Park Chan-wook: Between Takes

IN IMAGES

Lee Ufan Arles presents the European debut of photographs by acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook.

By Gaia Squarci. Photographs by Park Chan-wook

You might know Park Chan-wook from films like Oldboy, with its brutal humor and sudden violence, or Decision to Leave, a slower noir where unease builds under the surface. The director has a reputation for being relentlessly busy, hardworking, and perfectionist — the kind who “checks his phone between questions.” His photographs are calmer, suspended. Some carry that same dark humor, but all of them hold a subtle tension that makes the viewer wonder what has just happened, and what’s about to.

Making a film demands planning far in advance through funding and teamwork, and every stage of production, shooting, and post-production requires a long time. Most kinds of photography demand the same, on a much smaller scale — but not the kind you shoot for yourself. Park Chan-wook’s photographs seem to capture that privilege: the moment where the director can let go of control, get lost, and let things happen.