▲ This photo, provided by CJ ENM, shows a scene from 'Decision to Leave.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

▲ This photo, provided by BAFTA, shows Park Ji-min from a scene from 'Return to Seoul.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) – Manola Dagis, a senior film critic of the New York Times, picked Director Park Chan-wook of “Decision to Leave” as a strong candidate for the 95th U.S. Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Director.

In his article published online on Friday (local time), titled “And the 2023 Oscar Nominees Should Be…,” Dargis included a list of candidates the chief critics had selected themselves in the major categories of Oscars this year, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor/Actress.

Along with Jerzy Skolimowski (“EO”), Joanna Hogg (“The Eternal Daughter”), Jordan Peele (“Nope”), Jafar Panahi (“No Bears”), and Todd Field (“Tar”), Dargis also recommended Director Park as the Best Director Award winner.

Earlier at the end of 2022, Dargis also had Director Park’s “Decision to Leave” included in his list of “Best Movies of 2022,” as the eighth film among the carefully selected 10.

Moreover, the critic also gave a rave review of “Decision to Leave,” likening the movie to a labyrinth and describing it as “enjoyably dizzying.”

He also placed Tang Wei, who starred in “Decision to Leave,” on his Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Along with her, Dargis also mentioned the South Korean actor Park Ji-min, who starred in “Return to Seoul” – a 2022 drama film by Cambodian-French director Davy Chou that centers on a young French woman who returns to Korea in search of her biological parents – for the same award.

Both “Decision to Leave” and Cambodia’s “Return to Seoul” have been longlisted for the 2023 Oscars Best International Feature Film.

The list of nominees hand-picked by Dargis does not have any substantial impact on the Academy’s final decision of the actual award winner; however, Dargis’ choices and the rave review Director Park had received about his work may potentially serve as a factor that piques the interest of local experts as it was released through the New York Times, a leading U.S. magazine.

The Academy will be announcing its shortlist for the entire Oscar category on Feb. 24.

The 95th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles (LA) on Mar. 12. 

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

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