Tigers and Cranes

everyone has a favorite movie, and there are many attendant reasons for someone’s choice when it comes to their all time most favoritest film.

some say “citizen kane”, some will argue that “schindler’s list” is the greatest film ever made. and yet some will say that “no way, dude… you are all off. the greatest flick ever made is “waterworld”! see, it had jet skis and a huge tanker ship, with an old dude acting as a fuel gauge. it basically rules”. and so it goes.

i think all those movies are fantastic(yes, even waterworld), but none compares to the greatest cinematic achievement of all time, (in my humble, and somewhat warped opinion)”old boy”.

“laugh, and the world laughs with you. cry, and you cry alone.”

now i can see some of you scratching your head and thinking “what? i’ve never even heard of that movie”. for shame! would i lie to you? you must go out and borrow, beg, steal and kill for this movie. it’s that good. but enough about me singing its praises. at least, you should know why this is one of the greatest movies ever made.

oh dehsoo in his cell, going mildly crazy

1. cinematography: it’s just a fancy word for camera work, but in this film, there are so many unique and creative use of camera that surely this movie will be studied by film major types for years to come.

2. action: it’s got action in spades, and unlike many hokey hong kong flicks with its wires and kung fu, the combat and action scenes in this movie is all about gritty, realistic hand to hand combat. and no wires.

3. perhaps the greatest single fight scene ever put to a film: there is a particluar fight scene in which the hero battles maybe 20-30 thugs, armed only with a true man’s weapon, a hammer. the whole scene lasts maybe two minutes, and the enitire time, the camera does not cut away once, and it is a continuous footage of carnage, reminiscent of some side scrolling fighting video game.

4. tiwsted plot: there are stories within stories, a tale of vengeance within a greater subtext of vengeance.

the story begins with oh dehsoo, played by always excellent choi minsik, a good for nothing salaryman and a father of a young girl. one night, without trace, he is kidnapped and put into a private prison, not knowing who his captor is nor why he is imprisoned in a cell with no windows and just a tv. he is given his daily food through a slot in the door, and each night, the room would fill with sleeping gas, and oh dehsu would have no choice but to pass out.

this state of affair lasts for fifteen years, and everyday, oh has nothing to do but watch tv and plot his vengeance for the day when he would escape and confront his captor. to pass time, he draws a silhouette of a man on the concrete wall, and trains himself by punching and kicking at the wall. he also begins a diary of his life, writing every detail of his no good life before being imprisoned.

then one day, while passed out and under hypnotism, he is suddenly released, and he begins on his quest to avenge his lost fifteen years of his life. he has added motivation, as his wife was murdered, and he is framed as the killer, and his little girl put up for adoption in a foreign country. geez, can’t this guy catch a break?

first place he visits after his release is a sushi restaurant, where he meets a pretty chef named mido(played by Kang Hyejong). this is where the infamous “octopus scene” takes place as mido asks oh what he’d like to order. he replies “i want to eat something alive”. he is given a rather large, live octopus, and he proceeds to shove the whole poor creature in his mouth, tentacle writhing and all. then he passes out.

most people eat this cut up…

mido takes poor oh into her home, and begins to aid him in his quest to find who was exactly behind his kidnapping fifteen years ago.

the story frequently flashes back to times when oh was younger, and in the shrouded mists of time are the clues to unravel the entire mystery.

the foe is revelaed to be charismatic and exceedingly rich young man named lee woojin, and the reason, and indeed the motivations of woojin is an enigma, suffice to say, the showdown between oh and woojin is one of the most shocking moments in film i’ve had the pleasure of viewing.

the endgame and the resolution seems at both totally satisfying, and also open ended, and ambiguous, as the viewers are invited to craft their own ending to this brutal saga of vengeance and retribution. the film is not for the faint of heart, as some scenes are as bloody and gory as miike takashi’s bloodfest, such as “audition” and “ichii the killer”.

the movie is a manga adaptation by mineshigi nobuaki, a japanese artist. and perhaps true to its inspiration, and much like the hollywood film “sin city”, it’s stylish, gritty, and at the same time has a flavor of story telling that will find favors with many manga readers.

old boy is the second installment of park chan wook’s “vengeance saga”, the first one being “sympathy for mr. vengeance”, and the last one being “lady vengeance”. they are all good films, but neither of the bookend movies stack up to an awesome cinematic experience that is “old boy”. although on hold, “old boy” is being remade by hollywood, with talks of brad pitt and tom cruise as the stars. although on hold for the moment, i urge the readers to watch this movie before the american version appears. they say there’s a renaissance happening in korean cinema right now, and this movie proves it.