When a story is this good, it’s tough to mess it up.
Based on the manga, Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy (2003) dazzled audiences when it was released, and continues to do so today. Park took home, among others, the Grand Prix at Cannes, and in 2008, CNN voters named it one of the ten best Asian films ever made.
Oldboy stands out because Park infused the action and thriller genres with a beauty only he could provide. Oh Dae-su is mysteriously imprisoned for 15 years, and is one day just as mysteriously released. He doesn’t know who abducted him or held him prisoner, but, using a few choice clues and cunning, Dae-su and a hammer go on a revenge spree, the likes of which cinema has rarely seen.
The film is filled with action, mystery, and gore, as the kind of information Dae-su needs can be only be revealed through some pretty painful torture. NY Times Critic Manohla Dargis despised the film because of its action and gore.
However, Oldboy came with the Quentin Tarantino seal of approval, and so Dargis, not a fan of these sorts of pictures, wanted the glorified violence out of art cinema. The fanboys should keep it to themselves, she says.
What she forgets, though, is that cinema has always had its fair share of violence, whether art or cult film, blockbuster or hidden gem.
This spectacularly framed and acted film is just another example in cinema’s rich history.
Oldboy was such a success that Spike Lee was asked to do the American remake. We have timed our screening alongside Lee’s theatrical release happening on November 27.
Will the remake hold up to the success and brilliance of the original? The trailer seems to suggest that Lee has altered the story, and I am highly doubtful that Josh Brolin will chow down on a live octopus, which was, truth be told, both stomach-turning and exciting in Park’s feature.
Watching the original and then comparing the new seems like a fun project!
Lee’s film hits theatres at the end of the month, but for now, we hope to see you at Artspace (378 Aylmer Street) on Wednesday, November 20 at 8pm.
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