Tangled webs (Old Boy [2003] (DVD))

Name: sunmeilan

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Product:	Old Boy [2003] (DVD)
Date:	30.09.07 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superbly directed, great acting

Disadvantages: Very violent

Oh Dae-su finds himself in prison. But this is no ordinary prison. He doesn't know why he is there or how long he has to stay. Little does he know that he will have to spend fifteen long years there. When he is finally released, he finds himself in a new set of clothes and is shortly given a wallet full of money and a mobile phone. While eating in a restaurant, he is attracted to the female chef, Mido, and the attraction is mutual. But Dae-su wants to know why he was imprisoned - what crime had he committed? As he begins to piece the puzzle together with the help of Mido, and friend Joo-hwan, he realises that not only is his life at risk, but so is the life of Mido, who he is slowly begining to fall in love with. Will he be able to right the wrong he apparently did in the past and save Mido from a painful death?

I have wanted to watch this film for a long time. It is the second in the so-called Vengeance trilogy, which includes Lady Vengeance and Sympathy for Mr Vengeance. However, it is not necessary to have seen the other films in order to understand this one - their link is that the common theme running through them is revenge, rather than the stories or characters are connected. I was slightly concerned that, having loved the other two films and having read many positive reviews of this film, I would be disappointed. I needn't have worried. I loved every minute of Oldboy and this review will hopefully explain why.

Min-Shik Choi plays the main character, Oh Dae-su. His performance is exceptional. From the very first shot of him in a police station waiting room until the credits roll at the end, I was mesmerized by his performance. The script, particularly during his time in prison, is rather sparse, so we have to rely on Choi to understand the pain and confusion that he is feeling. Understand, I certainly did, in buckets. It is clear that Dae-su is not a very nice man - he drinks a lot and lets his wife down on a regular basis. However, the punishment that he is given seems to be out of all proportion with his crime and it wasn't long before I came to sympathise with him and his predicament.

Another powerful performance comes from Woo-jin Lee, who plays Ji-tae Yu, who is the one that is responsible for imprisoning Dae-su. To begin with, he is a shadowy, mysterious character and we are unsure why he is behaving the way that he is. Later though as all begins to become clear, the pain and suffering that he has undergone is all too apparent in the way that he acts. Again, his presence on screen is so powerful that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen and the way that he and Choi work together is fantastic. Ji-tae Yu was the main actor in Into the Mirror, another Korean thriller I have seen recently. He was good in that and I wouldn't have thought he could have surpassed that performance, but he's done it with this film.

Hye-jeong Kang plays Mido, Dae-su's lover. Kang gives a good performance, but partly because her role in the film is much smaller and partly because she is grossly overshadowed by Choi and Yu, she does tend to disappear into the background. I would like to see her in another, more meaty, role though, because the potential she shows here is great.

Oldboy is a thriller more than anything else. Wanting to know what Dae-su's crime was kept me totally intrigued and even once we found out, I wanted to know how (or if) he was going to extricate himself. I think what sets this film apart from the average Hollywood blockbuster is that it is never conventional. However, you think the film is going to go, you will be wrong. Even towards the end when I thought that I had got it more or less sussed, there were surprises in store. I watch a lot of films and I have high expectations which are rarely met, but in this case, I was more than satisfied.

The director, Chan-wook Park, who also directed Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Lady Vengeance, has once again triumphed with this film. I think my favourite part of the film was the prison sequence. We are shown camera shots of the room in which he is kept from all angles, which really helps create a feeling of being hedged in, as well as close up shots of Dae-su's face. Another close-up is of something moving under Dae-su's skin, which then comes out - I think it was an ant - this adds to the already creepy atmosphere and the feeling that Dae-su might be going mad (seeing insects and thinking they are crawling over you is supposed to be a sign of schizophrenia). There are also some amazing fighting scenes when Dae-su, who kept himself fit in prison by punching the walls, manages to defend himself against several opponents at once.

I have read some criticisms of this film, which are generally about the violence that is shown in the film. It is very violent. There is a lot of fighting and a lot of blood. If you don't like this, stay away from the film. Another potential disadvantage for some may be the subtitles, although I think it would be a great shame to miss watching this film because it is not in English and I found it actually helped me to concentrate, because I had to rely on my eyes and not my ears.

I don't buy films on DVD very often. I don't see the point when I usually only watch a film once. However, I am so impressed with this film and the other two in the trilogy, that I am saving for the Vengeance trilogy (more expensive than buying the films separately - I really think it is worthwhile forking out for three films of this quality. I can't decide which of the three I like the best - I think they are all of a comparable quality and infinitely better than anything I have seen coming out of the US or the UK in the last five years. I'm not sure why there have been so many good films coming out of Korea recently, but I hope they keep coming, particularly if they are of similar quality to Oldboy. I loved this film and think that any film buff will too, whether on its own or as part of the trilogy. Highly recommended.

The DVD is available from play.com for £6.99. The trilogy is currently available for the bargain price (in my opinion) of £27.99.

Classification: 18

Running time: 120 minutes

Summary: Excellent film, but don't watch if you don't like violence