An amazing story, wonderfully visualised, directed and acted. A must see.

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 2005)

Oldboy begins with a typical Hitchcock style story. A man is imprisoned for 15 years with no understanding of why or, during his incarceration, any idea of how long. Then suddenly he is free and his journey begins.
The style in this film just pours out of the screen. Yet they don't overpower and dominate the movie as they would in Hollywood, they look as integral to the story as do the actors and the dialogue. They aren't treated as a big moment but viewed as a whole with the rest of the film. There are some really nice touches throughout the movie, in particular the movement between scenes, the corridor fight or the beautifully shot snow scene all really stand out for me.
That brings me nicely onto the action topic. Asian film, "must be lots of martial arts" I hear some of you non-converts shout. Not at all. The action and fighting is some of the most realistic I've seen in a movie. People go down when they are hit, and when hit hard they stay down. That is except Oldboy himself, fuelled by fifteen years of revenge and hatred, he is allowed a but more leeway. Yet that doesn't stop the action being beautifully choreographed and put together.
In particular the fight scene in the corridor shows the beauty and care placed into the fight scene. It takes place in a long corridor with the camera panning back and forth following the action as Oldboy, successfully and realistically, fights approximately fifteen men. The action frequently slows and stops, and with no real moments where you are pulled back out of the movie thinking you are watching the impossible.
Some of the scenes are tough to watch, not because they are all gruesome, but because Asian filmmakers have the balls to push the audience and make them feel something more than the average cinema experience. To feel something, much like the main character. So scenes are uncomfortable or uneasy because you're feeling the same as the characters.
The live sushi moment is stunning to watch, and conjured up some strange emotions in me, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. The torture scenes are arduous but so real and fear inducing. Perhaps the most shocking and emotionally strong moments are saved for the latter half of the film. Don't be concerned though, these aren't vile in any way, they just make you feel incredibly uncomfortable and very uneasy.
To me, that is what cinema is all about, even all art. It's about making you feel something, not sitting in a darkened room letting images and story wash over you then disappearing for your dinner and a chat about the weather. You want, and need, to be pulled into the movie, to feel and empathise with the characters, forget about the world around you and all the other people and their lives, and finally come away with the haunting of those feelings. The movie should continue on in your mind and pop up in conversations, provoking thoughts and discussion, otherwise you've wasted your time and money. Oldboy satisfies that to perfection.
Unfortunately I can't really go into the story, not that I do much in reviews anyway, but in the case of Oldboy it really does give far too much away even touching on it. Check out the IMDb listing if you really want, however just trust me, it's a superb story and you don't want to know anything more about it beforehand. For the last twenty minutes or so you will be astounded and the twists and turns keep coming right up to the very end.
It's also quite a moving story and takes on what exactly makes a person and defines who they are and the labels they carry through their lives. Most of all though it's about revenge and how unfulfilling, all consuming and empty it can make you feel.
The actors are really good across the whole movie, but it is the leads that really excel. Min-sik Choi is utterly believable and gives such a powerful performance. His acting coupled with the visual style will have you holding your breath at times. The female lead Hye-jeong Kang and the protagonist Ji-tae Yu also offer excellent performances. The range of emotion that the character Woo-jin Lee has to go through is enormous, and Yu performs them brilliantly, while Kang plays a restrained, controlled and tortured mind to perfection. There is a real depth to these characters, and they are brought to life by these three wonderful actors.
This movie is an excellent example of what cinema can be, and once again the lesson comes from outwith Hollywood, I just wish they would sit up and listen in class. The movie is not any single scene, but the sum of it's wonderful set pieces, beautiful style, imaginative camera work, truly wonderful performances from all the leads, and a stunning story. You have to see this movie.