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Author Topic: Oasis  (Read 1827 times)

worm@work

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Oasis
« on: April 17, 2008, 06:10:32 PM »
OASIS
Chang-Dong Lee (2002)

Despite strong performances by the lead pair and a couple of really nice fantasy sequences, this movie just left me cold. No, scratch that, it actually left me a little upset and irritated. There's a major plot twist that I found extremely disturbing but even without that, I suspect the movie wouldn't have worked for me. I didn't quite see the need for the big reveal that Jong-Du actually took the rap for something his brother did especially given that he had two other prior convictions as well. That didn't in any way help me resolve the moral ambiguity in the relationship between Jong-Du & Gong-ju. 
The final plot twist seemed rather melodramatic and contrived so as to ensure a poignant sad ending. Overall, I found the movie rather disappointing.

Score: 5/10

samfuller

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Re: Oasis
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2008, 06:33:14 AM »
I completely disagree. This is one of my favorite films of the decade by one of my favorite directors. I think it is the best tradition of melodramatic films dealing with the difficulty of living in a repressive social environment. Lee's style, like that of other great directors of melodrama (Mizoguchi, Ophuls, Sirk, Fassbinder) creates an analytical distance while still providing emotional power.

And I'm not sure what you mean by "plot twist". You make it sound like The Usual Suspects or something. The plot develops very logically out of the story, in my opinion, and never felt like a "twist" to me.

worm@work

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Re: Oasis
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2008, 10:25:19 AM »
Am glad the movie worked for you but I'm afraid it didn't for me! I guess the idea that a rape victim would call her perpertrator to seek comfort and companionship seemed like a twist to me and one that I found both disturbing and incredible. It's not his style I have a problem with. However, I found the plot exploitative and the ending just downright stupid. Several scenes just felt jarring to me... one I mentioned earlier where it is revealed to us that Jong-du went to prison for a crime he didn't commit or the one where Jong-du's brother decides to give him a thrashing. These scenes disrupted the flow of the movie for me and felt like they were there just to remind us that our protagonists are being mistreated by their families. They didn't flow seamlessly with the rest of the story.

samfuller

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Re: Oasis
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2008, 01:37:57 PM »
To say that you don't have a problem with the style of the film is a pretty big qualifier. Yes, the film's content could have been exploitative if handled differently. It's all in the treatment. And to argue against the film solely on the basis of the plot being unrealistic would disqualify an awful lot of great cinema, especially within the genre of melodrama.

But even on the level of your plot criticisms, there are problems. The film is not simply about these two characters and their relationship with each other. It is about Korean society, especially middle-class society and its hypocrisies. These characters do not live in a vacuum. And yes, Jong-du is a deeply flawed character. But, it should be noted, while he does try to assault her, he does stop and does not rape her. Like everyone else in her life, he tries to exploit her handicap. But, unlike everyone else, he stops and recognizes her will and does not follow through on the exploitation. Is it still disturbing that she would easily forgive him? Of course, it's meant to be. Is it incredible? Given her situation and isolation, not really.

Knowing the Korean context is important as well. People with mental and physical disabilities are treated very poorly, and it is very common for a family structure to be hierarchical and for siblings regarded as misfits to be valued less than others, as is the case with both Jong-du and Gong-ju. If you have lived in Korea for any length of time I don't think the plot will feel ridiculous, and many film critics here, especially on the left, were very high in their praise of Lee's social commentary (a feature of all of his films). The story is heightened, yes (almost all films are), but what it is saying about this society is not inaccurate.

bromidictirades

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Re: Oasis
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2011, 04:28:25 AM »
I didn't quite see the need for the big reveal that Jong-Du actually took the rap for something his brother did especially given that he had two other prior convictions as well. That didn't in any way help me resolve the moral ambiguity in the relationship between Jong-Du & Gong-ju. 

I don't think the revelation about who really killed Gong-ju's father was meant in any way to resolve the moral ambiguity in Jong-du and Gong-ju's relationship. I believe it was meant to show something about the relationship between Jong-Du, his brother and his entire family.

The sexual assault on Gong-ju is unforgivable. I wouldn't argue that anything that happens in the film resolves that or makes it OK.

The film shows that every single person in Gong-ju's life is exploiting her. Her family, her neighbor caregivers...none of them see Gong-ju as a fully realized human being. Jong-Du exploits her, but he also treats her like a human being. The idea that Gong-ju would call and seek comfort from someone who attacked her is disturbing and incredible. However, given the context of her life I don't find it unbelievable. She lives in a dank apartment all alone without any real care or stimulation just listening to the radio all day. Her neighbor, the person we are told has the most interaction with her...brings a lover over and when the lover says that Gong-ju is watching, her neighbor (I believe) says something like "it doesn't matter" or "she doesn't matter". She has no way to leave the apartment on her own to make friends, and has no reason to believe she ever will. Jong-du notices her and compliments her. He asks her to call him. He sees her as a person, even in his violent crime. In this context I can understand why Gong-ju reaches out to Jong-du. I think her reaching out to him is a statement about how poorly treated she is by everyone in her life, how lonely and isolated she is. People do all sorts of things that don't make sense so that they can feel alive or loved. I think the film shows this flawed relationship with an understanding eye but does not condone it.

The film is definitely operating in grey areas...it is hard to talk about it in politically correct terms. However, can't people do bad things and still exhibit some humanity? Can't we see how horrible everyone in this film is to each other, and still explore what emotions are motivating them without interpreting the act of exploration as a blanket stamp of approval for everything that occurs in the film? I agree with samfuller that we are doing the film an injustice if we do not adjust our cultural attitudes.

Furthermore, my impression from the film was that Gong-ju probably does not have an intellectual impairment, but perhaps only a physical one. Jong-du on the other hand, seems like he may have an invisible, undiagnosed development disability. I would characterize him as troubled and cognitively challenged rather than someone with evil intentions.

It doesn't sound right, it doesn't feel right, it is very hard to accept...but the reality (in the film at least) is that both Jong-Du and Gong-ju are enriched by having each other in their lives.

I hesitate to even post this. As I said it is hard to discuss the film in politically correct terms. I'm afraid I'll be misinterpreted or misunderstood. I'm not a very eloquent person.

Life as Fiction

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Re: Oasis
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2011, 01:23:45 AM »
Been a while since I've seen this, but love the film.  It's hard to watch but quite rewarding, and Lee stays slightly ahead of Park Chan-wook for my favorite Korean director.  Regarding Jong-du taking the rap: It shows that while he's slow, he's still capable of both emotion and ultimate rationality.  He cares even though one wouldn't assume so by just meeting him.  Moreover, Gong-ju has nobody else in her life.  Her loneliness is so direct that even an attempted rape is worth something to her.  It shows someone cares for her, or at least her body, and considering how she's coiled up due to her disability, her dreams of being with a man as a normal woman are, in some ways, fulfilled.  It's the best unconventional romance I know of, and I recommend to everyone wholeheartedly.  Or, at least to those who're brave enough for a love story that can make you feel a lot of pain before happiness.

 

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