Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)

Directed by: Park Chan-wook

Written by: Seo-Gyeong Jeong & Park Chan-wook

Geum-Ja has been thirteen years in prison for kidnapping and killing a young boy. When she gets out, she seeks vengeance to the man actually responsible with the help of fellow inmates.

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When I had seen Oldboy, my friend asked me if I had seen Sympathy for Mr Vengeance or Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. I hadn't, but when I ran across this film in the video store, I trusted my friend's judgment. 

In the beginning this film is somewhat hard to follow. There are so many characters who suddenly are narrating or at least talking about the main character Geum-Ja. The main feature in the plot seems to be how everything isn't told the audience at once. While it's always at least a bit alienating, the plot of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is still so intriguing it keeps the viewer with the film all through. The only problem with that is that the pace of the movie is somewhat slow, and the two hours it lasts seem extremely long, but still the story is amazing.

This film has the same vibes as the end of Kill Bill volume 2. All that revenge, mother-daughter stuff. It's amazing and while Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is a brutal movie, the ending makes the audience - or at least me - feel extremely purified, and that's a wonderful way to end a story that's mostly about revenge

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is an excellent movie about vengeance. It's not just violence and then the main character's done and nothing she did affected her in anyway. No, just like in Kill Bill we can see how she feels after she is done. That shows how excellent the writing is in this movie: Geum-Ja isn't just her goal, she's a human being.

This film is just fascinating. While it's slow and somewhat hard to keep a track on, it's still excellently written and intriguing. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

8 / 10