Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (cancelled)

Review:

Director: Chan-Wook Park

Starring: Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Du-na Bae

As the predecessor to Oldboy in Chan Wook-Park's 'revenge trilogy', Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance successfully compliments the international hit, and in many respects, surpasses it. Cruel fate and bad decisions generate a domino effect of catastrophe for deafmute Ryu (Ha-kyun Shin), leading towards inevitable violence as the turquoise-streaked haired protagonist embarks on a journey of revenge fuelled desperation in this stylish bloodbath.

The cause that sets this hard-boiled thriller in motion is Ryu's need to acquire a kidney transplant for his sister, played by Ji-Eun Lim. With the absence of an organ donor and Ryu's blood type differing from his sister's, he is forced to take on a gruelling job at a Seoul smelting factory, and subsequently turn to the black market with his savings. He is persuaded to give up one of his own kidneys in return for an appropriate one for his sister, as well as paying what amounts to his life savings.

However, Ryu is taken advantage of, losing one of his own kidneys in the process. To make matters worse, factory boss Park Dong-jin (Song Kang-ho) lays him off, leading to the concoction of a plan to attain the money via the means of a kidnapping.

With images such as boys masturbating over misinterpreted screams of pain, and Ryu remaining oblivious to a body floating past him due to his disability, the film successfully juxtaposes transgressive comedy and misery to enhance dramatic effect. Ryu's disability is furthermore manipulated by Park to create a subjective perspective, focussing upon uncanny silences to build tension. Despite being marketed as a hardboiled thriller, the film's focus upon the unravelling of fate with a largely detached perspective resembles the sensibility of many Eastern European directors who are an apparent influence upon Park.

Choosing to distance his work from such stylised Korean films as Shiri, Chan-Wook Park creates a darker and more realistic tone. Emotional engagement is preferred over an excess of technical ability, which emphasises the difference between Park's direction, and other mainstream Korean productions that chose to focus more upon stylised violence than storyline. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is brutally nihilistic and a great film to see for fans of either Oldboy or Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

James Cotton