O -Dae Su is imprisoned for 15 years and given 5 days to seek the truth.

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2005)

Like most English speaking movie goers, I had my doubts when going to see the Korean film Oldboy. Thankfully my faith payed off because the film I saw was mind-blowing. Within the first 10-15 minutes it became obvious that this was the work off an incredible director, Park Chan-Wook, reason being the look of the film is a cross between Se7en and Lost in Translation, which is o bad thing. The basic premise is that the main character, o-dae su, is imprisoned in what looks like a hotel room for 15 years without any explanation by an unknown enemy. He is then released without warning and given 5 days to seek the truth as to why he was imprisoned and who the culprit is. What follows is a bloody trail of destruction that o-dae su walks along. I have to say that it is so refreshing to have a film that pulls no punches, both with the graphic violence and the final revelation. When analysing the direction, parallels are drawn with masters such as David Fincher and it is without doubt that chan-wook will make many more excellent films. The pulsating score gives the movie pace and the acting by the leading man, Choi Min-Sik, is subtle in places and the polar opposite in others but always believable. Likewise, the love interest is a character that avoids the usual cliché's and she is depicted as a kind but lonely girl. To sum up, I have to recommend this film to anyone with an open mind and I would ask vegetarians to avoid it like the plague. Don't say I didn't warn you!