So what is your answer when someone asks you what your favourite film is?
Some people will actually have an answer, a film that they watch over and over and no other film can touch it. I however don't. It's like asking me who may favourite band are. It all depends on my mood and where I am in my life at that time. There are some that are always in my mind such as..
Each have been my favourite film at one time or another.
..and If you were to ask me what may favourite film is the day after I've been to the cinema then my answer may very well be the film I've just seen.
So when myself and Daria were thinking about this blog and she asked me what my favourite film was I said the first film that came to mind and surprisingly it was a film that I hadn't seen in a few years. But it made such an impression on me that it beat all the films (most likely with a hammer) to be the starting point of My New Favourite Film Is...
The film that I taking about is Chan-wook Park revenge thriller masterpiece Oldboy.
Oldboy is the 2nd film in Chan-wook Park's 'Revenge Trilogy' and was my introduction to both Chan-wook Park and Korean cinema as a whole. I had seen the DVD on a shelf in work and must have looked at it 20 times reading the back and thinking that it sounded interesting yet it took me several months to actually take the plunge and buy it. I took it home and watched it and my view of world cinema was changed forever.
Oldboy starts with a man who is holding a poodle being dangled over the edge of a building by his tie by a man who's face is clouded in shadow. This mysterious man then says that he wants to tell poodle man his story and so I was introduced to one of the great characters in cinema Oh Dae-Su!
The film then jumps back and we are introduced to Oh Dae-Su and. When we meet him he is that loud annoying drunk who is making a fool of himself in public.
Early Oh Dae-Su
Oh Dae-Su is then kidnapped and imprisoned in a room with a TV and no explanation as to where he is or why. The passing of time is represented by events in history on the TV and Oh Dae-Su goes a little crazy.
See what I mean!
This section is told with such style it instantly hooked me in to Oh Dae-Su's story. I love the sound of the Korean language and Oh Dae-Su's narration. He speaks in almost a whisper as he recalls what he went through and the dialog has genuine laugh out loud lines.
"All I could think at that moment was that the man in the room next door only had one chopstick"
So 15 years past and then one day Oh Dae-Su is let go and told that he has 5 days to work out why he was imprisoned and by whom or someone will die. I do not want to say anything else of the plot as part of the joy of the film is the twist and turns it takes and the journey of discovery you go on with Oh Dae-Su who is a long way from the drunk idiot that you met at the start.
A truely iconic image!
So instead I will tell you why this film has found its way firmly into my Top 5 films of all time list. Oldboy has a style that is different to nearly every film that you are likely to have seen. It manages to mix a dark tale with moments of genuine humour and tenderness. An example of this can be found when you compare two scenes one with a hammer (which I will talk about more later) and one with a hairdryer.
The scene with a hammer is a brutal ballet of violence which is balanced out by the one with the hairdryer which is a touching moment of innocence. Again
I don't want to go into details as I don't want to spoil the film and
if you want to know what I'm going on about I guess you will have to
watch the it :)
Chan-Wook Park has a thing that all directors want which is a unique style that runs throughout his movies. Some have it in a bad way...Micheal Bay I'm looking at you!! But Park's is as far from Mr Bays as you can get. I urge you to seek out his other work as well and I wouldn't be surprised if I end up writing about one here in the future.
Another thing that a good thriller needs is a good bad guy and Oldboy has one of the best in Ji-tae Yu's Woo Jin-Lee! He is crazy but in the most calm way possible. His relationship with Oh Dae-Su is fascinating to watch unfold and much like other Park films even though he is the villain of the piece it is hard not to like him in some strange way.
'What I am isn't important. WHY is important'
That hammer fight!
I also have to also mention the music with Hyun-jung Shim score being different from anything I had ever heard. This could be due to the fact it was my first taste of Korean culture but still it suits the mood of the scenes perfectly. The use in the hammer fight is an a prime example it adds a slightly sad and desperate air to the scene.
Park keeps the film moving along at a good pace with some clever editing and adds in some beautiful cinematography with uses of vivid wide shots and intimate close ups. It all flows nicely along with the mystery of why he was imprisoned being unveiled at a satisfying pace all the way through. Characters like Mido and Lee's silver headed henchman Mr Han are interesting characters but are always in the shadow of the two leads who steal every frame they are in. The final scene is quite incredible and at times hard to watch but in a very good way.
I left the film satisfied with everything about it. It didn't leaving me wanting in any way and had me thinking about it all the next day until I finally got home from work and watched it again with my girlfriend who shared my love for it.
It is a film that I recommend to everyone I can but I am aware that some will most likely not like it. It is violent and it is very dark with some pretty tough to take themes. I understand why people may not get on with Oldboy but still I want to make as many people aware because for every one that doesn't like it I think there is someone who will love it. I hope that if you do watch it you are someone who loves Oldboy and to anyone reading who has watched it....how grim was the octopus scene!
So those are the reason why Oldboy is my favourite film. I'm sure he will be toppled soon by another film (I have been meaning to watch Drive again) but for now he stands proud as My New Favourite Film...
'Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone'
Written by
Owen While watching Oldboy for the 25th time :D
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