Oldboy

Directed by: Chan-wook Park
Screenplay by: Garon Tsuchiya, Jo-yun Hwang, Chun-hyeong Lim, Chan-wook Park

Based on the comic by: Nobuaki Minegishi

Cinematography by: Chung-hoon Chung

Editor: Sang-Beom Kim

Cast: Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu and Hye-jeong Kang

Year: 2003

 

The opening act is very confusing and frustrating, but you have to stick it out, and watch it through to understand that it was intentionally that way. Trust me, give it a chance and there will be a payoff of sorts in the end. By the time the epic hammer fight scene came along (one brilliant long take all contained in a single wide-angle shot!), I was convinced that this film had a clear direction. Although I'm sure much was lost in translation (I watched it with subtitles and dubbed and it was almost like watching 2 totally different movies!) I still enjoyed it a lot.

3.5 out of 5