Oldboy (2003): This Godless World

   

I believe that hatred is a great motivator to make people act. When you hate someone so much, and for so long, you can get to great lengths to have a little piece of that someone. In this case, it makes a film move into the depths of the human spirit and creates a revolting and brutal story that is my favorite regarding Korean cinema.

Oh Dae-su is an everyman who is confined in a hotel room for 15 years; and after his release, he has 5 days to find its captor and enact his revenge. This is the beginning of Oldboy, an action/thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, and Kang Hye-jung and based on the manga of the same name written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya.

 

Oldboy starts abruptly and we have to keep watching to understand the motives of Oh Dae-su's incarceration. A conspiracy that affects his wife, daughter, a ghost from the past and everyone he cares about for unknown reasons. I would like to explore the motives behind the mastermind of this plan, but I don’t want to spoil anything.

 

However, I would like to explore the different themes that are found:  First of all, we have to understand that Oldboy is a tragedy and there are many elements that resemble greek works such as Oedipus Rex inside the film, which creates an atmosphere full of metaphors and symbolisms used to explore the human condition. This leads to the questions: How much are you willing to do to hurt someone you hate? How much are you willing to sacrifice to have your revenge? In here, there is a battle between two broken people who are motivated by hatred. A conspiracy surrounded by mystery, lies, and a downward spiral towards insanity and hell.

In Oldboy you can sense the hopelessness and sadness that surrounds such a dark and violent movie. The hallway scene has to be the most well-known scene in the entire movie and has influenced many American shows (Daredevil being a clear example). A touching story about revenge, hatred, and how a man can become a monster if the right conditions are given.