The Barbeardian

I watched Oldboy for the first time with fellow barbeardian Patrick about four years ago. Strangely, it was available to rent (borrow?) from our school's library, so one rainy afternoon, he and I sat in his dorm room, popped it in, and watched. The movie begins with the main character holding a man over a rooftop ledge by his tie--this is the point where I realized this rainy afternoon was about to get weird.

Imagine being kidnapped, imprisoned in a bizarrely furnished room (complete with a TV and bathroom) for 15 years, then released without warning and told that you have five days to find out why. Also imagine that during your imprisonment, you find out your wife has been murdered and the police think it's you. This is the story of Oh Dae-su, a simple businessman whose life changes for the absolute worst in one drunken night. He spends 15 years completely alone with no one to tell him why. When he attempts suicide, knockout gas comes through the ventilation system and he wakes up hours later, the cuts on his wrists magically bandaged. When he eats, it's the same meal shoved through a slot in the door, three times a day. When he watches TV (basically all the time), he learns of the world around him moving on without his presence. Then, one day, he wakes up in a box. On a rooftop. The very spot he was kidnapped 15 years ago.

I won't say any more than that, but if you haven't seen it, you're in for a goddamned treat.

My Fists of Friday pick for this week is a scene in which Oh Dae-su fights a bunch of dudes with a hammer. Without giving too much away, he's tracked down one of his captors (kind of), ripped out most of his teeth with said hammer, and is now preparing to fight the numerous goons blocking his exit. The big thing to remember before watching: starting at around 0:30, the scene is all one take. It took 17 takes over three days total, and the only edit is the knife in Oh Dae-su's back (it was CGI).

 

Realistic, brutal, and unrelenting. Oh Dae-su gets his ass handed to him, but he gets up and he keeps going. He gets a knife shoved in his back and it barely phases him (note the henchman breaking a 2x4 on the protruding knife handle). This is a man whose only motivations are revenge and curiosity, and he won't stop until he satisfies both.