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Directed by: Park Chan-wook Starring: Lee Young-ae, Choi Min-sik I recently traveled to Korea and saw this in the theater sans-subtitles. I can't really speak Korean, but I figured out the story pretty quickly and asked my friend questions about the smaller parts afterwards. Because of this, I apologize in advance for any mistakes I make in story interpretation or things like that. I'd like to have seen it again knowing the story a bit better, but I guess I'll have to wait for a DVD release like everyone else. For the uninitiated, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is the third of Park Chan-wook's 'Vengeance Trilogy', the first being Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (soon getting an American release, or so I heard; read notation's un-replied-to review which I agree with wholeheartedly) followed by the ubiquitous Oldboy (do I really have to tell you to see it if you haven't? hellocruelworld's review which I also like). I'll get to Lady's place in the trilogy, but I'd like to talk about the movie on it's own first. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is a pretty simple story compared to the previous two movies. Here is an extremely bare-bones summary: Geum-ja Lee (Lee Young-ae) is set-up for a kidnapping and murder she did not commit, and after spending time in women's prison is released and begins to execute her plans for revenge. Lee Young-ae plays her part competently. I don't know what more I would ask for, but I found her acting to be a bit stiff. It never detracted from the movie, though. Her character is also a little flat--of course she is hell-bent on avenging herself, so that takes up most of the movie, but the only other real side we get to see of her is her motherly side. It seems that whatever she does throughout the movie either benefits her revenge or is extremely motherly. Choi Min-sik, the star of Oldboy, plays the antagonist like a slimy bastard you just want to, well, kill. I think his performance was excellent, although he spent a lot of time not talking. The other characters are all kind of throwaways. We get to know some of Geum-ja's fellow inmates from prison, but after she is done 'using' them we don't really hear from them again. This is also true with some other minor characters who only seem to be there to play a role in helping some part of Geum-ja's plan. There is a creepy religious guy who shows up a couple of times, but I didn't really get who he was and my Korean friend said she didn't understand his role well, either. And finally there is some young guy who is a love interest (possibly?) for the main character, but beyond that I had absolutely no idea why he was in the movie. The actual movie is beautiful, which isn't a suprise at all. There are a lot of extraordinary shots, and the colors (especially the reds [not just for blood]) are used especially well. Park definately has an eye for scene construction, and this is a fun movie to just watch. For all you nihilistic, hosed-up movie lovers I'll just say that Park doesn't disappoint here. There were some scenes where I was squirming in my seat (and I'm not a regular squirmer). I don't see how they are even showing this movie in major theaters, or how a majority of the people I met in Korea had seen it and possibly liked it. I don't think this a good 'date' movie, and I don't predict an un-edited American release, ever. As for Lady's place in the trilogy, I think Park was trying to merge the strong points of his first two movies: a strong protagonist with a straightforward thirst for vengeance (Oldboy), and a beautifully shot brutal movie (Mr. Vengeance). He succeeds in doing this, but somehow only manages to make a movie that is equal to the other parts, not a sum. I like that way better, actually. He's not trying to make a grand masterpiece, but instead just a third installment. I don't know if I'd like the movie as much if it was too dependent on the other two parts to work as a movie itself. Watching Lady without having seen the other two, I think will be almost exactly the same as if you were familiar with Park's previous work. The only difference is that people who have seen the previous movies will know somewhat what to expect from Park's directing and story (but I'm sure you, like me, will still be surprised) and will appreciate what I'm about to talk about in the next paragraph. Other than that, I'd still enjoy Lady Vengeance just as much if it was the first Korean movie I ever saw or the 80th Park Chan-wook movie I saw. Be sure to look for a TON of cameos from actors and actresses from the first two movies. I guess this is Park's way of tying the trilogy up, which I don't mind at all. It was fun to see everybody this way--it was a more satisfying end than if Oh Dae-su appeared at the end or something stupid like that. I was just sad that Bae Du-na from Mr. Vengeance didn't get to make an appearance.  Despite my minor gripes, I still liked the movie a lot. I would gladly pay $10 to see it again, and will gladly pay an obscene amount for a 'Vengeance Trilogy' DVD boxset, whenever the day will come. I recommend it to anybody who likes Park Chan-wook, anybody who is interested in the new wave of Korean cinema, anybody who likes revenge movies, and anybody who likes movies in general. If anything, you will be able to appreciate the way the movie is composed, even if the story doesn't sit well with you. See this movie as soon as you can. (edit) I just read that this is getting a North American release sometime next year. So much for my prediction. RATING: 5.0 PROS: beautiful shot composition, effective plot, and a good way to tie up the trilogy CONS: story had too many useless characters ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451094/ mil fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Sep 14, 2005 |
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Aug 27, 2005 21:25
