Oasis

Aaron Shurtleff: “It ruled.”

Oasis is the story of two unlikely people finding each other and finding love. I know what you're thinking: Here's a premise we've seen before. This movie is different, however, and I think you really get a feel for the characters in a way that I've never had for movie characters before. Jong-du Hong has just been released from prison for vehicular manslaughter, to find that society, and particularly his own family, are barely accepting of him. One of his first acts is to bring a fruit basket to the family of the victim of his accident, as a way of apologizing, which is one of the first clues that Jong-du's thought processes are not on the same wavelength as most others. While there, he meets Gong-ju Han, the niece of his victim. Gong-ju has, I believe, cerebral palsy (I don't recall that this was stated in the movie directly, but that is my conclusion), and has troubles of her own functioning in society. From here, the movie takes an interesting trip through the lives of these two societal "misfits " and into a place of serenity and acceptance. I hate to give anything away, so I'm trying to be vague about details. This is a great film, and I have to confess that, although the ending disappointed me, I think I would recommend it to others. As a warning, there is a rape scene in the movie, so sensitive viewers should take note of this.

− August 9, 2006 • more by Aaron • log in or create an account to reply