Award-winning Korean film Oldboy on Cinema One

MANILA, Philippines - An intense and surreal experience is in store for viewers tomorrow, Sept. 8, as the “Tagalized” version of the 2004 Cannes Grand Prix award-winning South Korean film Oldboy hits Philippine television via the Blockbuster Sundays movie block of Cinema One.

Starring Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae and Kang Hye-jung, Oldboy goes into the life of an average man who is kidnapped and imprisoned in a shabby cell without any explanation. After a grueling 15 years, he is then released, eager to arrive at an explanation for what had been done to him. However, it turns out that his kidnapper has a bigger plan for him, equipping him with money, a cellphone and expensive clothes — aside from an odd assignment that he is required to complete. He is then thrown into a turbulent path of pain and suffering in an attempt to uncover the motives of his mysterious tormentor.

Directed by Chan Wook-park, Oldboy received high acclaim internationally, even taking home the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival in France. It particularly received high praise from the president of the jury at the time, director Quentin Tarantino. Famous American film critic Rogert Ebert said that Oldboy is a “powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare,” revealed in the way that the film’s main character is pushed to his limits. Oldboy was also named by voters on CNN as part of the 10 Best Asian Films ever made.

Due to its popularity, a Hollywood remake of Oldboy is also set for release this year, under the direction of Spike Lee.

Cinema One’s Blockbuster Sundays airs at 8 p.m.