Asian cinema is prospering. It's producing some of the finest motion pictures in the world. And few are better than South Korean director Chan-wook Park's Oldboy.

The film is about Oh Dae-su, a family man and occasional drunk who, while making a call from a telephone booth, is mysteriously abducted. Upon regaining consciousness, he finds himself imprisoned in a hotel room. Confusion is too mild a word for what he's feeling. Then, his wife is found murdered. His blood is at the scene. To his whole world, he appears to have vanished to evade capture. His life is gone. But he's still alive. Somewhere. In a room. He's fed and clothed. And taken care of. And--

Fifteen years pass.

And, just as abruptly as he was abducted, he's released. Free, Oh Dae-su vows to take revenge on those responsible, and more importantly to find out the reason, for his imprisonment.

But Oldboy isn't a typical revenge story. It's much deeper than that. In fact, we learn that Oh Dae-su is driven far more by the second part of his vow than by the first. He has the chance to take revenge several times but doesn't, because it would mean never knowing the Reason. And that's what he's really after. Like a child persistently asking its parents, "why does it rain?", "what happens to the sun at night?" or "why do people die?" Oh Dae-su wants to know: "Why was my life stolen?"

To transpose this to a different culture, Oldboy is like the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden. Oh Dae-su thirsts for a bite of the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. But is some knowledge better left unknown? Is some knowledge too crushing a burden to bear?

That's the first viewing of Oldboy. It's a quest for Knowledge, for the Truth, and for a Reason. Like in a mystery, the plot unfolds one step at a time until, at the end, everything is revealed. And it's devastating. So much so, that it's hard to even imagine watching some of the film's scenes placed into the context that the ending provides.

Yet that's exactly what happens upon a repeat viewing. It's a different film. The revenge and search for reason, so prominent before, become overpowered by tragedy. It's almost painful to watch, knowing the outcome, as Oh Dae-su hurls himself toward the inevitable. Suddenly, opportunities for salvation become visible. But Oh Dae-su is blind to them all. His purpose propels him forward. Dae-su, like Oedipus, to use another Western example, is a victim of his Fate.

Lauded at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize, Oldboy begs to be seen.

Rating: 4.0 / 4.0