However, when Dae-Su meets the mastermind, Woo-jin Lee (Ji-tae Yu), behind his imprisonment, he is tested and given a ticking clock. If Dae-Su figures out the reason for his imprisonment within five days, his captor will commit suicide. If Dae-Su doesn’t figure it out, his captor will kill every woman that Dae-Su ever loved—including Mi-do.
It is no surprise that Quentin Tarantino campaigned for Oldboy to win the top prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival; Oldboy is right up his alley. Director Chan-wook Park makes his Tarantino-like presence felt with a side-scrolling fight scene (comparable to Contra) – that is shot in one continuous take – and an inventive presentation of its conclusion panning back and forth from executing in real-time to seeing Dae-Su prepare to leave.
In fact, Park’s vicious neo noir/martial arts style almost speaks louder than its substance. With scenes that involve a squid and the human digestive system, a hammer and human teeth, and a pair of scissors and a human tongue, Park makes it hard for viewers to stomach and simultaneously turn away. Likewise, Park’s perverse nature increases the shock-value and the need to shower after the credits.
“Be it a grain of sand or rock, in water, they both sink.” Oldboy does not sink; instead, it rises to the top while taking on little water. While “buoyant” is an inapplicable adjective to describe Oldboy, the picture is gripping, gruesome, and daunting. What’s more, it is memorable, comical, and valiant. Finally, amidst the slew of hyphenated first names (i.e. Dae-Su, Joo-hwan, Mi-do, Woo-jin, and Su-ah), Oldboy is Su-perb.
Post Script: Check out the other two parts of Chan-wook Park’s vengeance trilogy, Part I: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Part III: (Sympathy for) Lady Vengeance; Oldboy fits in the middle as the second installment.
Article comments
1 - Ross Miller
Greast review, Brandon. This is easily in my top 20 films of all time, in my opinion it's the best Asian film I have ever seen (not that I've seen enough, though...). The dialogue is so poetic, the look and style of it is eye-catching, the messages behind it are so worthwhile putting across and overall it's just one heck of a movie.
Although me? - I would add that extra half star to the rating without a second's thought:)
2 - Brandon Valentine
Thanks Ross.
I'll look for Oldboy to place in the teens on your Top 100 countdown!
By the way, I gave it a second's thought, which I suppose constitutes the lack of a four-star rating.
3 - Cindy Collins Smith
I need to see this one again. I saw part of it during the wee hours in a private suite at a film convention. My friends hated it, but I was enjoying it. Only problem was that I was starting to fall asleep from exhaustion. So I left at about 4am. I have no idea how much more movie was left, but I've always wanted to know what happens next. Thanks for the review. I'll have to come back and actually read it when I've finished the movie. (Don't want to know the spoilers right now).