Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Boksuneun naui geot)

Release Year: 2002

Director: Park Chan-wook

Review: Park Chan-wook's first film in what would become known as the 'Vengeance Trilogy'.  Ryu(Song Kang-ho), a deaf-mute works in a factory trying to support his sick sister who needs a kidney transplant.  After finding out he wasn't able to donate his own kidney to save her, Ryu turns to the black market to obtain the organ, only to be duped and lose all of his savings.  Left desperate and running out of time, Ryu and his ultra left wing friend take matters into their own hands.  

This is definitely the least cohesive of the Vengeance Trilogy, not harnessing emotion quite as well as the other films.  There are signs of things to come, and this was a solid foundation to build on, but it was a bit too unfocused to actually be moving.  It is certainly a revenge tale, but the focus isn't on the right person.  It was hard to sympathize at all with Ryu, and since he was the central character it lessened the impact of the entire vengeance plot.  He got exactly what he deserved, and his vengeance wasn't as justified as Dong-jn(Shin Ha-kyun), who had a very limited role.  Present throughout is the beautiful framing that characterize all of Chan-wook's films and a very gritty realism that roots all the unpleasant imagery in a stark setting.   However, where in the rest the trilogy this adds to the ambiance of the revenge theme, it was more off-putting here.  There was a depressing, disturbing, tone throughout the film that felt unjustified for the message that it was conveying.  While there are some great scenes, the end result is a watered down version of the other two films in the trilogy.
Rating: 3/5