Oldboy (2003)

Oldboy PosterRating: ★★★★★

Under the pouring rain, a troubled man is abruptly kidnapped after his drunken outburst at a police station. He wakes up in a secured room that resembles the look of a cheap apartment, where he would spend every single second of his next fifteen years in life. His abduction is a mystery to him; he does not know who took him, nor does he have any idea why he’s there. The opening minutes is riddled with puzzling obscurity both for the man and the audience. We know that the captive’s name is Oh Dae-Su, but nothing more.

Oh Dae-Su’s condition presents a different, crueler form of imprisonment. Unlike jailed inmates, the reason behind the punishment he endures is not explained unto him. He fears that he will be caged in that room ‘til he dies.  He is denied communication from any other person. In our country, it is common for fifty men to be squeezed into prison cells that were made for twenty. In the long run, this might prove to be a better option for Dae-Su, for it is not good for man to spend a seemingly interminable amount of time in complete isolation. As the years stack, the television across Dae-Su’s bed turn into something more than just a source of entertainment- It becomes his only window to the outside world.

Dae-su Oh and Mido in Oldboy

Dae-su Oh and Mido in Oldboy

At the edge of hopelessness and insanity, he devises an escape plan that is doubtful in its probability. A bizarre transition occurs. We arrive at the moment of Dae-Su’s freedom. No one is sure how he got there, including Dae-Su himself, but he wastes no time in his pursuit for vengeance. He is soon informed that his mission is time-bound, that somehow he only has five days to remember what has long been forgotten.  Not according to plan, he enters the life of a sweet, curious girl named Mido, but I shall stop there. Further discussions regarding major plot points would ruin the overall impact of the movie.

“Oldboy”, one of the most popular Asian films of the last decade, is an unconventional revenge tale that imagines, and executes, the unexpected. Such things are observed in Dae-Su’s weapon of choice: a hammer. This particular hammer will strike the heads of many, but the scene that will live on in our memories is the part where the hammer is used as a dental instrument. I have reason to believe that no brand of toothpaste out there can strengthen your teeth well enough to withstand a darn hammer. But anyway, the movie’s obsession with outlandish moments comes to a high point when Dae-Su consumes a live octopus in the most literal sense you can think of. I would post a picture here, just for you, but I don’t think I could come up with an appropriate caption.

Min-sik Choi as Dae-Su Oh in Oldboy

Min-sik Choi as Dae-Su Oh in Oldboy

There is much unsettling material going on here, but it is not the images that disturbs us, but the ideas they represent. The Dae-Su character is not merely a perpetrator of bloodshed. His pains, regrets and confusions dig deep into his soul, and when we look back to his introduction, we realize that much has been done to develop his humanity. I won’t tell you how, but like in many stories, his character is built up in preparation for the movie’s harrowing climax.  Physical carnage is present, yet it is the psychological and emotional assault that inflicts the most damage. The final blows will hit the audience almost as hard as it will affect the hero.

“Oldboy” is a film that is brave and ruthless- a film that grabs its genre by the throat and drags it to dark and perilous territories recent American moviemakers are afraid to explore. This is a movie that is more compelling than the ones that occupy the same category, but the subject matter, sexuality, and violence will narrow down its audience. Human beings of young age should stay far away. Octopuses of any age should stay even farther.

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Oldboy (2003)