50 Years 50 Movies (2003): Oldboy

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to watch and review one movie from each year of my life.  The only qualification is that it has to be a movie I’ve not reviewed previously. 

2003

Top Grossing Movies in 2003:

1. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2. Finding Nemo
3. The Matrix Reloaded
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
5. Bruce Almighty

Best Picture Oscar Nominees and Winners in 2003:

• The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
• Lost in Translation
• Master and Commander: Far Side of the World
• Mystic River
• Seabiscuit

Other Movies I’ve Reviewed from 2003:

• Bad Santa
• Big Fish
• Elf
• Good Bye Lenin! 
• How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days
• Intermission
• A Mighty Wind
• Piglet’s BIG Movie
• The Saddest Music in the World
• School of Rock
• Shrek 2
• Tokyo Godfathers
• The Triplets of Belleville
• View from the Top
• The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

Title: Oldboy
Release Date: 21 November 2003
Director: Park Chan-wook
Production Company: Egg Film | CJ Entertainment
Summary/Review:

Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), a seemingly ordinary businessman, gets drunk one night, gets abducted, and is locked in a mysterious prison that looks like a hotel.  For 15 years, Dae-su tries to find out why he was imprisoned, attempts suicide, and makes plans for escapes.  Then suddenly he is released.  Soon afterward he meets a young chef, Mi-do (Kang Hye-jung), and they become romantically entangled although it’s not clear why she would choose him.  Some investigation reveals that a rich man Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Ji-tae) is responsible for Dae-su’s imprisonment.

The bulk of the film is Dae-su’s efforts to learn why he was imprisoned and exact revenge on Woo-jin.  This story is told in two hours of sadism, misogyny, torture porn, and body horror.  And it’s considered one of the greatest movies ever made.  It is a well-made movie, artful even, but I guess I stand alone when I say that this kind of movie is not for me, regardless of all the critical and popular plaudits it’s earned.

Rating: I can’t put a rating on this. Sorry.