At the juncture of Greek tragedy and “The Count of Monte Cristo” sits “Oldboy”, a classic of Korean cinema. I've been hearing about the film for years, but I was put off by reading that it is the second film in a trilogy by writer/director Park Chan-wook (who also did "The Handmaiden"). I figured I had to watch the first movie before seeing “Oldboy”. That turns out not to be a concern at all. Chan-wook's “Revenge Trilogy” is a trilogy only in the loosest sense of the word, with the films (“Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance”, “Oldboy”, and “Lady Vengeance”) linked only by the theme of revenge. “Oldboy” stands just fine on its own. With that out of the way, I finally got a chance to watch it on Netflix, and it turns out to be much more convoluted and just plain weird than the revenge flick I was expecting.
Oh Dae-su is an ordinary businessman, maybe a bit of a cad and a drunk, who finds himself kidnapped and imprisoned with no explanation. For 15 years he is kept in a solitary room with no explanation of why and no human contact. When he finally gets out, he seeks his revenge. This is the bare outline, and I don't want to give much more plot than that and ruin any of the surprises.
The violence is plentiful in “Oldboy”, but this is much more than a kung-fu movie. Oh Dae-su has to solve the mystery of who imprisoned him and why, and the mystery turns out to be much more twisted than you would expect. There's a love story in there as well. And did I mention the kung-fu? Oh Dae-su spends his years of confinement training, and he kicks some serious ass once he hits the streets. The cinematography is amazing, and the film is especially known for a fighting scene in a corridor that is done in one, long shot. Be warned, though, this is not all lighthearted chopsocky action. There are some very disturbing scenes of torture and mutilation, and the plot takes some really perverse twists.
The story can also be hard to follow at times. As a non-Asian viewer, I sometimes struggled to tell who was who, especially as the story jumps back and forth through the years. It doesn't help that Oh Dae-su's enemy, who is supposed to be his age, is played by a much younger actor. That was an odd casting choice.
“Oldboy” is not for everyone, and I don't think I would re-watch it anytime soon. Once is enough! Even with its flaws, though, I would consider this required viewing for real cinephiles. The writing, cinematography, and mix of violence and humor conspire to make this a genre classic.
4 stars out of 5
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