Archive of films Old Boy / Old Boy

South Korea
2003, 119 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2004

A mysterious story about an abduction, murders, capricious imprisonment, long-past transgressions, and surprising interpersonal relationships which makes one think about the measure by which the need for revenge is a natural and legitimate desire of a person wronged.

Synopsis

The abduction of Dae-su took place right in front of his own home, where until then he´d lived quietly with his family. In some kind of strange house imprisonment he learns from the television that his wife was brutally murdered and that he is suspected of the crime. He spends fifteen years in a dark room, until he one day suddenly finds himself a free man. From that moment he determines to take revenge on his unknown jailer. With the help of young Mido he finds him, but the man gradually convinces Dae-su of the possible justice of his actions. This intricate drama, in which the fatal bonds are finally revealed between Dae-su and Mido, is full of tension and mystery, but according to the director is primarily a consideration about revenge, a desire which everyone experiences but few realise, because society repudiates it as negative and destructive.

About the director

Park Chan-wook (b. 1963, South Korea) graduated in philosophy from university in Sogang. Soon after leaving school he began to focus on film. From a theoretical point of view he is interested in the rules of various film genres and the phenomenon of what is described as the "cult film". He made his debut with The Moon Is…the Sun´s Dream (1992). He has so far made seven films, some of them shorts, a number which have been shown at major international festivals (Berlin, Cannes, Clermont-Ferrand). His filmography includes: Judgment (1999) and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002). Old Boy (2003), treating the theme of revenge, is loosely linked with the preceding film; it took Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes.

Contacts

Cineclick Asia
3F Incline Bldg., 891-37 Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, 135-280, Seoul
Korea (Republic of)
Tel: +82 2 538 0211, 12
Fax: +82 2 538 0479
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.cineclickasia.com

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Park Chan-wook
Screenplay:	Park Chan-wook, Hwang Jo-yun, Lim Joon-hyung
Dir. of Photography:	Chung Chung-hoon
Music:	Cho Young-wuk
Editor:	Kim Sang-bum
Producer:	Kim Dong-joo
Production:	Show East Co. Ltd.
Cast:	Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Gang Hye-jung
Contact:	Cineclick Asia

www:	www.cineclickasia.com

Guests

Michelle Son

Producer