Oldboy's father will change the South Korean movie business
TechnologyBit News Today2 min read
In an uncommon move, the Cannes Film Festival chose Oldboy for competition the very next May—a mere six months after its release in South Korea. The jury with director Quentin Tarantino as the president awarded Oldboy with the Grand Prix, the festival's second-most prestigious prize.
Cannes has since invited Park to participate in the competition two more times. He entered the competition with Thirst, which earned the Jury Prize in 2009, and later with Fingersmith.
Though starting out as a commercial venture, Oldboy gained recognition for its artistry upon its Cannes selection, establishing Park as a director with both artistic and commercial success at home and abroad.
The film's success highlighted a young generation of talent
Oldboy also served as an early showcase for crew members and performers who went on to become major figures in Korean cinema. As director Han Sun-hee's documentary about the film's production, titled Old Days , revealed during a screening at the 17th Jeonju International Film Festival, the main actors and staff recalled how the film was produced over a decade ago.
The crew was young and inexperienced in lead production roles, and many were still unsure whether they would pursue long-term careers in film.
Kang Hye-jung secured the role of Mi-do after going across the street from her audition to borrow a sashimi knife from a Japanese restaurant. Additionally, stage actor Oh Dal-soo took on his first speaking role in a movie.
The cast and crew featured in the documentary agreed that they could never repeat the experience, and Kang recalled that they were all crazy. Han stated that the Korean movie industry's heavy emphasis on experience creates structural barriers for newcomers in their early to mid-thirties.
Oldboy was not the only notable film released in 2003. In a vote by subscribers of the weekly magazine Cine21 for "Film of the Year," Save the Green Planet took first place, followed by Memories of Murder, Jealousy Is My Middle Name, and A Good Lawyer's Wife, while Oldboy placed fifth. In 2003, progressive leadership held social and cultural sway as President Roh Moo-hyun succeeded President Kim Dae-jung, helping propel Korean cinema into a golden era as an industry structure built in the 1990s merged with artistic creativity.
Control over Korean films subsequently moved from producers and actors to well-funded major corporations. With rising budgets, the industry has prioritized mainstream titles tailored to general audiences over creative risks.
Film critic Oh Dong-jin said, " Oldboy was like the inflection point of a commercial art film."
While South Korea continues to produce capable directors and producers, corporate-owned financiers and distributors no longer ensure their autonomy, turning out conventional titles that rely heavily on genre formulas.
