oldboy (2003)
Revenge is an action present in countless movies, it is appealing to many directors maybe because of the simplicity of the structures it involves. As old as human kind is, and something whose prominence in society I am not sure we should be proud of, revenge has been faced in cinema from every possible angle. Chan-wook Park’s Revenge Trilogy, that includes sympathy for mr. vengeance, oldboy, and lady vengeance, is just another example, so why should one bother? I am not saying one should not. Quentin Tarantino, who has flirted with revenge in kill bill, somehow sponsored the international release of this South Korean production and that is, for better or worse, enough for some. Those who are not satisfied just with that can keep reading.
On his daughter’s birthday, completely drunk, and after being arrested first and then released from the police station by a friend, Oh Dae-su, an average man, is abducted. For fifteen years he is kept in a room by his captors without any kind of explanation. After being finally released and mysteriously given clothes, money and a cellphone, he does not only seeks revenge, but answers from his unknown captors, who are up for a little crude game. What should be more important? That is a question the movie will ask the viewer.
The movie is primarily violent and secondarily everything else. Truth is, the editing is bold, some of the shots, like the fight in the corridor, are remarkable and the use of colors and sounds is, at least, interesting. Also the symbolism used over the movie is grateful. Nevertheless, there is something missing. The movie is just about revenge but, probably in a try to sophisticate the plot, it is filled with implausible events, whose explanations, although given, will not satisfy those with highly demanding brains. In the end one might feel that even though the whole experience is worthy, as long as he can handle the violence, the movie is lame. The average acting does not help either to make everything fit together, being some of the performances empty and missing the deepness that would bring credibility to the characters.
One last comment, in the end, the movie turns to have a moral to it, a moral lesson that feels somehow weak and out of place. But again, I am sure there are a lot of people that will love everything about oldboy. Why? Well, that, it is not me who has to answer.
For the deadhours of those who like going to the dentist.
deadrate: δair
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Películas como está te demuestran que no todo está inventado en el cine.
Aún tengo ese final salpicando mis retinas.