The most famous South Korean film “Oldboy” returns on the big screen in the status of a cult. The Thriller about the avenger in search of truth brought the Director world fame and the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. In Minsk, the masterpiece of Korean cinema will be released in a restored 4K version. The film will be shown from January 23 to 29 at the Silver Screen Galileo and VOKA CINEMA by Silver Screen, and on February 5 at the Falcon Club Cinema Boutique.
Oh Dae-su, an ordinary family man, is kidnapped by unknown people. He wakes up in a tiny room that will become his prison for years to come. Who hates him so fiercely, what a madman has condemned him to a monstrous imprisonment? After 15 years, he is released. He dreams of revenge. Equipped with money and a cellphone he receives a call from a stranger who has started another nightmarish game. Filled with a feeling of revenge, Oh Dae-su tries to break a dark secret…
“Violence hurts both the abuser and the victim. My job is to broadcast this pain to the audience. The avenger, even when he gets satisfaction, still feels guilty – that’s my main idea, “ – said Park Chan-wook about the film. Revenge is a favorite theme of many famous Directors: Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Luc Besson and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, but Park Chan-wook managed to show it subtle, original and deep in his own way.
The Thriller is the second film of Park Chan-wook unofficial series The Vengeance Trilogy including Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003) and Lady Vengeance (2005). In 2019, at the Busan International Film Festival, Park Chan-wook gave a master class and announced that he was planning to continue his Vengeance Trilogy with another film, but this time not in Korea, but in the West.
The Thriller is the second film of Park Chan-wook unofficial series The Vengeance Trilogy including Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003) and Lady Vengeance (2005). In 2019, at the Busan International Film Festival, Park Chan-wook gave a master class and announced that he was planning to continue his Vengeance Trilogy with another film, but this time not in Korea, but in the West.
The South Korean action film won not only the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Oldboy was also nominated for the Palme d’Or: jury president Quentin Tarantino pushed for the film to be awarded. Park Chan-wook’s film was also nominated for the Screen International Award at the European Film Awards, the Saturn and Georges awards. The lead role in the film was played by Choi Min-Sik twice a nominated for the European Film Award in 2013 and 2015.
Igor Sukmanov, Director of the Listapad Feature Film Competition and film critic, says: “Oldboy oversteps red lines, but only as a therapeutic tool for reasonable public, which will perceive the film not just as a perverted attraction, but as a warning about the bomb that ticks treacherously in our souls.” Film critic Anton Dolin calls Oldboy a “wild, beautiful movie”. “A stunning transformation of a revenge story into a love story,” writes the critic Egor Moskvitin. Andrey Plakhov notes that “there is no such a furious drive and such a dynamic plot even in a post-Tarantino movie.” “Invigorating as a slap in the face, bloody, sarcastic and just very bold,” – sums up Alisa Taezhnaya.