Oldboy

Rating: 8/10 (17 September 2006)

This is a very unusual but symmetrical story line that rings a loud theme of Greek tragedy. I believe the director's purpose was as much to pay homage to the history of drama as it was to make a psychological thriller.
Aside from the obvious reference to The Count of Monte Cristo, Park doffs his cap to John Schlesinger (director of Marathon Man,) Orson Wells (author and director of Citizen Kane,) George Lucas (director of Star Wars,) Edgar Rice Burroughs (author of Tarzan,) and Sophocles (author of Oedipus Rex). Who doesn't cringe at the thought of having your tooth pulled or drilled without painkillers? What is Rosebud/ who is Evergreen? You can't watch the scene where Dae Su and the young girl sleep under the influence of the ristedal gas while Lee Joo-Win's deep respirations through the black gas mask blaring without Darth Vader coming to mind. When Dae Su emerges from prison, he smells the man next to him in an animal-like way, as if raised by beasts and dropped off in the middle of civilization. And incest? That's a theme older than western civilization.
The storyline finishes where it began. In prison, Dae Su tattoos one line on his hand for every year incarcerated; when he is de-hypnotized at the end, each step "the monster within" takes walking away from Dae Su is a year closer to its death. In prison, he trains himself by boxing against a wall until his knuckles bleed (a good demonstration for compressing time), making him strong against a group of assailants. In Lee Joo-Win's penthouse he is weak to defend himself against Woo-Jin's hair-dyed henchman. The reference to hypnosis begins with the bell long before this is revealed in the story as time passes. The ending is a complete answer to Dae Su's central question: "'Dae Su' means 'one who gets along with everybody'. Can I become the old 'Dae Su' after my revenge?" His daughter, not knowing this fact about herself, tells him she loves him. Apart from the fact that she may still be hypnotized, he smiles at hearing this. He has become human once again. Park is true to tradition. And all the time, Park is being firm, gentle and direct with his viewers, picking us up and taking us to the destination he promises to us. The fight scenes have good foley sound effects, and there are some places where elements of design are clear. Park switches between symmetrical and asymetrical composition in his mise-en-scene. He uses interesting transitions between sequences (like the transition under hypnosis from the outdoor shot back to the penthouse and the ceiling shots when bodies are dragged away). Overall, this is a tightly crafted film. I give Park an 8.