Beautiful piece of foreign cinema

Rating: 9/10 (2 December 2016)

It's not often that a thoroughly foreign film is a hit on the Western market. Most of the times, they are loved by a very specific and small community, but not by the general public, who find it hard to relate to the differences to Western cinema. This is not the case for Oldboy.
The story is absurd, but at the heart is the classic "journey of the hero" as Joseph Campbell described it. It's classic Greek drama, told in a unique Korean style. Because of this it is easy to relate to the story even though it is foreign.
Our main character Oh Dae-su provides the audience with a solid anchor point in the absurd story he is caught in. Despite all of the things he faces, he remains solid, which is very important because it can be hard to stick with a story that is very weird. There's a point where the story gets so weird that the audience will disengage, but thankfully this movie does not reach that point, in my opinion.
The movie contains many fighting scenes, but does not sacrifice substance for these. It does not devolve into a mindless fighting movie, how enjoyable they can be. It shows these scenes while also displaying many emotional moments which really help the audience find compassion for Oh Dae-su, and help keep them engaged.
Overall a real classic, and a pearl of foreign cinema, which are sadly very elusive.