Revenge:

Oldboy-style

By Matthew Buckwalter

"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone."

-Oh Dae-su

What do you think about when you hear the word revenge? Surely, everyone has wanted to exact revenge on someone, for some reason or another. Could anyone do anything so horrible to warrant being locked-up for fifteen years? Personally, I can think of many, but it all depends on your perception of life. We have a chance to witness revenge at its most extreme in the movie Oldboy. It is one of the greatest films that has been released in the United States in 2005, from South Korea.

Directed by Chan-wook Park and starring Min-sik Choi as Oh Dae-su, Oldboy is mainly a film about revenge and seeking out those responsible. The film starts with Dae-su in a police station after being arrested for fighting and being drunk in public. His friend, Joo-hwan No (Dae-han Ji), then comes to bail Dae-su out of jail. After making a phone call to his daughter, Dae-su vanishes. This is where the story takes a big turn. Oh Dae-su becomes imprisoned in a hotel room for fifteen years. He is given no information on who imprisoned him, why this has happened, or how long he will be there. Not only is he locked away for fifteen years, he is framed for the murder of his wife, and his daughter vanishes. You start to think he has done some terrible deed. Food is brought everyday, he is clothed, and has all the comforts of home, including a television. For fifteen years Dae-su tries to escape his prison. First he tries suicide, than he tries suicide again, and finally tries to dig his way through a wall with a chopstick. All of a sudden gas starts to fill the room, a woman enters, and we find Dae-su exiting a suitcase, which he was stuffed in, on top of a building. Dae-su's true adventure begins on top of that building.

Filled with questions, a wallet full of money, and a cell phone, Dae-su begins his hunt for those responsible for his imprisonment. From this point on, Oldboy starts to become more gruesome and unforgiving. There are many scenes in this film that will make you shutter, most of them involving a hammer and teeth. While there is a lot of fighting and torture, there are few on-screen deaths. The man responsible for Dae-su's troubles, played by Ji-tae Yu, wants Dae-su to understand why he was imprisoned. Dae-su receives hints from the mysterious man throughout the movie. There are many twists and turns, and the best come at the end. Don't think that this is just some mindless action movie; there is a moral: actions have consequences.

Oldboy was first released in its country of origin, South Korea, in November of 2003. Soon afterwards, it started to go through the film festival circuit, winning many awards. It won Best Asian Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and eleven other awards at various other festivals. Oldboy only received a limited release in the United States starting in March of 2005 and a DVD release in August. The Naro Expanded Cinema was the only theater that played it within a reasonable distance, ending its run on June 16th. Rated R for strong violence, Oldboy includes scenes of torture, sexuality, and explicitlanguage. This is definitely not a movie for kids, but one that the parents could enjoy. Oldboy is subtitled, so be forewarned. One of the greatest revenge movies, Oldboy is a film you should not miss.

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