For weeks, Lee Byung Hun has been in LA lobbying for NO OTHER CHOICE for the Oscar awards. The movie was submitted by Korean Film Council as its entry in the foreign film category. But Lee and director Park Chan-wook are trying to equate their dark comedy with Oscar winning PARASITE.
But the comparisons may be hard to come by. PARASITE had record breaking $53.2 million domestic box office compared to NO OTHER CHOICE’s $19.2 million. (Overall, Park’s movie did not break even at the box office.) PARASITE had a world wide release, more than doubling its domestic box office. NO OTHER CHOICE had its limited run in the US during the Christmas holiday in a few cities. There was no buzz, movie reviews or audience in the US. But with this last minute push for Oscar consideration, the movie will get this weekend a second limited release in the US.
It will be a long shot for the Korean movie to win an Oscar. The Oscars are just a film festival that has the local Hollywood star power to drive the prestige. But since Hollywood is in a deep slump, local industry voters are predicted to support their own works over foreign films.