Restored and remastered, Park Chan-wook’s seminal 2003 film returns to theaters this August. A loose adaptation of the Japanese manga of the same name, the film follows the story of Oh Dae-su, who is imprisoned in a cell which resembles a hotel room for 15 years without knowing his captor’s identity or motives. Firmly ensconced in cult status, OLDBOY came to be synonymous with the burgeoning “Asia Extreme” sub-genre of the aughts, and went on to inspire a 2013 remake from Spike Lee.
“Worth noting that it’s a far funnier film than its reputation would suggest, mixing tragedy and pitch-black humour from the jump. The chief pleasure and horror of this film lies in Park’s slow twisting of the knife into Dae-su’s side, taking away any kind of temporary satisfaction with each new humiliation — the final turn being the most improbable and deliriously twisted.” —Kambole Campbell, Little White Lies
“Shakespearean in its violence, OLDBOY also calls up nightmare images of spiritual and physical isolation that are worthy of Samuel Beckett or Dostoyevsky.” —Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal