Park Chan-wook begins filming for violent comedy-thriller 'I Can't Help It' (working title)

Korean film maestro Park Chan-wook keeps moving. The internationally acclaimed author, 60, begins production on Saturday on his 12th feature film, an adaptation of American novelist Donald Westlake's 1996 novel The axeThe film, which currently has the working title I can't help itThe film stars Korean film stars Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin, and is financed and distributed by local studio giant CJ ENM.

Westlake's novel was previously filmed in French by Costa Gavras in 2005 The clover (The axee). Like its predecessor, Park’s adaptation follows a man — this time named Man-soo and played by Lee — who is abruptly fired from the paper company where he has worked tirelessly for years. The man becomes increasingly desperate in his search for new work, eventually deciding to murder his competitors. Son will play the man’s wife, the warmhearted Mi-ri.

I can't help it will be Park's first feature film since his critically acclaimed romantic mystery drama Decision to leave (2022). In between his big screen projects, he co-directed the HBO miniseries The sympathizerbased on the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, and starring Robert Downey Jr. His ultra-violent global breakthrough film was also re-released last year for its 20th anniversary Old boy (2003).

Park and Lee achieved early success together with the mystery thriller Joint security area (2000), a milestone in Korean millennial cinema (Quentin Tarantino once described it as one of his favorite films since the 1990s). Lee has since become known as one of his country's most versatile actors, and has recently gained even more global visibility thanks to his recurring role as Front Man in Netflix's Squid gameWith her cheerful, warm personality and wildly popular early film roles, Son became known in Korea as the “country's first love”. I can't help it will be her first time working with Park.

Complete I can't help itThe cast includes Lee Sung-min (The Spy Who Went North) and Yeom Hye-ran (To live), who will co-star as a couple who have gone through similar unemployment ordeals. Park Hee-soon (The scam) will play the paper company's team leader, while Cha Seung-won (An ordinary day) appears as one of Man-soo's competitors at work. Yoo Yeon-seok (Mr. Sunshine) plays a colleague of his wife, Mi-ri.

CJ ENM has said that the target release date for the film has not yet been set. However, Park is a regular at the Cannes Film Festival, held annually in May, and has premiered four of his films there.