Saturday, December 5, 2009

not 250 - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
Director: Chan-wook Park
Starring: Yeong-ae Lee
Min-sik Choi
Yea-young Kwon
IMDb says: 7/10
Joey says: 9/10

"Be white. Live white. Like this."


Chan-wook Park's Vengeance Trilogy concludes with the most heart wrenching of the three. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is the story of Lee Guem-ja (Yeong-ae Lee). A nineteen year old woman, who has been imprisoned for thirteen years for the kidnap and murder of a six year old boy. All while losing her own daughter in the process. Upon her release from prison, Le Guem-ja starts to put into motion her revenge on the boy's true killer. She uses the alliances of fellow inmates to help her reach her goal. Will Lee Guem-ja find justice and atonement that she desperately seeks?

This film is proof-positive that Chan-wook Park is one of the best filmmakers working today. It is difficult to divulge into why this movie is so incredible, mainly due last fifteen minutes, which turns the entire tone of the film. Needless to say, it is as if Park is setting up dominoes, one by one. Waiting for the exact moment to send the first one tumbling. The film quickly turns from "revenge story," to one that questions the depths of your moral beliefs. You will ask yourself what you would do in the situation. Although you realize, that the only way to know what you would do, would to be there itself. Some films are meant to just entertain, this film does that, and makes you question the very fiber of your being.

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is shot and edited gorgeously. Where many films fail and become confusing with flashbacks. Vengeance only uses them to make the film stronger. Park's ability to go back in forth, brings to mind the works of Christopher Nolan in Following and Memento. The colors of red, black, and turqouise are used through out the film. Giving the films moments of grief, violence, and comedic relief seamless transition. There is not one frame of this film to be missed. Where some directors excel with gorgeous landscapes, Park achieves the same feeling with just an empty room and a wooden chair. Where your conscious might tell you to look away at times, you will find your eyes being unable to do so.

This film is the last part of a trilogy, but it must be noted that all three stand alone. No characters are carried throughout all of the films. The only connection is the theme of "vengeance." I believe that Sympathy for Lady Vengeance gets overshadowed by Oldboy, Park's second installment in the trilogy. Oldboy succeeded in showing the consequences and evils of vengeance. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance shows the heart break and trials of the one's seeking vengeance. If you enjoyed the second installment of Kill Bill, you would greatly enjoy this film. Overall, I give Sympathy for Lady Vengeance a nine out of a possible ten.

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