OLDBOY A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 2005 David N. Butterworth
**** (out of ****)
"Be it a rock or a grain of sand, in water they sink as the same."
An audience favorite at last year's Cannes film festival--it eventually lost out to Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" for the Palm D'or in the final tally--the remarkable revenge thriller "Oldboy" has something for everyone: live sushi consumption, claw-tooth dental extractions, stunningly choreographed fight scenes without a single edit, a harshly handsome villain, blood ties, foreign intrigue... even a discreet smattering of South Korean sex!
What "Oldboy" also has in an uncommonly perverse sense of humor. An early scene set in a police station introduces a drunk and disorderly Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), the hapless protagonist of this pretty--and pretty amazing--piece, who rants inhospitably at the cops who dragged him in. It's Jerry Lewis by way of John Woo, part parody, part humility, all charismatically impromptu in style. And it sets the unpredictable stage for everything that is to follow.
But even before that satisfying slapstick sequence plays out we know we're in for a rare treat. The film's opening scene grabs us by the neck (tie), threatening--as we dangle for dear life--to dispatch us to the ground below.
As is slowly revealed to us, Oh Dae-su is seeking those who kidnapped and imprisoned him for 15 interminable years, holed him away in some crummy, slummy motel room where he somehow survived, barely, on a steady subsistence of pan-fried dumplings and not much else save for the (very) odd haircut and the occasional visits of a beautiful Geisha hypnotist. Observes Oh Dae-su when recounting his harrowing ordeal to Mi-do (Kang Hye-jeong), a beautiful sushi chef he befriends almost immediately after his unexplained incarceration, "When the melody turns on, gas comes out. When the gas comes out, I fall asleep. I found out later it's the same Valium gas the Russians used on those Chechen terrorists."
In the terrible interim Oh Dae-su has been framed for the murder of his wife and implicated in the disappearance of his young daughter. When our humble hero finally staggers free of his mind-shattering confines (quipping that he hopes he's not on the 52nd floor!) he vows to exact revenge on those responsible. And it's in so doing that "Oldboy" unfolds--stunningly, spectacularly.
Shifts in tone and perception highlight Park Chan-wook's ("Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance") film, an unequivocal masterpiece based on the Japanese manga (graphic novel) of the same name. The top-notch writing, direction, and incidental music, forever lively and illuminating, work together to create a bold and brazen work of art. "Oldboy" has been referred to as a freak show by some, but a freak show in the wildest, funniest, most provocative sense of the word: the one-take corridor scene that took three days to film; Choi losing twenty pounds in preparation for his role, performing many of his own stunts, and ad- libbing his way through the script with gleeful aplomb; the four octopi that were sadly and unfortunately hurt during the making of this movie, already a cult favorite.
Brutal, barmy, and twistedly brilliant, Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy" pleases crowds and critics alike, a film overflowing with style and creativity, witty wordplay, and strong, resilient characters. And above all an energy of the unsparing kind.
"Anyone here with an AB blood type raise your hand."
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@dca.net
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