Old Boy- This
film won the Grand Prix at Cannes and was critically acclaimed
world-wide, but beware, this is not a feel-good movie. This
violent film leaves you with a strange feeling of unease.
The story is about a rough man, Daesu, who is oftentimes
drunk and irresponsible. Daesu escapes from a night at the
police station only to get kidnapped and imprisoned by some
unknown person. It’s not a real jail, but a jail that
resembles a tacky motel room. There’s cheesy wallpaper,
a psychotic painting and a television. While there, he learns
from the TV that his wife was murdered and he’s the
prime suspect. 15 years later, he gets released. He’s
given 5 days to find out who did this to him, and why, so
he could exact his revenge.
From the very beginning, it’s apparent that the movie
is twisted and rich with underlying symbolism. Dark lighting,
campy wallpaper and weird characters burn surreal images
into your psyche. Daesu is played by bad boy actor Choi
Min-sik. Choi Min-sik has the perfect look to be typecast
as a person on the brink of insanity and he gives a powerful
performance in his role as the Old Boy. There are a lot
of creepy scenes in the movie that require the skills of
a courageous actor. In one scene, Daesu imagines ants crawling
out of his skin. In another, he eats a live squid. There’s
also a scene where he pulls out someone’s teeth one
by one and one where he’s crawling around barking
like a dog. Fortunately Choi Min-sik has the agility and
intensity to pull off this kind of role. After you've stomached
all the violence, squid-eating, and depressing motel rooms,
at some point, you start to ask yourself, “Is this
one of those arsty farsty movies that doesn’t have
a point and is just trying to be weird?” You start
to think there isn’t going to be a conclusion, but
don’t worry, the movie eventually does come to a demented
climax. Quentin Tarantino was very impressed by this film
when he sat at the panel of judges in Cannes. The original
plot with it's bizarre twists is right up Quentin's alley.
Old Boy is an important benchmark in Korean cinema history
and is defintely is worth watching if you like disturbing
movies. It's one of those movies that you have to be "in
the mood" for.
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