Oldboy Korean Masterpiece that Will Leave You Guessing Until the End

Today's review is of Chan-wook Park's film, Oldboy. I had been hearing rave reviews of it for quite some time, so I finally gave into the hype and decided to watch. I'll admit, this was one of the first Korean movies I've seen, and Chan-wook Park didn't let me down a bit. The film stars Min-sik Choi, who plays Dae-su Oh, a washed-up average businessman who is captured and imprisoned for 15 years, without a clue as to why he was taken.

His "cell" isn't much more than an average room with a bed, TV, dresser, and a small bathroom to the side. Dae-su Oh finds solace in television, remaining completely unaware of why he's there the entire time. Over the years he slowly begins to go insane, as any recluse would, and plans an escape. Over time, he digs a hole in the side of the room, where his bed usually rests, all while often being exposed to nerve gas by his captors. When he's unconscious, they cut his hair, clean the room up, straighten him out, etc.

When Dae-su Oh is nearing completion of his escape tunnel, he is released into the world, completely unaware of how he got to his current location. He's dressed in a business suit, given money, and a cellphone. As he is plotting revenge and attempting to explain his capture, he discovers that his kidnapper isn't finished with him, and those plans will serve as the even worse finale to 15 years of imprisonment.

I've got to say, I was completely awestruck by this film. Never have I seen such a magnitude of beauty, vision, and planning all synchronically constructed into one amazing movie. This is the first Chan-wook Park film I've seen, and already I'm completely impressed by him as an artist. I must admit, as my first review I should be critiquing this more, but I've yet to find a flaw in this movie. There are maybe five movies I've seen in my life that I've been able to say, even months later, "This is an astounding work of art." Oldboy is one of them. I think everyone in the world should see this at least once.

*****
That's five stars, right there.