Oldboy (2003)

Original title

올드보이

Directed by

Park Chan-wook

Genre

drama film, action film, mystery film, thriller film

Country

South Korea, Japan

Runtime

1h 56m

Rated

R

Rating

8.2 of 10 from 9,969 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A man is held captive for 15 years with no explanation and then suddenly released. He sets out to find his captor and get revenge while grappling with his own lost years.

tensebleakvisceralsuspensefuldarkunsettlingmelancholicmethodical

What happens

Oldboy (Korean: 올드보이) is a 2003 South Korean action thriller film directed and co-written by Park Chan-wook. A loose adaptation of the Japanese manga Old Boy by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi, the film follows Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), who is imprisoned for 15 years without knowing the identity of his captor or his captor's motives. When he is released, Dae-su finds himself trapped in a web of conspiracy and violence as he seeks revenge against his captor and falls in love with a young sushi chef, Mi-do (Kang Hye-jung). Oldboy attained critical acclaim and accolades worldwide, including winning the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it garnered high praise from Quentin Tarantino, the president of the jury. In the United States, film critic Roger Ebert stated that Oldboy is a "powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare". The film's action sequences, particularly the single shot corridor fight sequence, also received commendation for their impressive execution. The film's success led to two adaptations: an unauthorized Hindi remake in 2006 and an official American adaptation in 2013. As part of Park Chan-wook's The Vengeance Trilogy, it serves as the second installment, following Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and preceding Lady Vengeance (2005). The film is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time and has been included in numerous "best-of" lists by many publications. In 2008, Oldboy was placed 64th on an Empire list of the top 500 movies of all time. In 2020, The Guardian ranked it number three among the classics of modern South Korean cinema. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Memories of Murder (2003)
• The Circle (2003)
• ഓൾഡ്ബോയ്
• Wild Card (2003)
• Silmido (2003)
• A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
• Double Agent (2003)
• Mr. Butterfly (2003)