Boksuneun naui geot (2002)

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Jae-sun Lee (writer)
Mu-yeong Lee (writer)

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (South Korea)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Revenge Was Never This Sweet

Plot:

In Seoul, the deaf and dumb worker Ryu is very attached to his sister, who needs a transplantation of kidney...

Plot Keywords:

Extreme Violence | Vengeance | Autopsy | Terrorist Group | Death Of Loved One

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Kang-ho Song	...	Park Dong-jin
Ha-kyun Shin	...	Ryu
Du-na Bae	...	Cha Yeong-mi
Ji-Eun Lim	...	Ryu's Sister
Bo-bae Han	...	Yu-sun
Se-dong Kim	...	Chief of Staff
Dae-yeon Lee	...	Choe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ju-bong Gi
Gyu-su Jeong
Jae-yeong Jeong	...	Husband of Dong-jin's ex-wife's
Kan-hie Lee	...	Park Dong-jin's ex-wife
Kwang-rok Oh	...	Anarchist
Seung-wan Ryoo	...	Delivery Boy
Seung-beom Ryu	...	Retarded Boy at River

Also Known As:

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong gruesome violence, strong sexuality, language and drug use.

Runtime:

129 min | Japan:117 min | UK:121 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | Korean Sign Language

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Italy:T | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | France:-16 | New Zealand:R18 | Finland:K-18 | Argentina:16 | Iceland:16 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Basel-Stadt) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:R21 | Australia:R | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:16

Company:

CJ Entertainment

Trivia:

After the enormous success of 'Joint Security Area', Park Chan Wook was given "carte blanche" to make whatever film he wanted in Korea. After searching for another "vengence-minded" script with no success, he finished the script he was working on before making 'Joint Security Area'.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the ransom photo of Yoosun, she is wearing the necklace Ryu made. However, he hadn't given her the necklace when he took the photo, it was later, when he traded the necklace for her doll.

Quotes:

Park Dong-jin: I know you're a good guy... but you know why I have to kill you...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Widaehan yusan (2003)

Class struggle as violence (the sound and the fury?)

There are two reasons to watch Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. The violence and the sound. Or rather, the sound and the violence.

The main character's lack of one sense drives the film, both form and function wise. Occasionally, we lose one of the two ways in which we interact with the film (sound, sight). The loss of one sense adds value to the other. It makes the normally assumed other seem all the more there. Unlike most Hollywood takes on this particular sense absence, we get a bit of a glimpse into what the absence means to the character, and not just what it means to us looking at the character as third person. What results are some very nice moments that are film using itself as a medium to one of its potentials.

This movie is well titled (english translation), but why won't become obvious until the last third of the film. The violence is a bit overwhelming, especially given the tone of the initial third. We start off thinking that maybe all planned actions will go as they should, without harm, and without significant consequence, that implied violence might only exist beyond the threshold of common sense. As plans slowly unravel, and as tragedy exerts its sometimes tender hold, we see an escalation of blood with few limits in depiction.

Mr. Park (and here I'm paraphrasing a translator's take) has stated that the violence in this film is less bloody, and less realistic (?) than that found in horror movies, or movies of other persuasion (action?). What he says is true, but in those movies we are distanced from the events via a somewhat thick veil of disbelief. Unlikely characters and unlikely events combine for a combustion that makes it easy for to be distant from the gore. While the characters in this film might be unlikely, they are drawn with the kind of SYMPATHY that allows their environs to seem more plausible (or possible). Mr. Park also stressed the elements of class struggle, although my familiarity with South Korean culture leaves me uncertain of all their applications. There certainly is a sense of have vs. have-not in the film, and this seems to reveal itself most significantly near the end.

The story may be told somewhat elliptically, so English (only) audiences beware, especially if you require the tried and true formulas that Hollywood so often provides.