Old Boy Wonder

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2005)

A drunken man, Daesu, disappears one night after being released from the police station. He finds himself imprisoned in what looks like a small motel room. He does not know who's imprisoned him or why. He later finds out from the television in his room that his wife was murdered, he is held responsible for her death, and his young daughter has been adopted. He remains captive in the room for fifteen years, preparing to seek revenge on the person who is behind the murder of wife and his imprisonment.
Upon his release, he meets a sushi chef, Mido, and falls in love. She helps him unravel the mystery behind the fifteen years he's lost. The ingenious setup of this film is that Daesu meets his tormentor Woojin, face to face, early on. Daesu cannot kill him because he wants answers, so he is forced to allow Woojin to observe him revelation after revelation. Woojin tells him he has five days to figure it all out or Mido dies.
Old boy is disturbing, it is twisted, and its effects linger. There are some shocking scenes of violence. There is also an amazing fight scene that takes place in a narrow hallway. The point of the film is not to feel sympathy for Daesu. He will exact his revenge. Or will he? It is the revelation of Woojin's motive we wait to see. Choi Min Shik and Yu Ji Tae give amazing performances. Old Boy is a brilliantly structured film in which revenge serves no redemptive purpose--it simply becomes the sole consuming purpose of both men, the very thing that destroys them both.