Cold Open · Essay · feb 5, 2026

Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice Is a Brutal Take on Capitalism

Park Chan-wook may have made his masterpiece. Laura Gommans and Hugo Emmerzael break down No Other Choice — a film that uses the thriller genre to dissect middle-class aspiration, debt, and the slow violence of economic systems — and find it operating at the level of Park's best Korean work. The episode also weighs in on the Oscar nominations and marks the 45th anniversary of Kubrick's The Shining — a film, they argue, that Kubrick would have made differently today, and that Stephen King was always right to resist.

By Laura Gommans

Film Journalist · Celebrating Cinema

In this episode, Laura Gommans and Hugo Emmerzael dive into what might be Park Chan-wook’s masterpiece, No Other Choice, breaking down how it tackles capitalism and the fragile middle-class experience in ways that feel all too real.

They also chat about the recent Oscar nominations and the 45th anniversary of Kubrick’s The Shining—exploring why the true horror of this classic, how it clashed with Stephen King’s vision, and why Kubrick would have loved TikTok film debates.

Get tickets to ⁠No Other Choice⁠

Get tickets to ⁠The Shining⁠

Get tickets to ⁠Film Lecture: How To Build A Haunted Hotel?⁠

Get tickets to ⁠Drink-Along: The Fall⁠

Get tickets to ⁠Brazil Beneath The Surface

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