'Decision to Leave' Also Comes Up Empty at the British Academy Awards

'No News on the Western Front' Sweeps Seven Categories

Director Park Chan-wook's film Decision to Leave also failed to win at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA). Although it was nominated for Best International Feature Film and Best Director, it was repeatedly overshadowed by director Edward Berger's All Quiet on the Western Front.

On the 19th (local time) at the 76th BAFTA held at London's Southbank, All Quiet on the Western Front dominated the event. It swept seven categories including Best Film, Best Director, Best International Feature Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Music. This is the most awards ever won by a foreign language film. The film portrays the horrors of war through the eyes of a young German volunteer. It is based on the novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. The film vividly depicts the barbarity and misery of trench warfare, pointing toward a tragic end.

Due to the overwhelming success of All Quiet on the Western Front, Decision to Leave was unable to secure any awards. Although it won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival last May, it left empty-handed once again at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards. It also missed out on a final nomination for Best International Feature Film at the recent Academy Awards, ending its overseas awards campaign early.

The Banshees of Inisherin won four awards including Best Supporting Actor (Barry Keoghan) and Best Supporting Actress (Kerry Condon), while Elvis took home four awards including Best Actor (Austin Butler). The Best Actress award went to Kate Blanchett for T?r. Everything Everywhere All at Once was nominated in ten categories but only won for Best Editing.

BAFTA is the British equivalent of the Academy Awards. It first connected with Korean cinema by awarding Best International Feature Film to director Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden in 2018. In 2020, Bong Joon-ho's Parasite won Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay, and the following year, Youn Yuh-jung won Best Supporting Actress for Minari.