Oldboy (Park Chan-wook 2003)

Oh Dae-Su is a really annoying guy, but when he suddenly gets kidnapped and held in a private prison, he is still clueless as to who did this or why. He realises he is in for trouble, because they just will not release him. Only after 15 years, rather suddenly, captivity ends. On his quest for the kidnappers he gets acquainted with a strange group of professional kidnappers, with characters from his past and with a young woman who may or may not be able to help him.
This may the most characteristic film to show why Korean cinema is very interesting and very very strange: extreme violence and emotion, comic fighting. “And there is a scene during which an octopus is definitely harmed during the making of the movie.” Villainous villains and innocent girls, it’s all there to the extreme. And an abundance of guilt! Much more mature than the previous “Mr Vengeance” film, it shows how the director / auteur grows from a rogue creative kid into a mature narrator about the abyss of the human mind. Not always an enjoyable watch, and most certain to have the nails of your next-seat girl dug deep into your arm, but if you are Korean, you will probably enjoy this sweet torture. The turns and twists of the story are not necessarily logical to an outside observer, especially towards the end I needed to repeat to myself that the Asian perception about guilt and punishment is very different from mine. In no definition, however, does the film have a happy ending, and this alone makes it worth seeing. Looking forward to the final part of the “Vengeance” trilogy now…