The most original revenge film you'll ever see--and the best.

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2004)

In Oldboy, the third feature from South Korean filmmaker Chan-wook Park, director of Joint Security Area and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Daesu Oh (Min-sik Choi) is arrested one night for public drunkenness and bailed out by a friend. He suddenly disappears and ends up in an apartment styled cell, where he remains a prisoner for 15 years--never knowing who imprisoned him or why--until he's released as unexpectedly as he was captured. Daesu's wife is now dead and he is believed to be her killer and their daughter has been raised by an adoptive family. He befriends Mido, a much younger woman who becomes immediately attracted to him despite his strange behavior and mysterious past. At first, he only wants to find out why he was imprisoned, but once he learns who was responsible, he feels compelled to seek revenge.
Oldboy is Park at his brilliant best. The movie is so visually inventive from the opening credits that there's never a dull moment in the entire film. His use of color and shadows is masterful and the score is fantastic.
The most amazing thing about the movie, though, is that Park is able to sustain the tension for as long as he does. During the film's climax, when Daesu finally confronts his nemesis and the story's final shocking plot secret is revealed, the movie reaches a point where lesser filmmakers would have found themselves in a corner they couldn't back out of, yet Park pulls off an ending that's satisfying, but without selling out the story.