Striking

Rating: 8/10 (18 March 2005)

Having heard good things from a friend of mine and noting it's current lofty position in the top 250 coupled with several interesting good and bad reviews, 'Oldboy' intrigued me both with it's premise and Korean origins. I subsequently obtained the newly released 2-disc special edition and settled in to watch, not entirely sure what to expect. In short I was blown away. Having only recently become acquainted with this wonderful site (iMDB) and having resolved to sharpen my cinematic knowledge and radar I couldn't have hoped for a better starting point. Striking visual content, strong performances and a wonderful score are to name but a few of the film's qualities. As I said, I was blown away. The central character is Oh-Dae Su, randomly and mysteriously abducted and incarcerated against his will for 15 years in a makeshift 'prison' resembling a dilapidated motel. The central theme of the picture transpires that it's not who is responsible for this, but why they did it to him and how he proceeds to uncover this with the 'help' of both his nemesis Lee Woo-Jin and new love, Mi-Do. As the story unravels and moves towards it's conclusion the film reveals itself to be a dark, twisted, enigmatic masterpiece. The colour scheme throughout the film renders it almost cartoonish in style: both vivid and dull greens, purples and reds form the common thread and each come to symbolise different things. This and also effective use of contrast and imagery (the film's opening shot is that of Dae-Su's clenched fist grasping the straining tie of a suicidal businessman) combine to at times mesmerising effect. Little touches, like the opening credits collapsing as if the hands of a clock to show that a pivotal aspect of the movie is the passage of time are scattered throughout the film, rendering it on a base level a visual feast of impressive proportions. I personally found the plot and it's twists refreshingly original. Unexpected, shocking and unlike anything i've encountered before. Certainly the final revelation in the penthouse as Lee Woo-Jin illustrates visually his shocking final revenge on Dae-Su, 15 years in the making, followed by Dae-Su's symbolic, self-inflicted penance took my breath away. This film provided a wonderful, startling insight into what world and particularly Asian cinema has to offer and that to me makes 'Oldboy' a seminal work and one that will linger on in the memory.