash following in the footsteps of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Infinity Castle.”