a touching, if uncomfortable, depiction of conservative Korean society as the danger from which misfits sometimes need protection (rather than the other way round).
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08/07/09
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Oasis (2004)
89
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:28
Fresh:25
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: Lead actress Moon So-ri's stand out performance gives this harrowing film much of its power.
Theatrical Release:May 7, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: Jong-Du is back on the streets after serving a prison term for a crime that was actually committed by his brother. In an awkward attempt at reconciliation, Jong-Du seeks out the family of the man... [More]
Starring: Kyung-gu Sol, Nae-sang Ahn, Seung-wan Ryoo, Gui-jeong Chu
Director: Lee Chang-dong
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Reviews for Oasis
a subversive slice of Seoul life that’s both funny and heartbreaking
12/30/04
Makes you pay a dear price before getting to the sublime beauty of such a disturbing film.
12/02/04
It has some rough spots - but the more you think about this movie, the more you care about these characters.
09/10/04
A loving and lovely film.
09/09/04
Top CriticIts honesty and avoidance of comfortable closure make it a refreshing change from the sort of phony uplift such stories ordinarily receive on the screen.
09/06/04
A brave film in the way it shows two people who find any relationship almost impossible, and yet find a way to make theirs work.
08/27/04
Top CriticThe actors' scenes together are simultaneously abrasive and oddly gentle: two untamable people trying to stabilize each other.
08/06/04
Top CriticOasis is the kind of film that is a must for any serious film buff...and the adventurous movie-goer who isn’t afraid of a little challenge.
08/01/04
There's always a danger when lead roles are disabled characters to make them too sympathetic. A deft touch is required, and Lee delivers.
07/19/04
A dark, off-putting film that offers spare insights but may not be worth the effort it takes to view it.
07/15/04
It sounds like a pervy after-school special, but Oasis features one of the year's most remarkable performances.
07/09/04
Perhaps the most harrowing screen romance ever.
07/09/04
A fascinating piece of work.
07/08/04
Lee's humanitarian plea for tolerance is one of the most original films of the decade, and Moon provides the soul.
06/25/04
Top CriticA markedly different kind of movie.
06/18/04
Both leads make the romance convincing, and Jong-Du even becomes sympathetic despite being almost insufferably thick-headed.
06/18/04
A love story of two young people marginalized by family and society that becomes a scorching indictment of the indifference, cruelty and hypocrisy of those institutions as the couple inevitably come into profound conflict with them.
06/17/04
Top CriticThis is a film that gives humanism back its good name.
06/17/04
Take my word for it: Oasis is one of the most deeply felt love stories of the screen in ways that you must endure a little suffering of your own to appreciate.
05/20/04
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