Oldboy by Chan-Wook Park - 2003
Oldboy (English title: Old Boy) is one of the finest Asian movies I have ever seen. You cannot put this movie directly into the genre of horror movies but combining all the elements that it possess, you get an excellent outcome of marvellous work of director Chan-Wook Park. Oldboy is a complete psychological thriller that has won more than 15 awards in different categories all across the globe in various events including Stockholm Film Festival, Hong Kong Film Awards, Cannes Film Festival etc. This Korean thriller movie came into controversy after it was presumed to have inspired a school-shootout by a Korean migrant in the United States.
This movie starts with Ho Dae-su (Min-Sik Choi), an ordinary man getting completely drunk before the even of his daughter’s birthday only to be arrested by the Police. Finding his totally sloshed, Dae-su’s best friend No Joo Hwan bails him out from the police station and calls Dae-su’s home from a public telephone. The very next moment Dae-su vanishes.
The story takes another turn. Dae-su finds himself imprisoned in a room and he is kept in that room for the next 15 years. No body explains him why he is there. He just has a single room for himself with a bathroom, a bed and a TV to watch. Nobody is allowed to interact with him during this period, however, foods are being supplied regularly to keep him alive.
Suddenly, one day Dae-su finds himself outside the confinement, he is released. He is given given new clothes, money and a cell phone. He wants to find the reason for his 15 years confinement and becomes desperate to unearth the truth. On this process, Dae-su meets Mido (Hye-jeong Kang), a young Japanese Chef and slowly gets attracted towards her. Dae-su desperately searches for the answer and wants to take revenge. In the process, Dae-su discovers many dark secrets of his past. Slowly his life becomes more painful than the life he was leading for 15 years inside the confinement.
This is one of the finest Korean thrillers I have ever seen. It only shows that the Asian movie industry is developing rapidly. The storyline is intense and extremely tight which keeps you glued to the screen throughout the entire length of the movie and the way the story twists and turns during climax is quite unexpected and Park has shown a work of tremendous artistry by combining various parts of the movie together. Oldboy is one of the best movies ever produced in Asia continent. And no way, you can ignore the contribution of Min-Sik Choi who plays Dae-su in the movie. He has done a wonderful job in the lead role. If you exclude few scenes of graphic violence at the end, Oldboy is a complete tale of human relationships and the outcome of these relationships. A must watch for all, especially those who are into Asian movies and love to admire abstract themes.
Watch the trailer of Oldboy.
My Rating - 8.5/10
Learn more about the movie on IMDB.
[...] time favourite Korean horror movies Janghwa Hongryeon (English Title: A Tale of Two Sisters) and Old Boy (not exactly a horror movie though). However, Telmisseomding (English Title: Tell Me Something), [...]
[...] Korean thriller is a class in itself, if you like the style of Park. Though most of his movies (OldBoy, Bakjwi etc.) are kind of similar at the first instance and they definitely revolve around the same [...]
[...] your mind. The direction and cinematography is truly amazing and it takes you back to the aura of OldBoy. Some of the scenes where brilliantly shot with clever usage of bright red, green and yellow [...]
[...] movie more than twice in order to understand the story completely. Bakjwi is no way as thrilling as OldBoy but definitely you should give it a try if you admire Chan Wook-Park’s work. The direction and [...]