Oldboy [Oldeuboi] ***** (2003, Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong Kang) – Classic Movie Review 8694

Director Chan-wook Park’s horrific 2003 South Korean mystery action thriller Oldboy is still crazy and wildly imaginative after all these years. Dark as pitch, it is an incredible scare and thrill ride. It keeps its status as a chilling masterwork of the greatest imagination and skill. Chan-wook Park won the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.

Min-sik Choi is brilliant as obnoxious drunk businessman Oh Dae-Su, who is kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years in a windowless hotel room-like cell, then is released to track down his captor and have get his vengeance – if he can. Burning with hate and obsession, he has five days to get his retribution. He learns of his wife’s murder and strikes up a romance with the young, attractive sushi chef, Mi-do (Hye-jeong Kang).

Ji-tae Yu and Hye-jeong Kang are also impressive as Woo-jin Lee and Mi-do.

Be ready for strong violence, including scenes of torture, strong sexuality and pervasive strong language. The extraordinary, much-imitated hammer attack sequence is the highlight of several eye-popping set pieces.

The story is by Garon Tsuchiya, based on the manga comic by Nobuaki Minegishi. The screenplay is by Chan-wook Park, Joon-hyung Lim and Jo-yun Hwang.

Oldboy [Oldeuboi] is set to return to cinemas on 2 August 2019 with a 4k restoration release by Arrow Video.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8694

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