Movie Review: Oldboy (2003)

Oldboy (Korean) (2003)
Director: Park Chan-wook
Cast: Choi Min-sik, Yu Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong

Asian films, particularly those coming from the eastern side more often than not revolve around revenge. It would not be wrong to say that revenge thrillers have become a prominent sub-genre here. Having seen too many of such movies(mostly starring Bruce Lee), I had reached a state where I was consciously avoiding films with protagonists having a personal vendetta against politicians and druglords. I expected oldboy to be along these same lines, but when I heard Tarantino shower special praise upon this movie, I got curious. And yes, it WAS a revenge film, and I fell in love with the genre all over again!

A man called Oh Dae-su disappears under mysterious circumstances, and we find him in a small room, connected to the world through a television. He has no idea about the reasons for his captivity nor does he know of any person who could do this to him. Later, his wife is murdered and he becomes the prime suspect. He begins to have hallucinations, partly because of his helplessness and isolation, and partly due to the gassing done by his captor. To pass his time, he learns shadowboxing by watching it on the television. He remains a prisoner for fifteen long years, after which he is suddenly set free, on the condition that he has to find the identity of his captor within five days. The rest of the movie follows the efforts of Dae-Su, who in collaboration with a sushi chef Mi-do, tries to find the person who held him captive as well as his motives. But all is not what it seems to Dae-su, and he has to take each step with extreme caution in this labyrinth of trickery and deceit.

Choi Min-sik is perfect in the role of a man who has been transformed from being a simple family guy to a detached, beast-like murderer. In fact, his character transformation forms a running theme in the movie. It is the role of a lifetime and Min-sik gives it his best. His confused expressions in the final scene conveyed all his pain, anguish, relief and love, and made it a memorably ambiguous ending. Yu Ji-tae seemed to be a little too young for his role, but nonetheless, he pitches in a sincere performance. However, his act is completely overshadowed by the performance of Min-sik. Hye-jeong looks sufficiently tender and innocent to evoke sympathy when the final act is played out. Hers was the character I felt for the most as she got needlessly caught between two people hellbent on destroying each other. Revealing anything more about her would mean spoiling the the shock-value of the last half an hour.

Oldboy is definitely not your usual revenge story, although it could very well have been so. The plot is centered on an act of vengeance, but the treatment and execution of the subject matter is unprecedented, and that’s what makes Oldoy rise above its contemporaries. Chan-wook creates an atmosphere of fear and violence which does not let up even once during the running time. Violence, though extremely glorified and stylized, is used as a means to convey the beastliness of Dae-su’s character, and is very integral to the plot. The camerawork is exceptional. The corridor fight sequence is a tremendous cinematographic achievement(it was taken in a single shot!!). Another scene which caught my attention was the ‘quick zoom in’ shot(reverse dolly??) on Dae-su during his meeting with his captor.

Initially, I had my doubts regarding its pretentiousness(stylized movies often tend to be low on substance), but scene after scene continued to amaze me and then the ending, which serves justice in its most poetic form, put all such doubts to rest. The genius of Chan-wook is visible all through and is instrumental in making Oldboy very deeply philosophical in meaning and lyrical in style.  If you are not averse to extreme forms of detached violence on celluloid and are open to exploring bold and unconventional themes, Oldboy should definitely feature somewhere high in your list of 'Must Watch' movies.

Movie Review: The Thing (1982)

The Thing (1982)
Director: John Carpenter
Cast: Kurt Russell

What are the ingredients that go into making a good horror film? As a viewer, I would say it is not that sudden burst of loud background music accompanied with blood and gore which scares me(it does put me off though); rather, it is the fear of something evil that may befall in seemingly normal conditions or the anticipation of violence from unexpected quarters which causes goosebumps. Films such as The Exorcist, The Shining and Psycho achieved this to near-perfection, and John Carpenter’s The Thing is another film that deserves to be in the company of these illustrious works.

A dog is chased down by a helicopter apparently without reason, and is saved by a group of scientists. However, the dog turns out be some strange life form and attacks the crew members. The threat is fended off for the time being by torching the dog, but further investigation leads to the startling revelation that the life form is actually from outer space and is capable of imitating the person whom it kills. This causes the crew members to become paranoid as they do not know which one of them has already been taken over by ‘the thing’. In the desolate terrain of Antarctica, with no one to trust, each person has to fend for himself. As the tension escalates, the struggle for survival becomes more and more intense.

The ensemble cast does well to convey its fear, helplessness and isolation. Kurt Russell here has a complex, two dimensional role to play, as someone who, in the bid for survival, has to take decisions which are morally ambiguous. However, he could have done a better job in conveying his emotions more convincingly. The background score by the maestro Ennio Morricone is minimal and effective. The pulsating beats in the opening scene really set the viewer up for the ghastly events that are to follow. Thankfully, the movie refrains from using music blatantly to create shock-value. Instead, it is subdued and works to create an atmosphere of tremendous apprehension.

More than actors, The Thing is a director’s movie. John Carpenter does a splendid job of narrating a shocking tale of paranoia and distrust. The element of mystery, introduced in the opening reels, continues to haunt us right till the very end. The most terrifying moment comes in the ‘blood test’ scene and bears testimony to the adept filmmaking by Carpenter. The scene, much like the entire movie, builds up at its own pace and catches you unaware at the right moment.

The Thing is not the kind of horror flick that would make you jump out of your seat. Instead, the film, with its isolated setting and the ubiquitous sense of impending doom, plays with your psyche and very gradually sucks you into the proceedings. This is a major reason why the movie works so well since the atmosphere of extreme distrust and the loneliness of all the protagonists makes you wander into those dark corners of the mind which you would certainly want to avoid.

Tense, atmospheric, and most importantly, scary, The Thing is recommended for all those horror film-buffs who want something more than just needless gore in their movies.