Oldboy
Overview
Oldboy is a 2003 South Korean neo-noir action thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook, based on the Japanese manga of the same name. The film is the second installment in Park's "Vengeance Trilogy," following Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and preceding Lady Vengeance. The film stars Choi Min-sik as Oh Dae-su, a businessman who is mysteriously imprisoned in a private prison for 15 years. He is kept in a room that looks like a hotel room, with a bed, a bathroom, and a television. He is fed dumplings, drugged, and beaten. He does not know why he is there, or who his captor is. He tries to escape, he tries to kill himself, and he tries to dig through the wall with a chopstick. He watches television and learns that his wife has been murdered, and he is the prime suspect. He also learns that his daughter has been put into foster care. After 15 years, he is suddenly released. He is given a cell phone, a wallet full of money, and a new suit. He is told to find his captor. He meets a young sushi chef, Mi-do (Kang Hye-jung), who helps him. They fall in love. The film is famous for its brutal violence, including a famous scene where Dae-su fights his way through a hallway full of men with a hammer. The fight scene was shot in a single, continuous take, and it is one of the most impressive action sequences in cinema history. The film's twist is that the man who imprisoned him is a former classmate, Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Ji-tae), who is seeking revenge because Dae-su spread a rumor about him sleeping with his sister, which led to her suicide. Woo-jin has been manipulating Dae-su for 15 years, leading him to fall in love with Mi-do, who is actually his daughter. When Dae-su learns the truth, he cuts out his own tongue as penance. He then has his memory hypnotized so he will forget the truth, but he remains in love with Mi-do. Oldboy won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It is widely considered one of the greatest films of the 21st century and a masterpiece of Korean cinema.
