Oasis

Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama  |  Foreign  |  Romance

Written by: Lee Chang-dong

Directed by: Lee Chang-dong

Release Date:
Theatrical: May 7, 2004
DVD: November 23, 2004

Running Time: 132 minutes, Color

Origin: South Korea

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Sol Kyung-gu, Moon So-ri, Ahn Nae-sang, Ryoo Seung-wan, Chu Kwi-Jung, Son Byung-ho, Yun Ga-hyun, and Park Myung-shin

A hardened ex-con falls for a severely disabled woman in this psychological drama.

Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Korean Film Forum Profile

What The Critics Said

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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ed B. gave it a9:
A daring, disturbing film encompassing practically every universal theme and emotion facing any human being. This film takes the concept of the literary "fool" and twists it a turn tighter, in a wrenching portrayal of taboo love, family, deceipt, betrayal, prejudice, exploitation, sibling rivalry, misapprehension, public humiliation, greed, guilt, shame, and at the very least Hope, truly a masterpiece of story-telling, told with so little guile and pretension as to be almost child-like in its innocence. The Oscar-deserving scene of the public, psychological melt-down by the leading male actor at the birthday dinner is a performance of a lifetime and stunning in its emotional clarity. This film puts to shame almost everything coming out of Hollywood these days.

Jake gave it a3:
Another dishonest film about mental retardation and physical disability, meant to flatter the audience with its own (presumed) benevolence, in contrast to the unfeeling or selfish characters in the film. The male character is evidently mentally retarded, but his traits and behavior belong strictly to the movies. The woman apparently has cerebral palsy, but with normal intelligence. Consequently, the "affair" between makes no sense, unless (like the filmmaker) you can't distingiush between physical and mental disability. I can only suggest that the critics who loved the film devote time to caring for a severely disabled person, and see if their experience conforms to this nonsensical film.

Chad S. gave it a 9:
"Oasis" is "Pumpkin" with a straight face, a take-no-prisoners portrait of loving, really loving, the disabled. Our (anti-)hero reminded me of Arnold Friedman. Both men are guilty, but they're guilty for the wrong crime. What prompts the love affair between Jong-du (Sol Kyung-gu) and Gong-ju (Moon So-ri), plays like a variation of the male nurse/woman in a coma coupling in Pedro Almadovar's "Talk to Her", but here, the cretin redeems himself, sort of. Director Lee Chang-Dong will be accused of being tasteless when Jong-du and Gong-ju consumate their love, but it's a test for the audience, I think. We join the people in "Oasis" who treat the cerebal palsy like they're mentally impaired. Gong-ju projects a double, a normal and healthy woman, which is Chang-Dong's way to convey that the affair is composed of two consenting adults. "Oasis" is an amazing film. Moon So-ri make Cuba "Radio" Gooding and Dustin "Rainman" Hoffman look like amateurs in depicting the "handicapped". "Oasis" is one of South Korea's many calling cards as a major player in the international film marketplace.

Hendar P. gave it a 9:
This is a very heart-breaking, tears-shedding, and taboo-wrenching romance film! An unlikely piece of being "fall in love."