Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
It’s hard to imagine director Chan-wook Park’s follow-up to Oldboy ever reaching that movie’s groundbreaking influence. And yet, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance became an instant festival favorite after its release. Following the stylistic techniques which I thought specific to Oldboy, it makes clear that Park has a very unique vision for storytelling, and a pure talent for film. Lady Vengeance is the third installment of what Park calls his ‘revenge trilogy’; a trio completed by Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.
Before we continue, I feel I must warn the viewer that this film has one of the most decrepit and horrifying plot twists I’ve ever seen. People familiar with Oldboy will see this as a friendly reminder; and yet, this twist truly loses me: I’m not sure it has any merit except for the exploitative (of course). In any case, this film is at the forefront of the increasingly popular Korean new age films that peppered the international market from the late 90s onward. These movies followed certain recognizable patterns: subtle and baroque plot twists; stylized, exploitative violence; and undertones of strictly-guided misogyny. Park wanted to make a revenge film that took those foundations and went further, creating a more original atmosphere. And so he made it about a middle-aged woman sent to prison for a crime she didn’t commit. Upon her release, the master plan was already set in motion to kill the man responsible for her misfortune. By creating a female protagonist, Park already stepped over borders that most Korean directors hadn’t. I wouldn’t call the work feminist, but compared to other Korean films it definitely is. I also obviously cannot explain the plot twist since that would ruin your viewing experience, but all I can say is that it seems to be in there solely as an aspect of new age Korean filmmaking and not really as a necessity for the script. It is also the only part of the film that takes away from the protagonist, Geum-ja Lee (Yeong-ae Lee), by losing focus on her revenge.
Regardless of my opinion on the film’s last thirty minutes, Park creates a very memorable movie. Min-sik Choi collaborates once again with Park, this time playing sadistic school teacher Mr. Baek. His performance is as always riveting, and it is his ability to play pure evil that really comes forth in this film. The somewhat dry, exaggerated atmosphere mocks and admires Korean melodramas as we simultaneously follow Geum-ja Lee through her time in prison and her revenge’s completion. Park creates shots so unique that he does make the grotesque actually look beautiful. The style he uses flows from the script, as it somewhat changes between different inmates narrating their recollections of the vengeful protagonist. The snow motif specifically sticks out for me in an unexplainable way: it simply looks beautiful, but without much reason — this is perhaps why the movie grasps me so. There are horrible underlying layers of violence and darkness, but the piece is just stunning. It is perhaps an interesting way of reflecting on the main character — a gorgeous woman haunted by darkness and vengeance. Her face glows throughout the film like an angel’s, all the while she kills and plots.
You will definitely cringe if you watch this movie, but to miss out on a director with such original and entertaining vision would certainly be a loss. Park has a knack for constructing shots that blend together and achieve their full potential in telling the story. Either that or this film is just plain cool and my repeated viewings are the result of a crush I have on Ms. Geum-ja Lee. It’s difficult to say, but regardless, it’s a must-see. The movie is available on Netflix Instant Streaming. Enjoy!
