Park Chan-wook ’s latest film took nearly 20 years to reach the screen, since he first picked up Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel The Ax . Originally, he planned to shoot it in Canada, and then in the U.S., until his producer suggested the story would work just as well in their native South Korea .

Starring Lee Byung-hun, the film tells the story of Man-soo, a loyal company man who is laid off by the new owners of the paper mill where he has worked for 25 years. But unemployment does not sit well with Man-soo, and the competition in his specialist area is fierce, so he settles on an unusual solution.

Speaking at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event, director Park said there were “many reasons” why the book appealed to him. “One of them being that it’s a story

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