My Review of OLDBOY (2003)

(8:00 PM): The four of us are assembled on the couch, ready to watch. We're giddy with anticipation. Let me be clear, we are fully prepared to pay any amount for this movie. This group viewing has been a long time coming and we're all very excited. So naïve...

(8:05 PM): We've checked Amazon, Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and Google play, the movie can't be found. I'm still retaining a façade of optimism, against the wishes of my sinking gut feeling

(8:08 PM): The VPN has been switched on so that we can see if Oldboy is in another country's Netflix or Amazon catalog. Everywhere we look holds nothing but disappointment

(8:15 PM): We've made an account on Shudder. A second computer has been opened for maximum searching effort. The article that said Oldboy is streaming on Shudder? It lied. Other people have watched this before, right? It has to be out there somewhere...

(8:17 PM): Multiple devices are combing through Reddit, looking for some way, any way, to watch this movie. Tensions mount and the air is thick with frustration

(8:20 PM): The pin drop silence is broken by a single tear splashing against faux hardwood floor. Not one reacts, faces still illuminated by the soft glow of the computer screens. Emotions will not tear us apart

(8:25 PM): Someone proposes watching Cape Fear instead. They are answered with quietude. This search has become nothing less than a test of the human spirit. We are beaten, battered, bruised, but not broken; this film is out there in the world somewhere, and my ragtag group of misfits refuses to give in. Reddit is our shepherd, our rock, our best chance at salvation. We trudge through endless online threads, looking for answers

(8:30 PM): A lone Redditor shared a mysterious link deep within a comment section. Dailymotion.com pops up and offers a barebones interface with thumbnails galore. An eagle-eyed friend has cracked the code; this site offers the film in the form of six twenty-minute segments, with captions and a tolerable video quality. Rejoice fills the air as tears of joy pour down my face, never did I think that such a simple activity could turn into a series of trials and tribulations that would humble any man, and yet, the treacherous road made the eventual victory that much sweeter.