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Genre: Thriller
Director: PARK Chan-wook
Starring: CHOI
Min-sik, YOO Ji-tae, GANG hye-jung
RunTime: 2 hrs
Released By: Festive Films and UIP
Rating: R21
Release
Date: 14 October 2004
Synopsis
:
One day in 1988, an ordinary man named OH Dae-su, who lives
with his wife and an adorable baby daughter, is kidnapped
right in front of his house. He later wakes up to find himself
in a private makeshift prison. While suffering from his debacle,
Dae-su becomes shocked when he watches the news and hears
that his beloved wife was brutally murdered. The police suspects
Dae-su to be the murderer after finding his blood on the murder
site. Shocked by the news, Dae-su examines his arm and finds
a needle mark. Dae-su makes an attempt to commit suicide,
but it ends up in failure. As time passes, he begins to write
down all the things that he had done which might have brought
trouble or pain to other people. He mutters to himself, “I
hurt too many people … And I’m sure the man who
imprisoned me and murdered my wife is one of them…”
Since then, Dae-su adjusts to the cell’s darkness while
training his mind and body. He swears to take revenge on the
man who destroyed his happy life. By the time Dae-su’s
whole body becomes covered with tattoos, revealing his long
sentence, sleeping gas is sprayed into the room and Dae-su
passes out.
Coming to his senses, Dae-su discovers that he’s been
released with a wallet filled with cash and a mobile phone.
While he eats in a Japanese restaurant, a strange man calls
Dae-su and asks him to figure out why he was imprisoned. After
the guy hangs up the phone, Dae-su falls down unconscious
and later wakes up in someone’s home. It belongs to
a young woman named Mido, a cook working in the Japanese restaurant
he was eating at. Dae-su talks to Mi-do about his 15 years
in confinement, and Mido cries for sympathy and promises to
help him seek vengeance. With Mido’s help, Dae-su begins
to visit various people who might have a grudge against him.
But all his efforts come up short.
One day, a guy, who has an I.D. called Evergreen, contacts
Mido while she’s chatting on the Internet. He asks her
to say hello to Dae-su for him. Later, Dae-su finally finds
the private prison he was confined in. There, he discovers
a cassette with a recording that only says… “Imprison
OH Dae-su for 15 years. He talks too much…” Short
on clues, Dae-su starts tracking down the guy with the Evergreen
I.D. The lead bears fruit as he finally runs face to face
with his kidnapper. The culprit tells Dae-su that he’ll
never find out why he was imprisoned if Dae-su kills him now,
so instead, the kidnapper proposes a game. The man tells Dae-su
that if he discovers the real reason why within five days,
then he will kill himself. If not, he will kill Mido, the
girl who helps Dae-su.
In
order to evade tails and any wiretapping, Dae-su and Mido
seek refuge in a cheap motel, and have a passionate night
together. The following day, Dae-su visits a high school named,
Evergreen High School, based on the clue, “Evergreen”.
In
the school, Dae-su finds a photo of his kidnapper in the album.
His name is LEE Woo-jin and he has a sister called LEE Soo-ah.
Dae-su finally remembers the day when he witnessed Woo-jin
and Soo-ah making love in a warehouse in the school, and later
told his friend what he saw. After that day, word got around
the whole school, and Soo-ah killed herself from torment.
Dae-su rushes to Woo-jin’s house and tells Woo-jin to
kill himself since he finally discovered the reason why he
was imprisoned. But unexpectedly, Woo-jin hands a package
to Dae-su. Trembling with fear, Dae-su unties the package
and hidden secrets about Dae-su and Mido’s relationship
are revealed…
Review:
Based on a Japanese Manga "Old boy"
by Minegishi Nobuaki and Tsuchiya Garon, South Korean filmmaker
Chan-wook Park, director of previous films like Joint Security
Area, 1/3 of Three..Extreme, brings us the second in a projected
trilogy about revenge. This installment definitely outdoes
the 1st, “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance”, in more
ways than one.
In a nut shell, this is a story about a business
man who was kidnapped, imprisoned for 15 years without knowing
who and why. He is suddenly released one day to be given 5
days to find out. Don’t be put off by the simplicity
of the plot, this emotional and psychological tour de force
worked superbly well because of its directing, editing and
dialog. One would expect a lot of action sequence and over
the top violent scenes to accompany, but Park chose this time
to make the movie character more driven than violent and it
works. Performance by the cast like Kang Hye-Jeong as the
love interest is simply adorable with a touch of innocence
and ambiguity. Choi Min-Sik is simply fantastic as Oh Dae-Sue
which really disturbed me ( and made me worry a little to
his mental state when all of this is over ) for giving it
all in his roller-coaster journey from drunken businessman,
to vengeance hunter, then an emotional victim to his tormentor,
and finally redeemed. An award for best actor in the Grand
Bell Awards in South Korea says it all.
All you gore and violent fans out there who
are hungry for some action, fret not, as you’ll be given
enough share of squeamish sequences and intense blood splatter
in this R21 rated film. Scenes like the personalized dentistry
scene would definitely make anyone squirm in their seat, and
the 3 min, single shot, hammer showdown is sheer cinematic
brilliance. I could have sweared that the hammer was real
and made contact! And not forgetting the infamous raw meal
devouring, the meal itself should have been in the credits
for its performance. Definitely not for the faint hearted.
Aside from that, although this is an action-revenge
thriller, Chan-wook Park maintains a blackly comic tone that's
both unnerving and endearing to his latest creation. The script
is cleverly directed to reveal secrets slowly, making discoveries
and connections right up to the final shocking twist in the
end with style. Being true to its emotional core makes the
film special - a stream of sadness, vulnerability, grisly
revelation and even with its melodramatic end makes this gem
of a puzzle madness shine in its awe. Just watching its pieces
fall into place is a real stunner.
A definite cult hit for movie goers with a taste of something
different.
Movie
Rating:
Review
by Lokman B S
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