Oldboy
Movie, 2003, Named by the director, Set in Second in the trilogy
Oldboy is #28 of 48 in release order and #8 of 48 in chronological order in the Spiritual Trilogies.
The story
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.
Oldboy recap
In 1988 Oh Dae-su, a drunk businessman, is snatched off a street and locked in a hotel-like cell for fifteen years without being told why. Through the television he learns his wife has been murdered and he is the suspect. He trains, digs at the wall, and is released in 2003, just before he breaks through. He meets Mi-do, a young sushi chef, who takes him in, and the two become lovers. Tracing the dumplings he ate in prison, he finds the private jail and fights his way down a corridor full of guards with a hammer. His captor, Lee Woo-jin, a rich man, gives him five days to discover the reason. Dae-su learns they went to the same school, where he saw Woo-jin with his sister Soo-ah and spread gossip that drove her to suicide. The second film in Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy, it again shows revenge consuming the person who carries it out.
Oldboy ending explained
Dae-su learns Mi-do is his daughter, cuts out his tongue, and tries to forget. In Woo-jin's penthouse he finds out that Woo-jin used hypnosis to make Dae-su and Mi-do fall in love. Dae-su begs and cuts out his tongue to keep Woo-jin from telling her. Woo-jin then shoots himself. Later, in the snow, a hypnotist helps Dae-su split from the part of him that knows the truth. Mi-do finds and hugs him, and his face twists between a smile and grief.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch Oldboy
Oldboy is streaming on Kanopy in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 82%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, before Intolerable Cruelty.
- Chronological order: after Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, before Lady Vengeance.
Cast
- Choi Min-sik as Oh Dae-su
- Yoo Ji-tae as Lee Woo-jin
- Kang Hye-jung as Mi-do
- Kim Byeong-ok as Mr. Han
- Ji Dae-han as No Joo-hwan
- Oh Dal-su as Park Cheol-woong
- Lee Seung-shin as Yoo Hyung-ja
- Yoon Jin-seo as Lee Soo-ah
- Oh Tae-kyung as Young Dae-su
- Yoo Yeon-seok as Young Woo-jin
- You Il-han as Young Joo-hwan
- Lee Young-hee as Clock Store Lady
Directed by Park Chan-wook.