Overview
Two misfits find solace in each other amidst a world that has abandoned them.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- harrowing
- tender
- melancholic
- serious movie night
- arthouse cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly acclaimed the film as a powerful, harrowing humanist romance, especially praising Moon So-ri's extraordinary performance and its plea for tolerance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Both Jong-du and Gong-ju are abused and used by their families, making private intimacy a challenge to domestic power structures.
Jong-du's criminal history and socially inappropriate behavior coexist with Gong-ju's isolation, forcing empathy beyond conventional respectability.
Their relationship grows through small acts, shared preferences, and late-night calls despite severe communication and social barriers.
Moon So-ri's portrayal of Gong-ju's cerebral palsy is the film's defining expressive element, supported by close attention to gesture and movement.
Films like Oasis, and why
The Shape of Water
humanist romantic drama about socially marginalized people forming an unconventional bond
My Left Foot
emotionally harrowing romance centered on disability, isolation, and social prejudice
Breaking the Waves
socially conscious relationship drama portraying outsiders with unsentimental compassion
Movie Details
- Director
- Lee Chang-dong
- Release Date
- 2002-08-09
- Runtime
- 132 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (291)
Cast
- Sul Kyung-gu
- Moon So-ri
- Ahn Nae-sang
- Ryoo Seung-wan
- Son Byung-ho
- Kim Jin-goo
- Chu Gwi-jeong
- Yoon Ga-hyun
- Park Myung-shin
- Park Kyung-geun
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Metrograph, Film Movement Plus, Film Movement Plus Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Oasis about?
- Two abused social outcasts discover fragile tenderness while family prejudice and their own troubled histories deny them an ordinary place in society.
- What is Oasis like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Oasis as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Oasis violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Oasis as mild.
- What did critics think of Oasis?
- Critics broadly acclaimed the film as a powerful, harrowing humanist romance, especially praising Moon So-ri's extraordinary performance and its plea for tolerance.
- Which films are like Oasis?
- Films with a similar feel include The Shape of Water, My Left Foot, and Breaking the Waves.
- How long is Oasis?
- Oasis runs 132 minutes.
- Where can I watch Oasis?
- In United States, Oasis streams on Metrograph, Film Movement Plus, Film Movement Plus Amazon Channel.
