OLDBOY

(OLDEUBOI)

San Francisco Premiere

South Korea 2003 | 118mins | 35mm Color | Korean w/E.S.

Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, Park Chan-wookâs (JOINT SECURITY AREA, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE) latest film has been leaving both critics and moviegoers alike with their jaws on the floor. An incendiary revenge tale that makes KILL BILL seem meek by comparison, OLDBOY is quite possibly the most unforgettable film youâll see all year.

Oh Dae-su, an unruly drunkard, is abducted one rainy night and imprisoned in a room for no apparent reason. Drugged and hypnotized, he spends his next 15 years in a state of near madness, wondering ãwho is doing this, and why?ä Suddenly released, he sets out to unleash his long-festering vengeance on an unseen captor, but his pursuit of the answers to those burning questions ensnares him in a game of physical and emotional violence with his equally determined tormentor.

Though the filmâs infamous scenes of violence will test any viewerâs stomach÷this film is not for the squeamish÷Parkâs masterpiece also burrows deep into the psyche of trauma to imbue this uncompromising portrait of vengeance with an undercurrent of unexpected compassion. Veteran actor Choi Min-sikâs performance as the half-crazed Oh taps into a near-bottomless well of pain that finally explodes in a finale that should leave even the most jaded viewer stunned.

-Taro Goto

Sponsored by USF Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Studies Program