BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

ap-80628 Often referred to as the first movie in the revenge trilogy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (hereafter SMV) is director Park's first attempt at examining revenge as a motif. The film does not address the moral, psychological, and social complexities of revenge and struggles of the characters involved. Those emerge in his later films. The principle of revenge in SMV might be aptly characterized as lex talionis, an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth. That's what the movie is about: pure, unadulterated revenge for an injustice done. Even cannibalism finds its way into the narrative as an act of vengeance. For fans who have enjoyed other revenge-oriented films such as Kill Bill, SMV's treatment of revenge is simply delicious. The injustice that starts the revenge cycle is both natural and man-made: The primary character's (Ryu) sister needs a kidney transplant, and he needs to come up with $10,000. He decides to sell his kidney, only to be duped by con artists: they steal his kidney, and he loses the money for his sister's operation. Ryu wants revenge; his sister realizes her role in the sequence of events and exacts revenge (of sorts); Boss Park avenges his daughter who accidentally dies during the kidnapping-for-ransom process; Cha Young-Mi's colleagues exact revenge upon Boss Park. The wheels of revenge turn round and round with the aforementioned characters.The fates of the characters involved in the story are implicitly connoted in the first twelve minutes of the film, when Cha Young-Mi writes a judgment pronouncement against the person who has yet to harm her; the primary character (Ryu) unwittingly encounters his swindlers while he is in a most vulnerable and defenseless state, literally holding his manhood in his hand. Boss Park's former employee demands his job back for years of faithful service. Boss Park's hand is slashed as a sign of things to come.Director Park's use of sound is particularly acute in the film. The characters, both primary and secondary, learn about the lives of others through background noise that is brought into the foreground. This audio technique creates a sense of anxiety and uneasiness about the peace and tranquility of a scene; that is, the background noise that is brought into the foreground creates anticipation in the viewer; the viewer knows something is about to happen, will happen, but is left unsure. For example, Ryu successfully returns with the money in hand; the scene is a happy one; he is playful; the kidnapping victim is happy. Yet, the pervasive sound of water running over a basin reverberates across the ears of the viewer. In another, viewers are treated to a comical sight of a communal masturbation session, only to reveal that the sound of their whack ammunition are not what they appear to be. Boss Park learns about Ryu through the hollow walls of Ryu's apartment. One relationship that has not been fully explored is an intrafamilial one: that between Ryu and his sister. Although the film shows them sleeping on the same floor, this is not necessarily indicative of any sexual interest. Sleeping in the same room, under the same blanket is normative practice for those who are poor. However, there are other moments when the director wants us to think otherwise. Although Ryu can't hear his upstairs neighbors having sex, his sister can: she can't sleep. She can't sleep so Ruy can't sleep. When Ryu is giving his sister a sponge bath, the sister's playful laughter as Ryu approaches sensitive areas leads the viewer to at least entertain the idea of intrafamilial sexual relations. (Park's second movie perverts this notion to unimaginable depths.) In this vein, director Park's use of siblings and family members closely mirror's Kafka's novels where there is an ambiguous relationship between the male protagonist and his sister. Viewers are left to wonder. Viewers are not left to wonder about the primal and visceral nature of revenge in SMV.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Boksuneun naui geot" or "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" is a 2-hour movie from South Korea that will have its 15th anniversary next year. The (co-)writer and director is Chan-wook Park, one of Asia's most lauded filmmakers these days and his film here is actually the first of a trilogy that also includes the famous "Oldboi". Unfortunately, I cannot say that watching this one here got me curious about Park's other works. I see not much talent in here, just the intention to be controversial and graphic for the sake of it, not for the sake of telling a great story.The only reason to respect or even like this film here is probably if you see it from a fantasy perspective. None of the action or horror in here is really realistic and something that could happen in real life. This is quite a shame though as the film starts with an interesting premise, namely a couple who plans to abduct the child from a rich man in order to extort money from him that they need for the urgent surgery of a beloved. And that's also how they try to justify their crime, to each other and also to the audience.However, things do not go as planned and it turns into a chaotic, sadistic bloody mess for the rest of the film. Maybe this would have worked better as a short film as the script simply wasn't good enough for a film that crosses the 2-hour mark. There was really little dialogue in here I must say. This is also an aspect that hurt my general perception of the film. I need characters to interact with each other, but i guess Park thought this would make the film more appreciative to foreign audiences if there is not too much Korean talk. Anyway, as you probably already know by now, I did not enjoy the watch and I do not recommend you checking this one out. Thumbs down.

Johanna Eugenie Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is fine piece of Korean cinema, it is a prime example of how great of a director Park Chan-Wook is. It features many great Korean actors such as Song Kang-Ho and Shin Ha-Kyun, who have appeared a lot through-out many great film by Park, amongst other great films.The atmosphere the character create, the acting, scenery and the dialogue create a very down-to-earth feeling. It shows several sides of people, it shows our happiness, our sorrows, hatred, depression, the feeling of loss and anger. The film was very good at making me sympathize with all the character, even though Ryu was in fact responsible for a death through a kidnapping, I only realized that I should have sympathized more with the character Park. However, everyone suffered, everyone lost what they had, everyone lost someone they loved, and everyone eventually dies in the end. That is what I love about this film the most - everyone feel pleasure at some point, but we all suffer and die. What I particularly "like" is how it managed to show how horrible it can be to be deaf-dumb, when he was eating noodles and she was dying, when he was burying his sister as the girl was drowning - these were all great at showing just how hard it can be. - and best of all, his crying when his sister commits suicide - it is the most genuine cry you can have, he can not hear it, so he weeps as genuinely as one can.There's a lot of cozy stuff too that make me happy, how nicely they fit together, their conversations. This film is a master piece.

Leofwine_draca Coming to Sympathy for Mr Vengeance after watching Park Chan-Wook's later, better known films like OLDBOY, I'm once again blown away by his sheer ability as a director. This is a storyline that keeps you guessing, a film that takes sheer joy in the beauty of cinema and in depicting out-of-the-ordinary scenes and situations. It's also another film that's impossible to pigeonhole; whether you try and proclaim it a black comedy, a kidnap drama or a revenge thriller, you'll never be quite there. Instead it's a cross-genre masterpiece with an extremely black heart.The film's main character is a deaf mute who finds himself in dire financial difficulty. He comes up with the idea of arranging a kidnapping to make some money, but as this is a film it all ends up going horribly wrong. The story sounds predictable when written down, but there's so much more to it than that. Of course, it's the direction that really makes the story. I'm struck here by the intricate editing, which leaves out key scenes for the better, like the second meeting with the organ traffickers. Most directors would have dwelt on that scene in all its grotesque glory, but the event feels all the more powerful here simply because it's missing and we only witness the aftermath. Truly, this is one of those films where every element has its place and nothing goes to waste.The acting is excellent, particularly from Ha-kyun Shin. It's never easy to act purely through the eyes and facial expressions alone, but Shin convinces us of his character's plight and even elicits sympathy for his situation. Doona Bae has a lot of fun in a more minor role as his girlfriend, but it's Kang-ho Song who really gets the attention as the father of the kidnap victim. Song has gone from strength to strength in the likes of THE HOST and THIRST since his role here and it's easy to see the talents that make him one of Korea's biggest names.Inevitably, this is a violent story with some very unpleasant incidents taking place, but each one has a place in the story and the violence, although extreme, never feels gratuitous. What's particularly interesting is the way the story plays out in shades of grey, refusing to judge any of its characters – which makes the last half an hour particularly hard hitting, as you're never quite sure of who to root for. Whew, I'm exhausted just from watching it; this is a great movie.