South Korea had an early wave of classic films in the early 1960s, notably Kim Ki-Young's The Housemaid (1960) and Yu Hyun-Mok's The Aimless Bullet (1961), both of which explored one of the country's perpetual cinematic themes – class inequality. But it wasn't until the so-called "Korean New Wave", which emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that South Korean cinema really came into its own. Oldboy is arguably the greatest film ever to be made in the country, a unique and potent genre mix of action movie, psychological thriller, film noir and horror flick. Its landmark success, both critically and commercially, helped pave the way for other South Korean filmmakers to gain international attention and acclaim, not only Bong Joon-Ho but also Kim Ki-Duk with Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) and Lee Chang-Dong with Secret Sunshine (2007).
Park Chan-Wook based Oldboy on the Japanese manga of the same name by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi. The film is part of the director's "Vengeance Trilogy", which also includes Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (2002) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005). The screenplay, written by Hwang Jo-Yun, Im Joon-Hyung and Park Chan-Wook, adapts the source material while introducing its own twists and narrative elements. The story revolves around Oh Dae-Su (Choi Min-Sik), who is inexplicably imprisoned in a hotel room for 15 years. Upon his sudden release, he embarks on a quest to uncover the identity of his captor and the reasons behind his imprisonment. The plot takes unexpected and dark turns as Oh Dae-Su delves into the mysterious conspiracy, encountering a young sushi chef named Mi-Do (Kang Hye-Jung), who becomes his lover, and facing the shocking truth about his captor.
The film's title, Oldboy, is a term used in Korean to refer to a man who has been imprisoned for a long time. Choi Min-Sik, who played the protagonist, went through a drastic physical transformation for the role, losing a significant amount of weight to convey the character's suffering and confinement. Oldboy contains so many iconic scenes, including the octopus eating and hypnotism scenes, but perhaps the most famous sequence is the corridor fight, which was choreographed with precision and shot in a single take, showcasing Oh Dae-Su's grizzly determination and tenacious fighting skills in the most intense way. As well as the action sequences and intricate plot, what's also notable about the film is its innovative visual style. The director, along with cinematographer Chung Chung-Hoon, used animations, vibrant colours, inventive camera angles, surreal dream sequences and meticulous framing to create a truly visceral experience. The haunting and evocative soundtrack, composed by Cho Young-Wuk, also complements the film's immersive atmosphere.
Oldboy received widespread critical acclaim and won several awards, including the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004. Choi Min-Sik's performance, Park Chan-Wook's direction and the film's screenplay were particularly lauded. The film faced controversy as a result of its explicit content and intense action scenes, leading to various cuts and censorship in some countries, but this only really served to enhance the movie's cult status. For many people, it's the greatest action movie of all time, exploring themes of revenge, justice and the consequences of one's actions, while also being consistently entertaining for its 2-hour runtime. To my mind, it also has one of the most memorable endings of any action thriller I've watched. The revelation of the true nature of Oh Dae-Su's imprisonment and the shocking twist in the climax left me reeling for days.
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