Director: Park Chan-wook

Genre: Mystery/Action

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Disturbing, controversial, yet extremely fascinating film that plotted mystery and revolves about its “whydunit”.

Oldboy received numerous positive reviews from critics and it also placed 64th on an Empire list of the top 500 movies of all time. 3,260,000 filmgoers praised it and considered to be the one of the highest-grossing film of 2003.

Synopsis: Dae-Su, an obnoxious drunk bailed from the police station yet again by a friend. However, he’s abducted from the street and wakes up in a cell, he stayed there for 15 years without even knowing the reason why he was being locked up.

Oh Dae-su’s appearance in the beginning of the film reflects an assume for the viewers that he is quite problematic and is a troublesome man.

Oldboy is considerably as one of the weirdest, sick twisted, and most traumatizing film among the Vengeance Trilogy of the acclaimed director Park Chan-wook. This tragecomedy masterpiece will surely entrap you with disturbing philosophies and bewitching story direction. It seems like it’s a bloody poetry consists with enchanting ideas and insanity.

The fact that this film has gone through questioning your morals as we witness the gruesome vengeance and taboos discussed in its plot, it is no wonder why audiences think it is in between of the best and worst. Oldboy’s setup are derived from Tsuchiya Garon and Minegishi Nobuaki’s Japanese comic from the same title; however, the characters, story and almost everything have been completely re-worked.

The compelling musical production delivered a cinematic eerie that everyone has to tune in while waiting for the climax to uproar. Unlike other films, Oldboy has a very fresh concept which is still new for the viewer’s preference despite of its two-decade release. The corridor fight scene is the most remarkable highlight of the film. That scene alone took 17 shots to appear perfectly and polished on screen. Dae-su’s desperation to find out the reason about why was he locked up put an impression to his character that reflect to his intense hatred. The scene, where Dae-su ate the raw octopus made the viewers shocked as well and the reason behind his octopus-munching is connected to the flow of the story. When he finally freed himself, he went to the sushi restaurant and asked Mi-do (the chef), to give him an alive octopus as he wanted to taste and touch a living thing after being jailed for 15 years.

Everything about this movie is mess, and that is a pretty mess that will blow your mind out. Dir. Park is known for making a bloody revenge and bending genres type of a film. This is the second installment of the Vengeance Trilogy. Park viewed revenge as a way to symphatize with the protagonist’s lost and grieving. The aim of this film is to show how satisfying revenge is, but at the end of the day, it is meaningless. That is how this movie speaks volume. You will just lose everything in a snap, it may or may not be worth it at the end of the day.

Nowadays, it is really hard to find films that is similarly related to this concept. The frame composition and cinematography are too on point. Due to the popularity of Oldboy, the Korean cinema wave brought a massive success merely not just in Korea but also international. It is undeniably a Korea’s gem that is still relevant even after almost 20 years have passed.

Watch the trailer of Oldboy here:

“Revenge is about something that has already happened, and when you are trying to achieve vengeance, you are investing your everything into a venture that will lead you to no benefit at the end.”

PARK CHAN-WOOK