Oldboy Gives New View of Revenge

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2013)

Revenge, confusion, vengeance, and love-gone-awry create a wild labyrinthine ride in "Oldboy." Though unaware this was the second of a trilogy in the director's work when I watched it via rental, that sequence, in retrospect, did not affect my appreciation of this unique, award-winning film. At my own start of a learning curve about Korean movies, "Oldboy" seems startling in its conception, plot twists, shock value, and psychological insight. But mild-mannered it is not.
Some elements might seem to hit a near-cartoon level, but they all seemed to work, with the main character's distressed and furious need to punish those who for 15 years punished him by holding him hostage without apparent reason. His manic search, the backward-seeking journey for answers, and the unfolding of events all pull the viewer into a dark and at times frighteningly comic conspiracy.
Often the writer's and director's revelations struck me as truly stellar. The mingling of revenge and rage, love and loss -- the sadistic, violent elements of the whole experience pale in comparison to the psychological reflection that makes this film such a memorable and important one.