Oldboy
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Movie Reviews of Oldboy
Movie Review: Quest for salvation
Summary: 5 Stars
Amongst actual bloody asian movies such as Battle Royale, Audition, Ichi etc. there came Oldboy and it was hailed to be a Tarantino-like work of violant art. "If you like Tarantino, you're gonna adore Oldboy" is what I was told, but then I had already seen it and was really asking myself if these people use their eyes and brains whilst watching a movie. Oldboy is no Tarantino movie by no chance as the main difference between those two directors is that the violence is being represented in a totally different context. In Quentin's movie it serves as a fun factor, but in Oldboy it is exactly what it really is: a destructive, bad kind of power.
To me, there's a LOT more to this movie than meets the eye. Some people had complaints about the idea of a private prison, others found the suffering of 15 years total isolation not believable enough. The answers at the end seemed too bizarre, culprit and victim don't look the same age but should. etc.
In my opinion, they're kind of looking at the wrong stuff as this movie is succesfully creating a very special situation that could not be created by an all too realistic backstory: that of a man on his personal quest for salvation in a world he only knows from television. From the moment of his isolation on, it's all TV. His life becomes a desperate monolog with a TV, he doesn't see his dead wife with his own living eyes, it also is part of the TV reality. The tv is showing the pictures, the tv is informing him about him being a murder suspect.
So this man was made to be a monster. His insanity after 15 years of isolation is desperatly seeking for answers to the question: "By whom was I made the person I am now? And why?" And a monster is what he turned out to be then, a monster that is about to fight (with the help of a hammer) against a huge group of brawling prison guards, there's no holding back, whatever it costs - the answers to his quest has to be his salvation.
But then what we see during his revenging quest is a man falling deeper and deeper while in Kill Bill every act of revenge is another positive step to fulfilment and joy.
Not with Oldboy. It's a drama with a few uncomfortable acts of violence. In the end, that's how violence is: uncomfortable.
Movie Review: Stunning
Summary: 5 Stars
"Oldboy" is an excellent film. Its violence is startling. Korea has two major film festivals, one is government-sponsored while the Blue Dragon festival has been controversial because it is sponsored by a conservative newspaper -- like the Fox news of Korea -- and has had scandals about vote buying. Despite that controversy, from what I've read, it is highly influential in Korea. This film won three major Blue Dragon creative awards. Park Chan-Wook won as Best Director; Choi Min-Sik won as Best Actor; and Gang Hye-jeong (or Hye-jeong Kang) won as Best Actress. The film also won the Grand Prix Award @ Cannes in 2004.
The story grabs you from the start. We watched the DVD in Korean with English subtitles to hear the powerful original voices of the actors. As Oh Dae-su, Choi Min-sik does a masterful leading performance. His character goes from obnoxious drunk to the driven haggard man who seeks revenge. Both he and Yu Ji-tae again work with director Park Chan-Wook on "Lady Vengeance," with a similar theme, this time with a woman falsely imprisoned. Yu Ji-tae as Lee Woo-Jin is a smooth corporate success. The set designer creates a cold austere penthouse where Lee Woo-Jin showers in a glass stall in his office and has waterways built into the floor. The subplot of his illicit relationship with his sister and his murder of her is chilling. Gang Hye-jeong as Mi-do does a good job of being the unstable caregiver that adopts Oh Dae-su upon his release and falls in love with him. Oh Dae-su's best friend No joo-hwan is played by the paunchy Dae-han Ji and fills the role with believable friendly support.
The images in this film are startling. Oh Dae-su eats an Octopus. (Apparently, Choi Min-sik is a Buddhist and had to do prayers after this scene.) The tongue scene was gruesome & hard to watch. The actor who plays the blond assistant to Lee Woo-Jin also did an excellent job throughout the movie. The cinematography is top rate. From the prison set that looks like an Asian Motel 6 to the penthouse to the outdoor images, "Oldboy" visually impresses the viewer. While I read the usual accolades on the DVD box, I was not expecting such an excellent film. This one is stunning. Bravo!
Movie Review: Best of 2005 by FAR! SPOILER FREE!
Summary: 5 Stars
Best Foreign movie EVER!
Oldboy is a Korean film, obviously made on a very short budget that is nothing short of brilliant. It has been compared to Tarantino movies and may I ask: what's up with that? Sure I enjoy some Tarantino flicks but this has nothing to do with them. The pervasive language label on the back is in all fairness a bunch of b.s. Mr. F is barely used.
There isn't that much violence in the movie but when there is, it's intense. The violence is there for a purpose: for example, one scene is a sacrifice and another is vengeance. The one brawl the movie has is great! The protagonist (don't know his name) and his hammer makes these 15 men's lives a living hell.
Yet there were very few fights which surprised me. But the ones there are..are great!
On the other hand this movie lives off of the ingeniously woven plot. The violence is only a product of that, only used with a purpose. A man, preparing for his daughter's birthday is abducted and thrown in a room. He is framed for the murder of his wife and spends 15 years of his life there. Who did it? Why? This will all be found out in due time. When he is released, he's given a suit and a cell phone where his abductor calls him. He meets a young woman and falls for her. She helps him, shows him love, and helps him get revenge. But things are more complicated than that. And if you want to see a twist, the huge one at the end will knock you flat. It will haunt you and maybe bring tears to your eyes. The "sacrifice" is the true meaning of love, and it shows the good nature of our hero. This hero isn't only a but kicking bad a#$ like Tarantino would have made him out as, no...He is someone who really knows about love and is such a courageous person that he will do anything for that person. And this is what American films lack, a moral. And this twist isn't like the dark crazy ones in Amercan cinema, it is an unusual one, an unexpected one. It's a touching tale, a haunting tale, a sad tale. It will make you think a lot and behind all of this violence and revenge is love and that love is the true meaning behind this ingenious tale.
It is hands down the best of 2005 and more than that even!
Movie Review: New cinema and many inspirations
Summary: 5 Stars
After a night of drinking, a man is imprisoned by some unknown people and left there for 15 years until he's let out. After a while trying to readjust to society and figure out what's happened, he is given 5 days to wreak vengeance upon whoever took his life away from him. Unfortunately, the progress is being watched by a less than benevolent spectator.
What's interesting about this film is it's influences. It's based loosely around The Count of Monte Cristo, takes a lot of Shakespearian and Biblical elements, throws in typical Asian kung fu, and then puts it into a very modern stylistic context in terms of cinema. The best part about this movie's style is that it never actually feels overdone and it actually seems to make sense... a shot isn't canted just to be weird, it's more subtle than that, even if the tone itself bleeds the idea of style.
Honestly, I was taken simply by a single shot, a long take where the camera tracks along a hallway as the main character fights off a large group of people. It straddles the line between realism and romance and creates a distructive ballet of choreography and motion that is downright beautiful in a somewhat horrible way. Then setting it into the context it has to a rather well done and structured story really helps this movie have a profound effect on the viewer. Just don't expect to be coming out of this feeling very happy, as it gets a bit disturbing at the end.
It may have overdone the ending, but I don't care. The weird mix of hypnosis and not-hypnosis kind of constricted the story. It is interesting to note that this film is of a new group of films out there that a few people call Asian Extreme Cinema, and I've seen two other films from this neo-genre that involve heavy use of violence and hypnosis themes (and men cutting their own tongues out). Why do these images seem to tie this genre together? What is it about hypnosis, specifically, that creates an anxious desire in these filmmakers for broken vigilantes?
--PolarisDiB
Movie Review: Phew! This is completely flabbergasting
Summary: 5 Stars
Old Boy was the first Korean film I have ever seen. I must say I am completely taken aback by the concept. I've lost count of the number of times in this film when I experienced EXTREME GOOSEBUMP SYNDROME.
I know I will never watch a film like Old Boy again but I do know it will reflect in my future conversations. I am not even ashamed of downloading this film. Atleast I watched it.
This film is about revenge and has more suspense filled raw staggering control over the viewer than I can possibly comprehend in my little review. The story is about as unique as the design of the wonders of the world. The movie covers a lot of aspects of a man's life. What value does time have? Do we really forget everything we know? Do elevators actually have passwords for the penthouse right on top? Do men actually have a remote control controlling their life support?
Now now, I know how vague and random I might sound but Old Boy actually did this to me. It is the most potent display of human thought I have seen in a long time. I remember watching "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" and being disappointed not by the story but by the frail enactment. "Old Boy" contains more thought and hardcore action than quite a few movies put together. It leaves most behind in terms of quantity of mind.
I don't want to start with the actors and storylines because I do not want to ruin it for you.My favourite character in the film was the villain.The movie seems way ahead of it's time. At first, the subtitles didnt really help but soon I got used to it and by the end, they only helped more and more.
Old Boy keeps becoming more interesting as it grows. When it ended, I had my hand on my mouth and my eyes just about as wide as to make me look uglier. Anyhow, watch it to feed that demon in you that wants to watch absolute trendsetting imaginative plots. Hope you know what I mean. You will.