11. Oldboy
A man is imprisoned for fifteen years, released and never told why any of his experience took place. That is the premise of Oldboy and man, does get crazy from there. During those fifteen years, the man, Oh Dae-suh, trained his body and is focused on revenge. Throughout the film Oh Dae-suh goes on a methodical journey to find the person responsible for his imprisonment. Somewhere around the middle of the film however, the tone changes from thriller to tragedy. Oh Dae-suh learns about his past through “mental and physical anguish and poetic justice (Roger Ebert).” Is the end of Oldboy shocking and horrifying? Yes, but it is also a cautionary tail about the mistakes that we make when we are young. Sometimes our actions do come back to bite us, even if it takes countless years. The ending is improbable in its intricacy, but it is not impossible and it is not unmotivated.
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