FilmFan
06-29-2009, 07:34 PM
http://versetti.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/oldboy-poster.jpg
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Starring: Choi Min-sik
IMDB rating: 8.3
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/
On his way home to his wife and baby daughter, a man is grabbed in the street and locked in a room. Each day he is given food through a hole in the door, but he is never told who has put him there or why. Through the TV in his room, he learns that his wife has been killed and his daughter taken in by a foster family, and that he is the prime suspect in the murder.
Days turn into weeks, months, and then, 15 years later, he is finally set free, without explanation. He is given money and a mobile phone, and told that he now has his chance to find out the who and the why of his imprisonment.
This is an excellent film that I enjoyed from the very start, so much so that I was almost sad to hear the deliveryman from the local Indian restaurant arrive, as it would mean tearing myself away from the screen for a few minutes.
The viewer is drawn in instantly, and is just as eager for information as the protagonist, trying to work out the significance of certain events and which characters are not all that they appear to be.
However...I wasn't too keen on the ending. The motive of his tormentor was not the major revelation that I expected and did not seem deserving of such extreme punishment. Granted, to do that to someone for 15 years, you have to be at least a little bit crazy, and crazy people do not always have the most reasonable of reactions to those who have done them wrong, but the conclusion as a whole would've benefited from a couple of small but important changes.
As I've written previously, film reviewing is subjective, and what I enjoy seeing may not please the majority. A lot of people obviously felt that the film ended strongly. I'd like to go into more detail about what exactly I disliked, but it is impossible to do so without spoiling the film for others.
The film is so good, that perhaps the final 20 minutes or so were never going to be enough, no matter how they played out. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a cop-out, it wasn't retarded and it didn't suck balls. But it wasn't quite as high quality as what preceded it.
I consider Oldboy to be a very good film, and despite the ending not being in line with my personal taste, I recommend it highly.
8
Running time: 120 minutes
Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Starring: Choi Min-sik
IMDB rating: 8.3
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/
On his way home to his wife and baby daughter, a man is grabbed in the street and locked in a room. Each day he is given food through a hole in the door, but he is never told who has put him there or why. Through the TV in his room, he learns that his wife has been killed and his daughter taken in by a foster family, and that he is the prime suspect in the murder.
Days turn into weeks, months, and then, 15 years later, he is finally set free, without explanation. He is given money and a mobile phone, and told that he now has his chance to find out the who and the why of his imprisonment.
This is an excellent film that I enjoyed from the very start, so much so that I was almost sad to hear the deliveryman from the local Indian restaurant arrive, as it would mean tearing myself away from the screen for a few minutes.
The viewer is drawn in instantly, and is just as eager for information as the protagonist, trying to work out the significance of certain events and which characters are not all that they appear to be.
However...I wasn't too keen on the ending. The motive of his tormentor was not the major revelation that I expected and did not seem deserving of such extreme punishment. Granted, to do that to someone for 15 years, you have to be at least a little bit crazy, and crazy people do not always have the most reasonable of reactions to those who have done them wrong, but the conclusion as a whole would've benefited from a couple of small but important changes.
As I've written previously, film reviewing is subjective, and what I enjoy seeing may not please the majority. A lot of people obviously felt that the film ended strongly. I'd like to go into more detail about what exactly I disliked, but it is impossible to do so without spoiling the film for others.
The film is so good, that perhaps the final 20 minutes or so were never going to be enough, no matter how they played out. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a cop-out, it wasn't retarded and it didn't suck balls. But it wasn't quite as high quality as what preceded it.
I consider Oldboy to be a very good film, and despite the ending not being in line with my personal taste, I recommend it highly.
8