Regarding the ending of Oldboy

Question

I have a couple of questions about the ending of the horribly disturbing Oldboy (2003).

Why does the antagonist "puppetmaster" kill himself in the elevator?

Was he so consumed by revenge that he had nothing left after he carried out his purpose? The realisation that after all he had done to exact revenge,

it didn't ease the pain of his first (and most likely only) love dying?

I can kind of understand those but it seems a bit single-minded of him and/or simple, maybe.

Also,

Did the final hypnosis work on the protagonist? Or does he still know she is his daughter?

Answer 1

To the first question: He realized, he killed his sister (and lover). He had imagined, that she did kill herself, after the bad mouth from the others (including Oh Dae-su, that's why the revenge). But in the process, he (I can't remember his name) is reminded, that he couldn't stand the rumors, so he killed her. As this falls into place in his mind, he kills himself out of guilt.

For the second question, I didn't get that Oh was hypnotized again at the end, to forget that about Mi-do. I thought, he cut out the tongue, so that the antagonist would not tell Mi-do. If that's so with hypnosis again (I don't own the DVD, can't check), I think it should be open to interpretation for the viewer, what Oh knows at the end.

Answer 2

Following the pattern that is oh so common in asian mediums (manga, anime and movies), yes, the puppetmaster only wanted revenge, and after he had his revenge, he could die in peace. Revenge was the only thing he was after. That is why he could kill himself, but why he actually did it, was to find peace.

So I know it sounds single/minded of him as you said, but that is the nature of most protagonists of (mainly) japanese stories in the popular mediums.

As for the final hypnosis, without being certain, I'd say it didn't work, however it's been a while since I watched the film, so I'm not sure.

Answer 3

The Antagonist, obviously was not a normal person and he did not lead a normal life as is evident from the incestuous relationship he had with his sister. Apparently he was extremely attached to his sister and her death (suicide) left a deep impression on him. That's why revenge became the only motive in his life & it is also seen that he is still pretty much emerged in the memories of his sister & may be he felt like there was nothing n his life without her. So he wanted to die from the very beginning, but not before he has had his revenge.

Answer 4

As for the antagonist, like the person before said; he had had his revenge.

As for the protagonist, it's all in the smile. Only was he a monster when he smiled. The fact that he smiled at the end meant he still knew.

That's my take.