Old Boy

It’s just after midnight, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to do this film justice. I’m also afraid I won’t be able to sleep.

This film makes David Fincher’s excellent The Game look like a friendly game of lawn bowls. A man is kidnapped, then locked up for 15 years. Then he’s released, given a new set of clothes, spending money and a mobile phone. He doesn’t know who locked him up, or why.

Once released, he sets about to answer a few questions he’s had, and exact revenge on the person or persons who locked him up. Revenge, however, is a double-edged sword, and soon our hero finds out that while his answers were correct, the questions he asked were wrong.

This film is very full-on. There are some very graphic moments in here. The festival director said during his introduction, by way of preparing us, that we wouldn’t look at octopus or dentists in the same way again. True. We are shown a novel method of tooth extraction. In the midst of this mindfuck thriller, there were some brilliant comedic moments, mostly at the expense of our poor hero, and they provided welcome relief to the tension. The seamless blending of styles reminded me in some ways of a Miike film, but was much more single-minded in its storytelling. A few scenes are even reminiscent of what would happen if Peter Greenaway were to direct and choreograph a fight sequence.

I want to say more about this film, by way of convincing you, gentle reader, to see it, but I don’t want to spoil anything. So far, this is my personal pick of the festival. It’s that good.