McBirdie`s Nest

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is part of the loosely linked together Korean 'trilogy' by Park Chan-Wook which all revolve around the theme of vengeance.  I adored OldBoy, I enjoyed Lady Vengeance more than I thought I would, but this one I found to be a terrible mishmash and unpleasant to watch.  

This movie perfectly typifies why I am never going to be a traditional movie-reviewer.  For example, this comes from a review of this movie by a viewer named ichithekidda:

It is this movie that introduced Jean Reno to the non-French and a good thing, too, because he is a fabulous man to watch (you can see him again in a similar vein in Ronin).  He plays a rather unsavoury man with a soft spot for Natalie Portman’s very young self—which is lucky for her, because after her father is killed, she needs an unsavoury man to help her out.

This falls very firmly in the ‘thriller’ genre, but it is a thoughtful film for all of that.  The characters are well drawn and the story is much more than just as a shoot-‘em-up assassin movie.  The plot becomes a bit incidental, though, when all you can focus on is the incredible relationship that develops between this orphaned kid and this trained killer.

A very good movie and one that is rightfully considered a classic.  And completely necessary to keep up your movie viewing cred. 

Lady Vengeance is one of three loosely linked together films by Park Chan-Wook (the other two are OldBoy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) on the topic of vengeance.  Like the other two films, it starts out slowly enough that you're very nearly unprepared for the sudden escalation to swift and unceasing violence.

It took me far longer to warm to the Lady than it did to the main character of OldBoy.  It seems almost a short-coming of the film that it takes so long to give you an idea of how the woman came to find herself in prison--all you see for quite some time is how she got her reputation while incarcerated.  That may make some viewers more curious and involved in the story, but for me, it just made me feel like I was having to do work.  The eventual payout, though, is worth it.  Very much so.

The conclusion (and the just-prior-to-conclusion and the post-conclusion) of this story is shocking and it does stick with you.  There was a point in the film where I turned to my friend and said, "that's it?  that was her revenge?  seems weak"...that was about five minutes before the machinations of her real revenge kicked into over-drive.  And from that point on, there was no slowing down.   

It isn't always terribly clear what is happening or why, but there are at least two scenes that have stuck with me several months after I saw the film.  For that reason alone, this is a very recommended film.