Well, I’ve had nine days to work since the last blog, which is definitely the most time we’ve had in between two Day 6’s, and I have done…*drum roll please*…almost nothing!
And before I brief you this week’s procrastination, I would like to say on behalf of many of the sophomores, this month has been actual hell. I’m sure that many of the sophomores would agree that the amount and the difficulty of this month’s workload has surpassed all previous months of the school year. While a crappy work ethic definitely doesn’t help, the amount of cortisol released through my brain is absolutely redonkulous.
So, I was planning to watch and analyze a movie and then paint the poster this week, but although that didn’t happen, I did get some of it done
This week’s movie is….
Title: Oldboy
Director: Park Chan-Wook
Starring: Choi Min-Sik | Yoo Ji-Tae
Date Released: November 21st, 2003
In case you couldn’t tell by the names, this is a Korean movie. I watched this movie recently (early February), and it was one of the most psychotic and shocking movies I have seen. Not only was the plot unique and twisted, but the acting by Choi Min-Sik (a very famous Korean actor) was both breathtaking and powerful.
I’ve decided that I’m going to follow the same process I went through for the first movie in order to analyze and minimize this movie.
Step #1: Minimizing the Movie
I not only had to think about which scenes were the most memorable or entertaining, but also which best contributed to an overarching message or theme that the director was trying to express. With this in mind, I managed to choose only three scenes even though there were many more that could’ve made the list. Again, I will not be explaining these in detail so that I don’t spoil anything for you guys and gals.
(**WARNING: There may be explicit language and spoilers**)
(**THE FOLLOWING SCENES ARE VIOLENT AND GRAPHIC AND MAY BE DISTURBING. WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK**)
- Ant Hallucination Scenes (This will work in Microsoft Edge, not Google Chrome) (Also, I could only find one video so I've given you a picture of the other)
- Hall Fight Scene (This will work in Microsoft Edge, not Google Chrome)
- Tongue Cutting Scene (I decided not to put the video in here because it is very disturbing and graphic and someone is going to watch it and report it and I’m going to get in trouble. Images also may have been too graphic so I'm leaving up to you to watch the movie and this amazing scene)
Step #2: Analyzing the Scenes
Below, I analyzed each of the three scenes for their individual themes and messages through my interpretation of the movie.
- The Ant Hallucinations represent the effect of loneliness and the desire to have a companion
- “Yeah, if you’re alone, you see ants”. This is a quote from the movie said by Mi-Do, a female character who encounters Oh Dae-Su and they become close friends/lovers. Both have been lonely for a while now. She claims that it is because ants move in groups and the desire to be accompanied by someone else manifests into these hallucinations. The darker tone in these scenes helps to better reveal the effect of isolation. This longing for love is repeated throughout the movie and it is the backbone of the conflict and psychotic nature within the film
- The world will try to stop you from reaching your end goal, but you must persevere
- Park Chan-Wook provides one of the more raw fight scenes in a while. In fact, you get a “Fight Club” kind of vibe from the dark and dirty hallway in which they fight and from the lack of flashy choreography. From the interesting, yet perfect, camera angle in which the camera pans parallel to the hallway by following Oh Dae-Su (the main character), the audience is able to see the long and painful journey he had to take to make it out of that hallway. Yet, Oh Dae-Su’s determination and grit is evident in how he manages to continue on through all the blows. This scene mirrors the movie which tells the story of Oh Dae-Su’s redemption and how he manages to push on despite having faced some of the most traumatizing experiences.
- A person is willing to take desperate measures in order to protect the ones they love
- There are two prevalent messages in what has become one of my favorite scenes of all time but I will only comment on one of them because the other might spoil this uniquely demented movie. Towards the end of the movie, Oh Dae-Su faces the antagonist in the film, and to show his desperation and sincerity, he cuts off his tongue with scissors in order to protect Mi-Do. Yet, Park Chan-Wook never actually shows the tongue getting cut off. The frame starts with a shot of Oh Dae-Su’s eyes and the insanity and desperation within them. It then pans across to his bloody hands which holds the scissors and for a what seem like ages, we cringely watch as Oh Dae-Su slowly closes the two finger holes of the scissors, mimicking the power and creativity of Tarantino’s Ear Cutting Scene in Reservoir Dogs. The director makes a masterful and symbolic choice of showing these things because it helps to emphasize the willingness of Oh Dae-Su and how he was able to clasp the scissor together in order to protect Mi-Do.
After an internal civil war over these scenes, I have chosen the Tongue Cutting Scene to be the basis of my minimal movie poster this week. This scene which only lasts a few seconds, has two main shot, and, no dialogue was packed with emotions I will never forget. I felt that the powerful and raw plotline had been building up to this scene where we see the basic and humble aspects of Oh Dae-Su’s character. This scene is not only hard for the stomach to handle, but it also embodies certain aspects of human nature and strips down everything to show us love, honor, and sacrifice in its bare form.
I was planning to get the painting done by this week but that didn’t happen. Clearly. So be ready for a bonus blog over the weekend about this painting.
Thank you to the three people who will probably read this.
Movie Recommendation #4:
Title: It’s Such A Beautiful Day
Director: Don Hertzfeldt
Starring: Don Hertzfeldt
Date Released: August 24, 2012
Sources:
I really like the analysis of these movies. I think you do a really good job of hitting on the major points of the movie and finding the most important scenes. Does this mean that we will have a poster with a bloody tongue on it? Because I think that would be really cool. I think this poster has the potential to evoke a lot of emotion from your audience. I will definitely watch this movie so I can understand the poster. Great work so far!
ReplyDeleteHey Matt! I agree with Michael, you do a great job of analyzing the movies that you watch. I didn't watch any of the videos you linked because I'm a big baby, but your analysis says it all! I also think that your blog is very relatable and I enjoy reading it!
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