2 hours after watching it.

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2005)

Park Chanwook's Oldboy was the first one I saw from the director's work. I'm only two hours after the lights went up, and I kept sitting for five more minutes in my movie seat. This sh*t really had an effect on me. And as I'm thinking about it now , I guess it'll be one of my all-time favorites soon. Not because Mr. Tarantino told me so - but because of the flashing pictures that are still burning my mind.
I have a picture of Dae-su in the background and Woo-yin in the foreground, both sharp as hell, no depth-of-field. I remember the octopus arm still moving in Dae-su's mouth while he's already passed out. I remember a little green laser light-spot searching around a room, only to find a nice big gift box, which later turns out to be the worst thing that could ever happen to Dae-su...
I go to the Hungarian Academy of Film. Guess how many movies I have to watch a week? Yes, a lot. Most of them are the cream of the crop, the best movies in film history. And still, I know I will remember these pictures for all my life. And it's not because Mr Tarantino told me so. I just can't help it, sorry...:)
It's not a good screenplay, good actors, good direction, good cinematography. I don't care about things like this, film-making is a profession, so anyone can learn things like that. What cannot be taught is to find a unique voice. To be able create a language that wasn't there before but still, every viewer speaks it from the 10th second of the movie. Oldboy managed to create it. There are only 2-3 movies a year to do that...
For those who only want to know if it's worth to see this one: YES. And blame me if you find it boring.