Basically, I’m throwing out the question “When is such violence justified?” To get that question to touch the audience physically and directly—that’s what my goal is. In the experience of watching my film, I don’t want the viewer to stop at the mental or the intellectual. I want them to feel my work physically. And because that is one of my goals, the title “exploitative” will probably follow me around for a while.

—Chan Wook-Park