Some gossip about revenge, incest and movies

Hellen 2021-10-13 13:05:41

Since "Old Boy" was awarded the Jury Prize by Quentin at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, it has been continuously praised and sought after. It seems natural to be respected as a new generation of Cult film classics. However, what I have to say is that, as far as the text is concerned, there are many things that cannot be considered in this film. It is a typical film whose form is greater than its content. Speaking of form greater than content, I would like to mention "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou. This film is also praised by the American director Quentin, but in the hearts of movie fans (especially Chinese fans), the latter is nothing but a bunch of exquisite garbage. It can't be compared with the suspense and topicality carefully designed by "Old Boy". When people criticized "Hero", the most frequently mentioned issues were the flashy beauty of form and the emptiness of content, but they completely ignored the innovation of its film language. Here, the moon in South Korea is rounder than that in China, and some of the psychological problems of the Chinese people involved in it are worth exploring. However, due to the limited space of this article, I will not discuss it for the time being. I will briefly talk about the two key words of "Old Boy": revenge and incest.

(1) Revenge "Old Boy" is intuitively a story of two-way revenge. First is Li Yuzhen's revenge, and then there is Wu Daxiu's revenge in the meantime. To talk about the flaws in the text of "Old Boy", we must focus the discussion on Li's revenge (because he has always been the initiator of revenge). Note: This is not to discuss the issue of piercing the film, but the irrationality of the script text. The central question is: Li's revenge should not be directed at Wu Daxiu so clearly.

The direct purpose of Li's revenge is to avenge his sister's death. Why did my sister die? Li's answer is: because of Wu's long tongue. But is the truth just like this? Wu went to Seoul after telling Juhuan about the incest incident between his brother and sister he had witnessed. Subsequent incidents proved that Zhuhuan must tell the matter to others, and it was spread ten to ten, which eventually led to her sister's "pregnancy" and suicide. The object of Li's revenge here should not be directed to Wu alone, but to all the participants who spread the rumors. In the face of the ultimate antagonism between brother and sister incest and secular morality, it is obvious that Li wants to avenge not only Wu Daxiu, but the entire secularity. However, secularism is such a huge concept. In order to find a clear target for his own revenge, Li reluctantly chose to cover the whole with partiality and retaliate against Wu Daxiu to resist the whole society. Of course, we know that this is a necessary move for the director to make the whole story stand up, but we have to say that this kind of far-fetching makes the movie drop by a notch. Social issues are just gimmicks, and the plot only serves the language of the film, typical movie about movie, and Quentin’s "Kill Bill" is the same.

(2) Incest

What an eye-catching vocabulary! An aesthetician once said: "The greatest tragedy of mankind is that a father falls in love with his daughter." A philosopher added: "The bottom line of human civilization is incest." The above remarks have all tried to show that fathers fall in love with their daughters. (Or younger brother falling in love with sister) is anti-moral, even anti-human. The tragedy of the two pairs of characters in "Old Boy" also lies in their unacceptable feelings. Abandon the worldly pressure without mentioning this mountain, let's see how the protagonist hangs himself on his feelings.

If Li accepts his love for his sister, he will not let her sister commit suicide by falling off the bridge, let alone retaliate against Wu in such an extreme way. He will make Wu fall in love with his daughter and increase Wu’s suffering in this way. The inner negation of this feeling.

If Wu accepts his feelings for his daughter, he will not exchange his tongue for his daughter's ignorance, and if he really does not exchange his tongue for his daughter's ignorance, Li's entire revenge plan will naturally go bankrupt.

Here, please allow me to compare homosexuality, because most of the tragedies of homosexuality also stem from their own non-acceptance and self-denial. Let's watch Lee Ang's two GAY films "The Wedding Banquet" and "Brokeback Mountain". The former created a veritable "wedding banquet" because of the protagonist's calmness in facing his own sexual orientation, while the tragedy of the latter was somewhat caused by Ennis's self-denial. Another example is "American Beauty". The whole movie is full of Americans' spiritual crisis. Who is the happiest and happiest character in the whole movie? In fact, it was the gay couple who introduced themselves to others frankly and accompanied them for morning exercises every morning. And the officer who despised homosexuality on the surface, but clearly he was a homosexual, destroyed himself by destroying others at the same time. He is undoubtedly the most painful of all people in the film. So, the real tragedy lies in whether you can climb your own "broken back mountain." Li Yuzhen bases his pain on the pain of others. He is actually a very disgusting person.

In short, "Old Boy" is a movie for people who love movies. If you want to find a world of self-reliance in the movie, look for other movies.

View more about Oldboy reviews

Extended Reading
  • Caitlyn 2021-10-20 18:59:10

    I like the sad postmodern ant sitting in the subway.

  • Idella 2022-03-23 09:01:05

    Is this movie really good? It’s a bit scary but more sharp. In this regard, Korean movies are still more profound than Chinese movies.

Oldboy quotes

  • Dae-su Oh: If by any chance Mido should find out the truth, you son of a bitch, I'm going to rip you limb from limb. And your remains will never be found. Why? Because I'm going to swallow every last bit.

  • Dae-su Oh: [Dae Su is on his knees. Begging] Please. Don't tell Mido. What has she done wrong? You know it was all my fault... I have committed an unforgivable sin, against your sister. And I also... Did you wrong. Please leave Mido alone... If by any chance Mido finds out the truth, you son of a bitch, I'll tear you limb from limb. And your remains will never be found. Why? Because I'm going to swallow every last bit.

    [Crawls over to Woo-Jin and starts to grovel to Woo-Jin]

    Dae-su Oh: Woo-Jin! Please, sir, I made a mistake. Please forget what I said. Sir, Woo-Jin!

    [Raises up on his knees to face Woo-Jin]

    Dae-su Oh: We're Evergreen Oldboys, remember?

    [singing]

    Dae-su Oh: With the energy of a green pine tree/The Great Sangnok High...

    [Grabbing hold of Woo-Jin's leg. Begging, and weeping]

    Dae-su Oh: I'll do whatever you want. I'll do anything, I beg you. Woo-Jin, if you want me to be your dog. I will. From this moment on, I am Woo-Jin's dog. I'm your bitch.

    [Starts barking maniacally like a dog]

    Dae-su Oh: Look, I'm wagging my tail. I'm a dog, I'll guard your house. I'll be your slave...

    [Starts crying frantically, and falls to Woo-Jin's feet. He begins to lick his shoes... Humiliated... defeated...]