Oasis (2002)
What a brilliant film and an amazing story. Performance by So-ri Moon who's character has severe cerebral palsy, is honestly astonishing. One of the best Korean films I've seen so far.
WOW! I took your recommendation and watched
Oasis last night. It's easily one of the best films I've experienced in the past couple of years. I can see why this film won so many awards, and in specific how the female lead, So-ri Moon, won the Marcello Mastroianni award at Venice!
Ironically I almost bailed after the first 5-10 minutes, thinking that I had no interest in a tale about some simpleton. But all of a sudden the story drew me in, and by the time he encountered the disabled girl, I was hooked.
It's not my usual cup of tea to volunteer for emotional connection with sorrowful or unfortunate characters. But Moon's overwhelming portrayal of Gong-ju Han, a young woman with severe spastic cerebral palsy who has been more or less banished to a small apartment by her family so that her brother can cheat the welfare system, grabbed me pretty hard.
The other breathtaking performance was by Kyung-gu Sol, who plays a mentally disabled free spirit who was just released from penitentiary for a crime he didn't commit, but who seeks out the family of the person killed in an auto accident by his brother. In a way Sol's portrayal was even more invested than was Moon's.
The actions of each of the pair, along with their interactions together, are some of the finest and most moving portrayals that I've seen.
The writing and direction by Chang-dong Lee is of the highest caliber, as is the film's immediate supporting cast. My only minor detraction would be the ending, which could have been resolved differently, but yet was acceptable. In fact one could imagine a sequel, but since the film was from 2002, that's very unlikely.
Based on this work, I'll be investigating other pictures by Lee, Moon and Sol.
I agree with your rating, SL: 9/10 from me.