Old Boy (Ol-deu bo-ee). 2003.
Directed by Park Chanwook. With Choi Min-shik, Yu Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong
In 1998, OH Dae-soo (Choi Min-shik) is drugged and kidnapped in front of his own house. Dae-soo is imprisoned in a private prison for 15 years without explanation. One day, Dae-soo is given sleeping gas. He comes to and finds he has been released, 15 years after he was kidnapped. Dae-soo tries to find out who is behind all of this and why. Director Park Chan-wook’s flamboyant colors and giltzy cinematography and Choi Min-shik’s unforgettable performance made Old Boy an international hit. 120 min.
“Oldboy is a powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare” - Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
“An explosively exciting psychosexual revenge drama from Korean powerhouse Park Chanwook that makes movies feel alive again” - Peter Travers (Rolling Stone)
“Oldboy may be a filmmaker's tour de force, but props should also be delivered to Choi, whose wretched, Herculean performance as the new millennium's Job could restore your faith in the selfless courage of acting” - Michael Atkinson (Village Voice)
“Oldboy is a movie of such jaw-dropping violence, wild improbability and dazzling style it overpowers all resistance” - Michael Wilmington (Chicago Tribune)
