Directed with immense flair by Park Chan-wook (The Handmaiden) and presented here in the 2019 remastered version, Oldboy blazed a trail at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival where it was lauded by the President of the Jury, director Quentin Tarantino.
Oh Dae-Su (the brilliant Choi Min-Sik) is kidnapped off the street and held captive in a small room for 15 years. It is there that he learns his wife has died and that he is suspected of murdering her. When he is released, unexpectedly and without reason, he decides to hunt down his assailants. His life in tatters, everyone he knew having forgotten him, all that remains is his desire to reek vengeance upon the people who took his life away from him. But no sooner has he picked up on the kidnappers’ scent, he finds himself hurtling into a world of violent thugs, twisted personalities and secrets he might wish he’d never uncovered.
BBFC Certified 18
★★★★★ “This is cinema that holds an edge of cold steel against your throat” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
