Oldboy (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Oldboy' is a stylish mystery/thriller directed by Chan-wook Park. With Lady Vengeance, and now this, Korea is making quite the name for themselves for creating such visually arresting, emotionally debilitating films. Plot: On the day of his daughter's birthday, Oh Dae Su gets inebriated (and subsequently arrested). After a friend bails him out of jail, he mysteriously vanishes into the night. After being kidnapped & imprisoned for 15 yrs., Oh Dae Su (Min-sik Choi) is released, only to discover that he must find his ruthless captor, Woo-jin Lee (Ji-tae Yu) in 5 days, or else Mido (Hye-jeong Kang), a woman he recently met at a Japanese sushi bar, will be killed. This is one Hell of a revenge drama. Sometimes confusing, often brutal to watch, 'Oldboy' is never, ever, anything less than compelling.
Dae Su is your average man. Yes, he was arrested for disorderly conduct. But why would someone kidnap & throw him in a cell for 15 yrs.? Through watching the news on TV (in his furnished cell), he finds out that his wife has been murdered. His captors frame 'him' as the killer. So, if he were ever to escape, he'd be a wanted man. After being inexplicably set loose, Dae Su is clothed, given $$, given a cell phone, & sent off into the world with nothing but questions. What did I do to deserve this? How will I get my revenge? Who will help me discover the truth? He finds assistance & sympathy for Mido. As one would expect, a romance blossoms, but Dae Su's main focus is disclosing secrets from his past. What he doesn't know, is his captor 'still' has plans for him.
Woo-jin continues his cruel game against Dae Su (once he discovers his foe). Like the movie Saw, if Dae Su can't solve Woo-jin's riddle in time, the innocent Mido will suffer. What transpires (for Dae Su) is something worse than any 15 yr. imprisonment. We are treated (or subjected) to a barrage of jaw-dropping, eye-squinting violence. Ex: A man's teeth are forcibly removed. A man's tongue is cut off, etc. Why all this suffering? Some of the violence enhances the emotional story (which can't be said for a film like Saw), some of it is implausible, but we're invested in Dae Su and are confused as him, so we go along with it. How could he (and we) not be disheartened by is journey? It's the major strength of the film. But I ask myself, if a movie makes me feel awful, is it still 'good'? It's not always the case; and this movie rides a thin line between being brilliant ... and too inhumane, even for me.
Some horrific secrets are divulged in the 20 min. climactic finale. I was both flabbergasted & startled. My problem is that it isn't the happiest of endings. What is the pay-off here? While I wasn't physically defeated, just why was I strung along, only to be as 'emotionally' drained as Dae Su was? Some may think, why are good people being tortured for having done nothing wrong? And I'd see their point. In any case, it's hard not to be engaged throughout this intensely kinetic film; though, it borders on excessive mayhem. Everything builds to the climax; you're invested in Dae Su's struggle, you're invested in the sweet relationship btwn. he & Mido. And you're even invested in figuring out the psyche of Woo-jin, the conniving villain (character aside, I thought the man who portrays him was fantastic). My conundrum is this: had I been less invested in Dae Su & Mido, I could have liked it as much as (or more) than the purely sadistic Saw movie from 2004.
Dae Su is your average man. Yes, he was arrested for disorderly conduct. But why would someone kidnap & throw him in a cell for 15 yrs.? Through watching the news on TV (in his furnished cell), he finds out that his wife has been murdered. His captors frame 'him' as the killer. So, if he were ever to escape, he'd be a wanted man. After being inexplicably set loose, Dae Su is clothed, given $$, given a cell phone, & sent off into the world with nothing but questions. What did I do to deserve this? How will I get my revenge? Who will help me discover the truth? He finds assistance & sympathy for Mido. As one would expect, a romance blossoms, but Dae Su's main focus is disclosing secrets from his past. What he doesn't know, is his captor 'still' has plans for him.
Woo-jin continues his cruel game against Dae Su (once he discovers his foe). Like the movie Saw, if Dae Su can't solve Woo-jin's riddle in time, the innocent Mido will suffer. What transpires (for Dae Su) is something worse than any 15 yr. imprisonment. We are treated (or subjected) to a barrage of jaw-dropping, eye-squinting violence. Ex: A man's teeth are forcibly removed. A man's tongue is cut off, etc. Why all this suffering? Some of the violence enhances the emotional story (which can't be said for a film like Saw), some of it is implausible, but we're invested in Dae Su and are confused as him, so we go along with it. How could he (and we) not be disheartened by is journey? It's the major strength of the film. But I ask myself, if a movie makes me feel awful, is it still 'good'? It's not always the case; and this movie rides a thin line between being brilliant ... and too inhumane, even for me.
Some horrific secrets are divulged in the 20 min. climactic finale. I was both flabbergasted & startled. My problem is that it isn't the happiest of endings. What is the pay-off here? While I wasn't physically defeated, just why was I strung along, only to be as 'emotionally' drained as Dae Su was? Some may think, why are good people being tortured for having done nothing wrong? And I'd see their point. In any case, it's hard not to be engaged throughout this intensely kinetic film; though, it borders on excessive mayhem. Everything builds to the climax; you're invested in Dae Su's struggle, you're invested in the sweet relationship btwn. he & Mido. And you're even invested in figuring out the psyche of Woo-jin, the conniving villain (character aside, I thought the man who portrays him was fantastic). My conundrum is this: had I been less invested in Dae Su & Mido, I could have liked it as much as (or more) than the purely sadistic Saw movie from 2004.