Imperial Bishop
Banned
(Spoilers for a 14 year old movie)
I knew absolutely nothing about Oldboy. Outside of the general premise (guy gets imprisoned in a hotel room for years and seeks revenge) and the fact that it has an American remake diected by Spike Lee, I went in completely blind to this film.
The beginning hooked me in immediately. Dae-su is a drunk businessman who just wants to get home in time to give his daughter a birthday gift.
Cue getting almost ghosted away on a rainy day and being forced to live in a tiny hotel room for FIFTEEN YEARS!
And after that, it just gets even more confusing.
Having only seen one Korean film (Train to Busan), the closest thing I could compare the mood of this movie to is a Tarantino film.
It's viseral, twisted, and doesn't pull any punches.
But as I went deeper into the abyss, the more I started to question and suspect where the movie was going.
What was Mi-Do's purpose besides being the designated love interest? How did the one behind everything set all this up and get all this money and resources? What's his endgame?
And then the fucking twist happens.
Fuck me, man. I left this with more questions than answers. I haven't been this mindfucked by a movie in a long time.
TL;DR: It was a crazy, surreal film that I regret not watching sooner. Contrivances aside, it was worth the watch.
I knew absolutely nothing about Oldboy. Outside of the general premise (guy gets imprisoned in a hotel room for years and seeks revenge) and the fact that it has an American remake diected by Spike Lee, I went in completely blind to this film.
The beginning hooked me in immediately. Dae-su is a drunk businessman who just wants to get home in time to give his daughter a birthday gift.
Cue getting almost ghosted away on a rainy day and being forced to live in a tiny hotel room for FIFTEEN YEARS!
And after that, it just gets even more confusing.
Having only seen one Korean film (Train to Busan), the closest thing I could compare the mood of this movie to is a Tarantino film.
It's viseral, twisted, and doesn't pull any punches.
But as I went deeper into the abyss, the more I started to question and suspect where the movie was going.
What was Mi-Do's purpose besides being the designated love interest? How did the one behind everything set all this up and get all this money and resources? What's his endgame?
And then the fucking twist happens.
What the actual fuck? Through some contrived hypnosis and Xanatos Gambit, Joo-Weng(?) tricks Dae-su into fucking INCEST and uses it against him.
I've never seen a movie screw over its main lead so badly. I've never been so upset and shock at the antagonist getting away with their plan and seeing the main lead grovel, beg, plead, CUT OFF HIS OWN TONGUE!
And the final scene in which Dae-su tries to hypnotize the trauma away (what?) and try to live with his daughter as her lover (I assume, it's not made clear whether he still wants to be in a ...relationship with...I can't even finish the sentence. Oh God.)
I'm going to assume the hypnosis didn't work judging by Dae-su's expression shift from laughter to crying.
I've never seen a movie screw over its main lead so badly. I've never been so upset and shock at the antagonist getting away with their plan and seeing the main lead grovel, beg, plead, CUT OFF HIS OWN TONGUE!
And the final scene in which Dae-su tries to hypnotize the trauma away (what?) and try to live with his daughter as her lover (I assume, it's not made clear whether he still wants to be in a ...relationship with...I can't even finish the sentence. Oh God.)
I'm going to assume the hypnosis didn't work judging by Dae-su's expression shift from laughter to crying.
Fuck me, man. I left this with more questions than answers. I haven't been this mindfucked by a movie in a long time.
TL;DR: It was a crazy, surreal film that I regret not watching sooner. Contrivances aside, it was worth the watch.
Definitely check out Park Chan Wook's other works, like the rest of his vengeance trilogy and films like J.S.A. and the Handmaiden which came out last year.
What a masterpiece Oldboy is. I still get shivers when the
