See This Movie

Rating: 10/10 (4 August 2005)

This is one of those rare movies that completely drew me in, implicitly forcing me to accept all the ground rules it laid out. It was such an EXPERIENCE that to break it down into separate categories (plot, characterization, cinematography) would be a travesty.
However! As this is a review and not, in principle, a mere recommendation, I'll make some effort to explain about the movie. As this is a movie from Asia--and thereby subject to all sorts of conventions you wouldn't find in a Spielberg films--there are some elements that may be a bit shocking. For one thing, there's the mature content: primarily, the shocker here is in exploring issues that would likely be taboo for any American filmmaker, and an absolute death sentence in terms of finding studio funding.
Perhaps more importantly, this is a movie that encourages--if not REQUIRES--an active viewer. High-budget American films, riding on the wings of Spielberg, tend to provide rather explicit narratives--that is, they fill in any potential gaps with some type of explanation. It may simply be a differing viewpoint on how a "good film" is narrated, but this trend is not present in Oldboy: logical leaps are made, and it's your job to keep up with them. I personally liked the change a lot: it's refreshing for a film to require something from its viewers once in a while.
Again, as with many movies, this should be judged as a cohesive whole, and from that standpoint, I can say that it's an absolutely essential choice for any strong-stomached people considering it.