SETTING THE CAPTIVES FREE

[June 1st, 2005] Plenty of movies scheduled for release this summer have a buzz surrounding them. Films like Fantastic Four and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that the big studios have sunk millions and millions of dollars into, inundating us with massive advertising campaigns in the hope of recouping their losses. And then there are films like Oldboy that will never have the same sort of marketing push as Star Wars but that have earned their buzz and accolades the old-fashioned way-by being great films.

Part of a recent wave of movies from South Korea, Oldboy has been building a legion of loyal fans among those who've seen it at film festivals and during its limited theatrical runs. It is a dark, disturbing film that puts most American action movies to shame and leaves all other psychological thrillers cowering in the dust.

Min-sik Choi stars as Dae-su Oh, a hard drinker who finds himself held captive in an apartment-turned-prison for reasons he does not know. Dae-su tries to make sense of his situation, compiling a rather lengthy list of those he has wronged, but he still cannot fathom who would want to see him suffer like this. After 15 long years, Dae-su is released. Now he must find out who had him locked up and get his revenge. Along the way, he falls in love with a young woman (Hye-jeong Kang) who tries to help him unravel the mystery.

Dae-su's investigation takes him down a dark path of deception and violence. In one of the film's most brutal moments, our tortured hero, armed only with a hammer, takes on a small army of thugs. But as he comes closer to understanding why he was imprisoned all those years, Dae-su begins to realize that the pain and anguish he endured in captivity was nothing compared to what his mysterious tormentor has in store for him now.

In a complex performance that runs the gamut of humanity and brutality, Min-sik Choi stakes his claim as one of the greatest tough guys in the history of cinema, joining the ranks of Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune. American audiences know Choi from his hardboiled turn in Shiri, but his performance in Oldboy is the stuff of movie legend. From his descent into madness to his hammer-wielding attack against overwhelming odds to his struggle to regain his humanity, Choi commands the screen.

Oldboy is one of those rare films that succeeds on all levels. Director Chan-wook Park never tips his hand, and the secret of Oldboy remains a mystery until he and the writers want you to know what is going on. And then there are the twists, turns and plot hooks that blindside you and, at the end of the day, leave you drained and disturbed.