박찬욱의 <어쩔수가없다>에서 나타난 연기의 생소화 효과(Verfremdungseffekt)

초록

Cinema has traditionally developed on the basis of realism and naturalistic representation, through which acting styles centered on emotional identification have become established as a dominant aesthetic norm. While such representational acting systems intensify spectators' emotional immersion, they simultaneously limit the critical distance necessary for reflecting on the social and structural conditions embedded within cinematic narratives. Grounded in this problem consciousness, this study reconsiders Bertolt Brecht's concept of the Verfremdungseffekt as a critical and formal strategy that can intervene in contemporary film acting systems. Park Chan-wook has consistently employed acting and directing strategies that disrupt naturalistic identification, including the subversion of the actor's image, the rejection of Method acting, and the dismantling of the fourth wall. In this respect, his directorial practice demonstrates a close theoretical affinity with Brechtian estrangement. Focusing on Park's forthcoming film <No Other Choice> (2025), this paper investigates how the alienation effect is structured and functions at the level of film acting. Drawing on Brecht's key acting concepts―Gestus, quotational speech, the separation of emotion and action, and the exaggeration and stylization of bodily expression―the study examines how these techniques are transformed and reconfigured within the conventions of cinematic realism Furthermore, this research analyzes Park's use of Brechtian acting strategies to construct grotesque playfulness, destabilize linguistic signification through repetition and error, and dismantle speech itself via the intervention of physical sound. Through this analysis, the study demonstrates that the alienation effect operates not merely as a technique of distancing, but as a critical device that prompts spectators to recognize and reflect upon the social conditions and structural relations surrounding the characters' actions. In <No Other Choice>, Park Chan-wook refrains from reducing the unethical choices of a dismissed worker to issues of individual psychology or moral failure. Instead, he presents these choices through acting devices that render social relations and structural forces visible, thereby shifting the spectator's judgment from emotional empathy to critical reflection. Ultimately, this study argues that film acting can be expanded beyond a technology of representational realism into a form of critical acting aesthetics that generates social inquiry and ethical thought, offering significant theoretical and practical implications for contemporary film acting theory and studies on the reception of Brecht in cinema.

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