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Just came back from the theater. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is nothing short of amazing. As it has been said before, Park merged the motifs from the earlier two instalments into this third one, which is kidnapping and imprisonment. There were tons of familiar faces from the earlier movies in this one, and I would also like to lament the lack of Bae Du-na. (Actually upon visiting IMDB, she appears first in the credited cast, but I didn't notice her in the movie, bah) Contrary to the first two instalments, there is definitely a surreal undertone ongoing throughout the movie. While Sympathy for Mr Vengeance has a more of a gritty feel, and Oldboy has sort of melodramatic feel, in that you feel very strongly for the protagonist, SFLV has a few 'wtf' scenes and moments. rear end-pounding on the dinner table, awesome! Visual metaphors are aplenty and the cinematography is excellent. Gotta love the hilariously ironic third act. Lee Young-ae was beautiful and dangerously charming, though I didn't think her performance surpassed that of Choi Min-sik in Oldboy, but that's not saying she's bad at all. The ending seems to drag on needlessly, but I think Park is just trying to stress the message to his audience. I need to give this a second watch in order to pick up on some of the less noticeable aspects, but this movie definitely earns a '5' from me. Beleg fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Oct 25, 2005 |
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Oct 25, 2005 18:16
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Just got this DVD yesterday, drat! It was VERY good, but I liked OldBoy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance a bit more, but still this film ranks up there with some of the best I've ever seen. The only downside was that it relied too much on violence and gore. The reason I liked OldBoy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance more was that the violent gore scenes were used sparingly and helped move the story along, in this film Sympathy for Lady Vengeance it seemed like it set out to be the most gory of them all. Again, still nothing short of amazing and I liked the gore and it was necessary, but with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and OldBoy I got into the story and it's characters a lot more and the violent gore scenes were just there to slap me in the face to make sure I was paying attention. I give Sympathy for Lady Vengeance 5. I hope Chan-wook Park can keep on making amazing films like these, I've given up on Hollywood bullshit.
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Jan 17, 2006 04:32
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Sympathy for Lady Vengeance was far more surreal and had tons more black humor than either Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance or even Oldboy. Like any of the other Chan-Wook Park films I've seen, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance profoundly affected me. I can't think of many films that affect me as emotionally as Park's. Like the rest of his vengeance trilogy, I think I'll have to rewatch Lady Vengeance many more times to let it sink in. 5.5/5 Susano-maku da! fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Jan 29, 2006 |
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Jan 29, 2006 05:39
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Wasn't really a fan. The movie shambles along aimlessly with long character building flashbacks for people that appear for seconds in the real-time plot. Everything gets thrown together in the last 20 minutes and even then it wasn't particularly well executed. Music was also pretty dire for a Chan-Wook film. Oldboy knocks spots off this. 3
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Feb 15, 2006 18:31
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mil posted:
I just finished watching the film and i am completely awestruck. To tell you the truth, I wasn't all that impressed with sympathy for mr. vengeance, but this film truely had me speechless. I knew I was in for a good movie when I saw all the care that went into even the opening credits... I couldn't agree more with mil's comments on the film. I just watched all three in a row and in Lady you can see places where the cinematography/style of Oldboy and Mr. Vengeance were contributing factors. I love the surreal feel of Park Chan-wook's films...they're truely awe inspiring and after I watched Oldboy for the first time I had seriously considered quitting architecture school and going to film school...who knows, I may still. I can't wait to watch this film again... 4.5/5 I would also agree with mils about the film having way too many useless characters. I, like most people not being asian, have tons of trouble distinguishing characters sometimes and need to watch it several times before understanding completely for that reason alone. ThePotatoMasher fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Feb 22, 2006 |
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Feb 21, 2006 20:39
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Onken posted:Wasn't really a fan. The movie shambles along aimlessly with long character building flashbacks for people that appear for seconds in the real-time plot. Everything gets thrown together in the last 20 minutes and even then it wasn't particularly well executed. Music was also pretty dire for a Chan-Wook film. Oldboy knocks spots off this. I almost unwillingly have to agree with this. I enjoyed this film, but it didn't feel as coherent or involving to me as Oldboy or Mr. Vengeance. Another 3.
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Feb 22, 2006 22:39
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Saw this film last week, and I thought it was wonderful. I enjoyed Oldboy enormously and have yet to see Sympathy For Mr Vengeance (although I have recently bought it), and was greatly looking forward to this film coming out. I was not disappointed. As has been said, it's amazingly shot, superbly acted and has a tremendous emotional core that is very affecting. The film becomes very hard to watch in places, not because of actual violence on screen but rather because of what is implied. This is in regards to the scene with the parents observing the videotapes, in particular. It's very upsetting. Theres also the expected black humour as well which contrasts the bleakness of the film, which in turn is also in contrast to the strangely surreal beauty of the film at the same time. It's not a film that is just an onslaught of brutality, scene after scene, it is a film about the meaning of revenge and what it does to people, much in the same way as Oldboy demonstrates how much a person can change in certain circumstances. As such, it is probably a far more honest demonstration of the human reality and consequences of revenge than most other 'revenge' films. This is not Kill Bill. 5/5.5, strongly recommended.
