Pushing all the boundaries

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2014)

It's not the sort of film I normally go for in a cinema festival. As a regular visitor of the Jerusalem film festival, I decided to make an exception and have a look at Ojdeuboi (Old Boy), a two hours tale of vengeance of epic proportions. It's a masterpiece if I ever saw one. The acting is never short of amazing, even though the story line pushes its protagonists from one extreme to the other, they always remain true. The photography is superb, the editing and pacing keep the viewers glued to their sits for the entire 120 minutes. And the plot itself, is an unequaled wonder. It's a Greek tragedy (or a Shakespearian tragedy if you will) set in our modern world, and yet it always looks real, much of it is due to the breathtaking performance of the cast, but they could never do it if the plot wasn't there to carry them through. Any lesser director and cast would've ended with a mediocre soap opera, as is this is an instant classic about human frailty and strength, a must see for every true lover of cinema who's up to the task.