OLD BOY (2003)

Summary:

Old Boy is a South Korean neo-noir action thriller directed by Park Chan-wook, forming the second installment of his Vengeance Trilogy. The film follows Oh Dae-su, an ordinary businessman who is inexplicably kidnapped and imprisoned in a private hotel-like cell for fifteen years. During his captivity, he learns his wife has been murdered and he is the prime suspect. Driven by a thirst for revenge and an desperate need to understand why he was targeted, Dae-su is suddenly released and embarks on a brutal quest to find his captor.

As Dae-su navigates the outside world, he forms an unlikely bond with a young sushi chef named Mi-do. His relentless pursuit leads him to the enigmatic and wealthy Lee Woo-jin, who orchestrates a twisted game, challenging Dae-su to uncover the motive behind his prolonged imprisonment within a limited timeframe. The film is renowned for its shocking plot twists, visceral action sequences, and profound exploration of themes such as revenge, identity, and the devastating consequences of past actions.

Keywords: Old Boy, 2003, Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Park Chan-wook, Neo-noir, Thriller, Revenge, Mystery, South Korea.

Plot:

The film opens in 1988, introducing Oh Dae-su, a boisterous and irresponsible businessman, who is arrested for public intoxication and disturbing the peace. After being bailed out by his friend, Joo-hwan, Dae-su disappears from a phone booth. He awakens to find himself trapped in a windowless, hotel-like room, with no explanation for his abduction. His only contact with the outside world is a television. Over the years, he watches news reports, learning that his wife has been brutally murdered and he is the prime suspect, leading to his young daughter, Mi-do, being adopted by a Swedish family. Driven by grief, rage, and a burning desire for revenge, Dae-su begins an intense regimen of physical and mental training, meticulously planning his escape by digging a tunnel through the wall with a spoon.

After fifteen years of solitary confinement, during which he practices martial arts and keeps a detailed journal, Dae-su is suddenly released, drugged and left on a rooftop. He wakes up in a park, confused and disoriented, with a wallet full of cash and a cell phone. His first instinct is to find his daughter, but his overwhelming priority is to uncover the identity of his captor and exact vengeance. He encounters a homeless man who gives him a card for a sushi restaurant. At the restaurant, he collapses and is cared for by the young sushi chef, Mi-do. She takes him in, and they quickly develop a close, if unusual, relationship. Dae-su's investigation begins with tracking down the source of the dumplings he was fed daily during his imprisonment, eventually leading him to the "Evergreen" restaurant, which he recognizes from the distinctive taste.

At the Evergreen restaurant, Dae-su interrogates the owner, who reveals she was paid to deliver the dumplings but knows nothing more. She refers him to a hypnotist who specializes in memory manipulation. Dae-su, however, is more interested in direct confrontation. He receives a call from his captor, who identifies himself as Lee Woo-jin. Woo-jin reveals he has been watching Dae-su and challenges him to discover the reason for his imprisonment within five days. If Dae-su fails, Woo-jin threatens to kill Mi-do. This revelation intensifies Dae-su's desperate search, making the stakes incredibly high. He learns that Woo-jin is a wealthy and powerful man, running a high-tech security firm. Dae-su confronts a former high school classmate, Mr. Park, who he believes might be connected, leading to a brutal fight and the extraction of information about Woo-jin's past.

Dae-su continues his investigation, piecing together fragmented memories from his past. He recalls an incident from his high school days: he witnessed Lee Woo-jin and his older sister, Lee Soo-ah, engaging in an incestuous relationship. Dae-su, being a notorious gossip, spread the rumor throughout the school. The shame and ostracization led Soo-ah to commit suicide by throwing herself off a dam, despite being pregnant with Woo-jin's child. This tragic event scarred Woo-jin deeply, fueling his elaborate, fifteen-year revenge plot against Dae-su. Woo-jin's goal was not merely to imprison Dae-su, but to inflict upon him the same profound suffering and loss he experienced, and to make Dae-su commit the very "sin" he gossiped about.

The ultimate, devastating twist unfolds during the climactic confrontation between Dae-su and Woo-jin in Woo-jin's lavish penthouse. Woo-jin reveals the full extent of his meticulously planned revenge. He confesses that he orchestrated Dae-su's release, the meeting with Mi-do, and their subsequent romantic relationship. Mi-do, Woo-jin chillingly reveals, is not just a random sushi chef; she is Oh Dae-su's own daughter. After his wife's murder and his imprisonment, his daughter was adopted. Woo-jin, through manipulation and hypnosis, brought them together, ensuring they would fall in love and engage in an incestuous relationship, unknowingly mirroring the very act Dae-su exposed in Woo-jin's past. The revelation shatters Dae-su, plunging him into an abyss of horror and despair. He collapses, overwhelmed by the unspeakable truth.

In a desperate plea to preserve Mi-do's innocence and protect her from the horrific truth, Dae-su performs an act of extreme self-mutilation, cutting out his own tongue with scissors in front of Woo-jin. He begs Woo-jin to ensure Mi-do never learns of their true relationship. Woo-jin, seeing his revenge complete but feeling utterly hollow, finds no satisfaction in Dae-su's agony. He hands Dae-su a remote control that, when pressed, reveals a picture of Woo-jin's sister and himself as children, before he shoots himself in the head. The final scenes show Dae-su seeking out the hypnotist, who he believes can erase his memory of the incestuous relationship with Mi-do. The film concludes ambiguously, with Dae-su and Mi-do embracing in a snowy landscape. Mi-do asks him if he loves her, to which he responds with a primal, animalistic roar. The hypnotist's voiceover suggests that Dae-su might have chosen to forget the parts of his memory that would cause him pain, leaving the audience to question whether the hypnosis was entirely successful, and whether Dae-su's true nature, or the trauma, can ever be fully erased.

Cast (Lead Roles):

• Choi Min-sik as Oh Dae-su
• Yoo Ji-tae as Lee Woo-jin
• Kang Hye-jung as Mi-do
• Kim Byeong-ok as Mr. Han
• Oh Dal-su as Park Cheol-woong (The Private Prison Warden)

Crew:

• Director: Park Chan-wook
• Screenwriters: Park Chan-wook, Jeong Seo-kyeong, Hwang Jo-yun
• Based on the Manga by: Garon Tsuchiya (story), Nobuaki Minegishi (art)
• Producer: Kim Dong-joo
• Cinematography: Chung Chung-hoon
• Editor: Kim Sang-bum
• Music: Jo Yeong-wook

Release Info:

• Original Release Date: November 21, 2003 (South Korea)
• Language: Korean
• Genre: Neo-noir, Action, Thriller, Mystery, Drama
• Running Time: 120 minutes
• Accolades: Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, nominated for the Palme d'Or.