My Favorite Films #2 - OldBoy

If I had to choose one, this would be THE favorite of mine. OldBoy, Chan-Wook Park's masterpiece, in my opinion, that changed the way I saw films ever after.

This film has everything I want out of a film. The premiss of the plot is intriguing, the soundtrack is so good that after this I deleted every R&B/RAP crap song I've ever had (grew out of em' anyway) and started consuming soundtracks and scores from left right and center like they were going out of fashion. The acting is as usual brilliant, I've been wondering for the longest time what kind of acting asian people get over there, is it the same as in europe/america? Ji-Tae Yu's performance inspires me to do better. After I saw him in OldBoy and before him, G-Man in Half Life 2, playing a "villain" seems much more interesting then playing the hero.

I don't know what else to say, as per usual I am horrible at writing about films. It's just about something that happens inside my brain you know? Hard to put it in text.

I live for OldBoy and I am dying to see if anything can ever top this film for me. *Clap Clap* Chan-Wook Park.

My Favorite Film

Oldboy

What can I say?

Let's simply start of with the plot from IMDB;

"An average man is kidnapped and imprisoned in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. He then is released, equipped with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes. As he strives to explain his imprisonment and get his revenge, he soon finds out that not only his kidnapper has still plans for him, but that those plans will serve as the even worse finale to 15 years of imprisonment."

The first time I saw it I didn't even know what I was getting myself into. I went to the movies and just pointed my finger at the poster and not knowing a single thing about the film I said "let's see that". Not expecting anything.

I left the cinema flabbergasted. How can a film be this good? I guess I am a sucker for films with a bit of a complicated, layered, plot where the answers are revealed at the end. An impressive thriller that thrilled the shit out of me.

I am not sure what I love the most. How the director filmed the film itself. The brilliant acting from the protagonist Min-sik Choi (who plays Dae-Su Oh) or the antagonist Ji-tae Yu (who plays Woo-jin Lee) or the soundtrack that is probably one of the best I have ever heard, and I have heard a lot of em'). Western films soundtracks always leaves me empty and wanting more. I can't remember a single film except "Synecdoche, New York" where I thought "fucking hell, that soundtrack was good" which is suprising considering the heavyweights living and working in the western world. I must have overlooked things but I can't remember for the life of me, and to be honest, if I can't remember it, how fucking good could it be? NEXT!

Just listen to this and you'll understand what I am talking about

- Oldboy OST - The Searchers http://blip.fm/~79901
- Oldboy OST - Farewell, My Lovely http://blip.fm/~79926

A film has never put me in such suspense and hooked so much that I never wish it would end. Big applause to the original creator of the manga Oldboy and the whole team who wrote, directed, shot and acted in Oldboy.

My all time favorite film, still.