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Feb 23, 2006 15:19
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I saw this in the theater yesterday. I agree about the many useless characters. The whole beginning of the film seemed to lack direction with lots of flashbacks that didnt seem relevant. The film never really recovered from that and the ending didnt have the same force that oldboy or mr. vengeance had. If the others were freight trains rushing at you, this is more like a rollercoaster. Lots of scenes to make you go "Oh!" and "Ah!" and "No way!" but also lots of bits where you're just waiting for something else to happen. All in all it felt like mr. vengeance with some uneccessary gimmickry. Having said that, though, its still well worth watching simply because its a chan wook park movie. The amount of thought that seems to go into every single shot is staggering. In another movie if someone is climbing some stairs they're just - well - climbing some stairs. If someone in a chan wook park movie is climbing some stairs it makes you gasp. Every shot, a painting. 4.5 By the way, i heard there's a B/W version ala sin city on the DVD. Anyone seen that?
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Feb 27, 2006 13:38
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Finally got a chance to see this. As I had previously seen Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy and loved them, I was very much anticipating this film. I was NOT disappointed by what I saw. The premise is definitely a lot simpler than Mr. Vengeance, and also more believable (in that it could really happen) than Oldboy. But do not take these as negatives, only differences. As you follow Lee Geum-ja from her release from prison (and before her release in flashbacks told through other characters), she becomes, hands-down, the most developed lead character in the whole trilogy. And along with her comes a cast of other characters who each play their parts in a very well-told story. As was said, many of the roles are essentially walk-ons, only showing up to further the plot and never being seen again. But the story is told in a way that this WORKS. The majority of characters are former inmates who were helped by Geum-ja, and so in turn, they are helping her in return. They vanish soon after, as Geum-ja is just using them for her gain, and then she's done with them. However, I will agree that the preacher's role was a bit confusing, especially because he is also a vanishing character, but one that needed to be around a little more for answers. Like Oldboy, this movie is another testament to Park's cinematic artistry. Transitions from scene to scene are handled with beauty, and the excellent use of colors and setting are memorable. It's a very beautiful-looking film, fitting since beauty is a major theme of the movie. The musical score is good. While not as memorable as Oldboy's, it works perfectly for the film, invoking emotion and making scenes significantly more powerful. Oldboy's soundtrack I listen to on its own sometimes, because I just love it so much. Lady Vengeance won't carry that same love. I can't even recall the music without watching the film. But when I DO watch the film and hear that music, it's amazing. I have a hard time judging acting when it comes to foreign films, so it's not really my place to say. It certainly is very far from bad, because that IS something I can tell, regardless of language barrier. I felt that Yeong-ae Lee portayed her role as Geum-ja wonderfully, capturing the coldness and emotional weight of the character. Min-sik Choi, famous of rhis role in Oldboy, returns in this film in a very different role. While his characterization is a bit odd and underdeveloped, his carries it with all the skill he offered up in Oldboy. Even when speaking English, he nails it. I really don't know what else to say. Fans of the first two films should LOVE this movie and how it ends the Vengeance Trilogy. Those who loved Oldboy for its violence and fantastic portrayal of revenge may be a bit disappointed with how this movie is clearly NOT another Oldboy, especially in terms of gore (others have said it was more gory than the others, but I felt it was the least). But as part of a common-themed trilogy, it's just as great as its predecessors. Not better or worse by much, which is perfect as you can watch all three of them, instead of finding yourself favoring one over another. Pros: Everything you've come to expect from Chan-wook Park, wrapped up in an intriguing and beautiful story. Cons: Those looking for another Oldboy, look somewhere else. 5/5
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Mar 26, 2006 04:23
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I was exceedingly bored by this movie. It wasn't half as good as Oldboy or Mr. Vengeance. This movie just dragged on and on in almost every scene. And not in a cool Sergio Leone way, either. It was just boring. The visuals were nice, i guess, but that's just not enough for me. Most of the scenes felt somewhat superfluous. Was it really necessary to spend an hour on how this woman got a poorly constructed gun? Go watch Oldboy. 2.5/5
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Apr 17, 2006 01:33
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Wasn't as good as the other two vengence films. The way he played with the main actress Lee Young-Ae's image was interesting but unless you've seen her in other films or heard of her this will be completely lost on you. Some scenes towards the end of the film are quite intense and the art direction is wondeful but alot of the film lacks coherence. Not a bad film but, don't watch it expecting to see something as accomplished as Oldboy. 3.5
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May 10, 2006 10:42
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Not as well rounded as Oldboy, or as heartwrenching as Mr Vengeance, the movie still has a charm of its own. Even if it could use 20-30 minutes of trimming. Visuals and sound are really gorgeous; if there's ever a movie that's designed to showcase a HD setup, this would be it. 4/5 - too slow and rather confusing, but otherwise very good
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Jul 28, 2006 23:46
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This movie is a definete 5/5 for me, but I do agree that it could stand to have about 10 minutes trimmed off. The Region 1 dvd comes in september, but we will not get the fade to black version that region 3 gets. : (
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Aug 9, 2006 01:52
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