01-02-2006, 10:59 PM
Chan-wook Park is now on my radar.
The basic premise of Old Boy -- and I'm not giving anything away that isn't obvious from trailers -- is that someone is held in a room for many years, then released. He doesn't know who held him, or why -- or why he was finally released.
I thought this might be a one-note film, something like Pi, which, though well-made, was ultimately boring and had a completely unlikeable protagonist. But Old Boy just kept mutating, was full of surprises both big and small, and even though some of the characters were reprehensible, they each had a side to them that I grew to respect. Some very quirky scenes, a few over the top, and some convincing street fighting done in long continuous shots.
A masterful film. I was blown away by it.
It won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004. I can see why.
I'll have to check out more of his work.
--cranefly
P.S. I seem to recall someone reviewing this on the old forum. I'm not certain it was this positive. But I was very impressed.
The basic premise of Old Boy -- and I'm not giving anything away that isn't obvious from trailers -- is that someone is held in a room for many years, then released. He doesn't know who held him, or why -- or why he was finally released.
I thought this might be a one-note film, something like Pi, which, though well-made, was ultimately boring and had a completely unlikeable protagonist. But Old Boy just kept mutating, was full of surprises both big and small, and even though some of the characters were reprehensible, they each had a side to them that I grew to respect. Some very quirky scenes, a few over the top, and some convincing street fighting done in long continuous shots.
A masterful film. I was blown away by it.
It won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004. I can see why.
I'll have to check out more of his work.
--cranefly
P.S. I seem to recall someone reviewing this on the old forum. I'm not certain it was this positive. But I was very impressed.