SYMPATHY FOR MR.VENGEANCE (Korean) (2002)

Another as brilliant and as impressive film from the director who made ‘Oldboy’; infact it’s the first installment of his vengeance trilogy. It’s my second Park Chan-Wook film and without exaggeration I must say he’s undoubtedly modern auteur hard to resist from Korean cinema who takes the theme of ‘revenge’ to a different height blending the plot with emotional-psychological tension of characters with powerful visual images striking to our senses.

Ryu is deaf and dumb young man in search of matching donor for his dearest sister’s kidney transplantation. He comes to know about criminal organ dealer syndicate that manage to get matching kidney for his sister in return of donating one of his own kidney and ten million won. Suggested by his leftist rebel girlfriend he kidnaps his old employer’s daughter to get the ransom amount to manage money for his sister’s surgery. The things don’t turn up as thought and it leads to one after another tragedy.

The film has some of gross and shocking images of the torture and violence that reminds me Takashi Miike films but Chan Wook has his own overt style too- watch the autopsy scene where we heard the odd sound instead the visuals of body dissection. His brilliant use of high angle and ground shots are things to watch throughout the film and above all it has surprising and shocking climax as awesome as ‘Oldboy’.

After Peckinpah here is the director who takes violence and revenge too seriously like none.

Must watch.

Ratings-8.5/10