This emotionally complex zombie film is anchored by memorable performances by Gong Yoo as Seok-woo, a work-obsessed father trying to get his daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an) to her mother’s house in Basan, and Ma Dong-seok as Sang-hwa, a tough, muscle-bound man traveling with his pregnant wife, Seong-kyeong (Jun Yu-mi). The film also touches on the true meaning of parenthood, redemption, and finding the will to survive in the face of certain death. Taking place primarily on a bullet train headed towards the city of Busan, the film explores ideas such as the treatment of impoverished citizens, how they’re viewed by society’s elites, and how in one shape or form, death is coming for all us.
In 2016, Yeon Sang-ho gave international audiences one of the most engaging, emotional, and terrifying zombie movies to be released in the past 20+ years with Train To Busan. One thing that is for sure is that Old Boy gives us one of the most gratifying single-take shots in all of cinema in the infamous hallway fight scene. Without giving too much away, the twist at the end of this film is one that we’re still talking about 17 years after the film was first released.
This journey takes audiences to places they never thought they could or wanted to go once they get there. Old Boy goes into overdrive once Oh is released from his confinement and attempts to find the person, or persons, responsible for his capture 15 years earlier. Over the course of his imprisonment in a hotel room, Oh spends his time training, planning, and contemplating the life decisions that led him there. This action-packed, traumatic, and at points, disgusting movie, tells the story of Oh Dae-su (Choi Mink-ski), who has been imprisoned for the past 15 years for reasons unknown to him. Released in 2003, Park Chan-wook’s Old Boy (not to be confused with 2013 American remake by Spike Lee), is perhaps one of the most gutting movies I have ever seen.