OLDBOY
Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Tartan Films
Grade: B+
Directed by: Park Chanwook
Written by: Hwant Jo-Yun, Lim Joon-Hyung, Park Chanwook,
story by Tsuchiya Garon, Minegishi Nobuaki
Cast: Choi Min-Sik, Yoo Ji-Tae, Gang Hye-Jung, Chi Dae-Han,
Oh Dal-Su, Kim Byoung-Ok, Lee Seung-Shin
Screened at: AMC, NYC, 3/26/05
"Old Boy," which received an R rating from the MPAA, is the
sort of film that could easily have been rated NC-17, not
because of the sex, which is not particularly graphic, but
because the violence is so extreme that one wonders why
youths should be protected more from acts of love than displays
of non-cartoonish mayhem. This is not at all a criticism of the
film. On the contrary. American-made films such as "Pulp
Fiction" are loaded with fists and guns but somehow the
directors appear to wink at the audience as though to say "This
is not to be taken seriously...sit back and have a good time." If
you have the stomach to watch two particularly gut-wrenching
scenes, both involving the involuntary extraction of teeth
(without novocaine) as acts of vengeance, than you're likely to
be the right audience for this picture. "Oldboy" is a product of
Korean cinema, which some critics now believe to be the most
creative at work today.
Violence is not everything, happily. "Oldboy" is the kind of story
that would make Kafka smile and put a grin on the face of the
a classic civilization's greatest tragedian, Sophocles, while
evoking a knowing nod from Sigmund Freud.
The story opens with a scene that could make the audience
believe that it's in for a slapstick comedy. Oh Dae-Su (Choi
Min-Sik) has bought a present of angel wings for his daughter,
but during the evening hours he drinks so much that he winds
up chained at the local police precinct. When the guy who bails
him out steps away to make a phone call, Oh disappears only to
wake up in an unusual jail cell equipped with carpeting, a TV,
writing material and a reasonable amount of space. This looks
like the kind of penal institution you'd want for yourself if you
had to make a choice except for one thing: Oh is kept
incarcerated for fifteen years without seeing another human
being. His food is slipped through a crack in the door and when
his keepers need to give him special care such as a haircut,
they send gas into the cell to render him
unconscious. When he's released, he's out for revenge: in fact,
"Oldboy" may have been inspired by the great classic
melodrama, Alexandre Dumas's "The Count of Monte Cristo,"
about one Edmond Dantes who is unjustly imprisoned in the
grim Chateau D'If for fourteen years, later to seek to avenge
himself on those who were instrumental in his incarceration.
For a love interest, there's the unusual relationship between Oh
and a first-class sushi chef, Mido (Gang Hye-Jung), a woman
who cares for a man who is obviously injured psychologically.
The first thing Oh does upon meeting her is to order a live
octopus: his eating the animal whole and squirming symbolizes
his need to incorporate some life within. This is an important
point: when director Park Chanwook throws an unusual scene
such as this on the screen, he does so not for its pure shock
value but because the actions add to the complexity of this
seriously wronged human being. His affair with this sensitive
woman does not detract Oh from his primary goal of revenge
and, in tracking down some of the jailers by sniffing out the
restaurant from which they obtained his food, he runs into an
assortment of thugs hired by a fabulously wealthy fellow whom
we meet at his penthouse in due course. Oh is so immersed in
his quest for vengeance that he is able to fight off his attackers
though he has a knife stuck in his back.
"Oldboy" keeps us in the audience guessing about the cause of
Oh's incarceration. The secret is revealed toward the very
conclusion of the story, a secret that may disappoint some of us
who see this is as simply tacked-on, as though a killer turns up
during the last ten minutes whom we had not previously met.
All in all, "Oldboy" is shocking, entertaining, and a treat for
anyone who values an incredible lead performance. Choi Min-
Sik delivers, whether as a drunk, as a crazed vengeance-
seeker, as a vulnerable, even helpless fellow, or as a lover.
Rated R. 120 minutes © 2005 by Harvey Karten
harveycritic@cs.com
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