New Take on Old Boy

Western society today has for too long, shivered in a winter devoid of any real culture or classic themes in its cinemas. We live in a time were the neon face of pop culture smiles the sickly grin of a cheap salesman as it simultaneously drains our intellect and picks our pockets. People care about who is going to bask in fleeting glory of “victory” on shows such as “Pop Idol” and “Big Brother” or similar illegitimate offspring such as “Get Me out Of Here and Get Me in Hello Magazine I’ve Had Surgery”. The reason for this is pure laziness born out of a spoon-fed nanny culture, were accessible and non-taxing TV rules. Easy listening has spread to easy watching, easy reading, easy travelling, hard time thinking. Anything vaguely intelligent or obstructive to our hazy view of truth and brave enough to garner some attention is quickly labelled “cult”- and in western society history has taught us that we do not want to be associated with cults!

Oldboy opens rather curiously with a small, agitated dog, dangling perilously over the edge of a tall building, clinging tightly to a man, who unfortunately for the dog is attempting suicide. He is prevented only by the bad timing of another man who has just appeared from a large suitcase and is insisting on telling his story whilst clumsily stroking face of the -would be- self effacer. Within twenty minutes of the opening stanza, director Chan-wook Park has explained to us that the man in the suitcase is Oh Dae-Su, a previously heavy drinking bad father and husband, who has been mysteriously kidnapped and kept in a hybrid prison cell/ bad porn motel room for fifteen years then inexplicably released. He also informs us that whilst held captive, Oh has been framed for the murder of his wife, routinely gassed for reasons to be revealed later in the movie, and got himself into fighting shape by mercilessly pounding a wall until his hands bled then calloused and hardened. Now freed for no apparent reason, Oh is challenged via a mobile phone, to find his tormentor and find out why he… well, just why? And it is with a firmly straight expression that I say- it because of movies such as this that, admittedly only the bravest and sterner stomached of curious westerners are turning east for their dose of dramatic texture, so sorely missing in Hollywood.

Asian filmmaking has been labelled (and sometimes fairly) as a “gore fest” and in extreme cases, only a small step away from mimicking snuff movies. Films such as “Ichi the Killer” and “Battle Royale” seemed to glorify violence and turn it into something common place. And whilst it could be argued that in Oldboy, Chan-wook Park is somewhat detached and unsympathetic regarding the violence and the plight of the movies “hero”, once all is revealed his reasons for this become clear. Without wanting to give away the ending, Park is not wanting to take sides too much as he does not want us to feel sympathy for Oh Dae-su to the point were we are willing him on to gain violent revenge in order for us to gain some form of catharsis. His entire point in fact is to question how rewarding revenge is and in turn how unnecessary the violence is.

Saying that, when we return to the point of the story where we left Oh, we find him entering a café and having to repeat himself when he growls “I said I want to eat something that is alive.”! Two things we must consider here are that firstly, in Korea and other Asian countries, this can in some forms be considered a delicacy and that secondly, Oh is after fifteen years in captivity, perhaps feeling the need to demolish a life in return. Or even in his confused and clouded state, that he can “jump start” things by consuming the life force of another. That said, a scene were a man grasps and bites the head off a baby octopus, whilst its tentacles lash out in a last attempt for survival, is not soon forgotten. Though an extreme example, Oldboy is littered with memorable scenes which are all beautifully shot. Park seems to have taken time to make sure each still is a piece of art in its self- which at times can be overwhelming and. The colour is intense and only add to the horror- a gloomy room is sickly pea green, when Oh is forced to mutilate himself, his blood is red. However it can also add so much in the opposite direction, most notably in the last scene which is set in the most surreal of snow covered forests. Each scene is a story in itself, and when added to the almost Italian sounding melody which plays constantly throughout, the film takes on an operatic feel, with all the high emotion of the theatre. Whilst Hollywood may also, with its huge budgets, be capable of recreating such breathtaking scenes, it would never have the time to spend making each one so relevant to a story. For the fact of the matter is, not one word or movement in Oldboy is without reason. Even the setting of scenes have double meaning- a snow covered forest encaptures a fresh new beginning perfectly, and the huge room where Oh learns the reasons behind his torment, signals an end to his imprisonment. It is here that Park shows that he is more than another shock movie maker attempting to cash in on the success of Tarantino (who incidentally campaigned on Oldboy’s behalf during the 2005 Cannes Film Festival). No matter how improbable a scene may appear or how unrelated to or announced by the previous scene it may be, it is never there just to fill the time. Park has led us into the most elaborate of labyrinths, all the time knowing his way out. Whilst being wholly original, Park also shows his love for film in the nods he casts to some of the great filmmakers past and present. His split screen technique is an obvious homage to Hitchcock as is the dramatic score. Whilst the “neo noir” feel to the movie coupled with his narrator’s cynical, unemotional tone, appear to have taken direction from David Fincher’s work (Alien 3, Se7en, Fight Club etc).

The versatility of the camera is exploited beautifully throughout. Feelings of panic and frustration are accompanied with sharply cut scenes, and claustrophobic awkward angles. Shots cut cleverly away at the last possible moment to leave us fooled into seeing something gory, because what we imagine will always outstrip what can be shown in terms of horror. When in his “motel cell” Oh tells us how the television in his room had become his only friend, just as he does so the camera focuses on a shot of an old Frankenstein movie playing the background. This brilliantly encapsulates all of Oh’s fears of isolation and how he is scared of becoming a monster in order to gain revenge. One scene notable for its unusual use of the camera is when Oh faces off in a narrow hallway with a gang of fifteen or so henchmen. Fight scenes are normally very snappily edited to create urgency and to make the combatants appear more skilled than they are. Park chooses to shoot one long continuous scene which slowly pans along the hallway until Oh reaches the lift. It feels slower than what we are used to, as if to say “Oh has waited a long time for this so will take as long as he wants”, it also finds some humour and realism in the obvious lack of skill we are allowed to witness!

Oldboy is a powerful, visceral, beautiful assault on the numbed western senses. It plays like a fairytale for grownups and should be applauded for its bravery in showing real reactions to albeit completely unreal situations rather than following Hollywood’s idealised version of reality. The ending may leave some feeling a little cold or used, but Park is bold enough to maintain that he owes us nothing. Throughout the film he openly strips the human heart bare, and as we lapped up every second, we deserve everything we get.