Oldboy

After chatting with a friend about films he reminded me of what a brilliant movie oldboy is (2003) and I decided to write about it. Also it has been remade recently by Spike Lee. I didn’t even bother to watch the new version since I believe that Park’s original based on a Japanese manga cannot be surpassed.

Oldboy is the story of Oh Dae Su who is kidnapped the day of his daughter’s birthday and placed in a confined hotel type solitary facility. The only contact with the outside world is a TV. After 15 years he is being released without any explanation. Dae Su begins his journey to find his kidnapper and take his revenge. With the help of Mi-Do a sushi chef he tries to find his daughter and manages to spot the prison where he was kept for 15 years. Dae Su and Mi Do finally have sex, something that she refused at the beginning. In his quest of discovering his captor Dae Su is approached by him, a wealthy man named Lee Woo-Jin and realises that they were classmates. This is when he discovers that the reason of his imprisonment was a rumour spread by him about Lee Woo having intimate relationships with his sister which tragically led to her suicide. After Dae Su admits the accusations Lee Woo reveals that Mi Do is his daughter and the actual reason of his imprisonment was that he was waiting until Mi Do would be old enough to fall in love with her father. Through hypnosis there were driven to meet each other and start having erotic relationships with the intent making Dae Su feel the same pain as Lee Woo felt after his sister’s death. Dae Su begs Lee Woo to keep it secret from Mi Do and as an act of remorse cuts off his own tongue. Lee Woo finally commits suicide. The film ends with Dae Su asking to be hypnotised in order to forget. Mi Do finds him and confesses her love for him. Dae Su looks at her and after smiling he is soon gets possessed by a look of fear leaving you wondering whether the hypnosis worked or not.

The film is the ultimate story of revenge and the amount of pain a rumour is capable of spreading.  Dae Su and Lee Woo desire revenge for different reasons. Everyone that I know and have seen the film always comments on the octopus scene. Just for information alive octopus was used and the scene is not a result of computer graphics. So a big well done to Min-sik Choi for his magnificent performance. Oldboy reminds me of a Greek tragedy. Although it is a mixture of violence and blood it tells the story with a philosophical and sophisticated way. Dark and well directed, it aims to remind you to know when to keep your mouth shut and that revenge is definitely a dish best eaten cold.  

The piano

The piano is a 1993 film written and directed by Jane Campion. It is the story of Ada McGradth (Holly Hunter) that moves to New Zealand with her daughter to commit to an arranged marriage with a rich landowner played by Sam Neil. Ada has lost her ability to speak but she likes expressing herself through music by playing the piano. Soon after the wedding she is being seduced by one of the workers played by Harvey Keitel.  Holly Hunter won an Oscar for her performance for first female leading role but the Oscar for second female role also went to Anna Paquin who plays Hunter’s daughter. Officially Anna Paquin is the second youngest Oscar winner after Tatum O’Neal.

The movie revolves around a hand crafted piano and Ada’s love for playing it and expressing herself through music. Initially the husband, Alisdair refuses to move the piano into their home abandoning it to the beach and as a result Ada becomes distant. Alisdair agrees to trade the piano for some land to Baines (Harvey Keitel). Baines in exchange also asks for Ada to teach him how to play the piano. Ada at the beginning refuses but after reconsidering she falls into some kind of deal with Baines to regain her piano back. They agree to, that in exchange per one piano key she will visit him and play the piano and in the mean while he will observe and do things that he likes to her. Baines during this process tries to seduce her but when he understands that whatever she does is for getting her piano back and that she has no actual feelings for him he returns the piano back to her. Ada willingly falls for Baines however her husband finds out and locks her in the house prohibiting any future contact with his opponent. Ada realises that she has to show some affection to her husband if she wants to be released. After a while the husband is persuaded and agrees to let Ada out of the house but she still has strong feelings for Baines and tries to contact him through her daughter.’ You have my heart’ is the phrase she grafts on a piano key and asks her daughter to deliver it to Baines but the daughter instead gives it to Alisdair. Alisdair blinded by anger and betrayal returns home and cuts Ada’s finger off with an axe. Despite his attempts to win Ada’s heart he realises that she is in love with her piano and with Baines and he finally releases her. Ada goes away with Baines. At the and while they travel away she asks to dispose of the piano into the sea and she attempts suicide by trying to drown herself with the piano but finally she changes her mind and resurfaces.

The movie is a drama based on a woman’s disability and her expression through music. During the film we listen to Ada’s inner thoughts and feel her need to communicate through music. The movie for me has no hidden meanings it is mainly about feelings between mother and daughter, husband and wife and a woman and her lover. The last proves to be the strongest. The score of the film was written by Michael Nyman and is not just simply good but definitely something more than that. Overall it is a movie worth watching and definitely listening to the soundtrack.