Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is as the title implies - a story about vengeance and making us sympathize with the motives behind said vengeance, and it does it very well.
It shows us that the world isn't black and white, and while we may not agree with how things turn out - we can understand why they ended up that way.
The emotion from the actors in this film is very raw, even to the point of being intoxicating - which is one of its main charms, I think.
The pacing was one of the weaker points of the film, as it took around an hour to really get things rolling. Sure the hour had a lot of build up, but it was really quite unnecessary at times.
It isn't a film you really want to re-watch straight away - more like you'll watch it once then maybe watch it again after a year or so.
Once it started, though... It was quite beautiful.
Anyway, delightful movie.
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The atmosphere in this for me is not as gritty as Old Boy or Lady Vengeance which actually really aids the movie. This movie unlike the other two has one huge plus in my books. It's that there's no true villain. The tipping point of this movie is a result of carelessness that actually tugs at your heart and make you feel sympathetic for one of the main characters.
This cast is just as stellar featuring Song Kang Ho and a young Shin Ha Kyun who is actually what made me watch this. He plays a mute who lives with his sister and is in a relationship with Bae Doona's character. In an attempt to gain money, he and his girlfriend attempt a kidnapping that unfortunately does not fully materialize the way they had planned it. This triggers a vengeance cycle
What this movie excels in is deriving sympathy for both lead characters. There are no true villains here and vengeance here is triggered by a simple yet heart breaking moment of bad circumstances. There's some very well done symbolism and imagery in this portion of the story that makes this movie distinctly memorable for me.
However, If you've read any of my other reviews concerning the Vengeance series. I warn constantly of the director's dragging and also distracting sub plots. You will indeed have to sit through some less than interesting bits to get to the meat of the plot. I'd like to add though that you truly should finish regardless. However, let me just continue to beat a dead horse with my typical comment in regards to almost anything Park Chan Wook directs. His movies should seriously end at a certain point. He needs to go to finishing camp because honestly, the man needs to learn how to adequately end a movie without feeding us unnecessary commentary in an attempt to sound deep.
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"In this world... there are good kidnappings and bad kidnappings."
When I decided to rewatch it yesterday, I was rather scared. I hesitated a lot, because I was afraid that it wouldn't be as good as I remember and… My worries were definitely for naught. Even though I managed to notice the first wrinkles of its “old age”, and even if it didn’t make me feel like the first time, I think it’s still marvelous.Park Chan Wook - Tarantino’s favorite, former film critic, a director with a dark style whose movies you just have to watch at least once in your lifetime. It’s really a pity that people only pay attention to the “Oldboy” and “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” gets recognition mostly as the “movie that opens the vengeance trilogy”. It’s a masterpiece. It should have its own huge audience.
It definitely won’t let you off with a sense of fulfillment or a feeling of pleasure. You probably won’t smile even once through the whole movie. Despite being a thriller, there are genre-breaking elements in it - comedy scenes… or rather I say: black humor, sorely black humor. That’s exactly why, before anything else, after the screening you’ll feel emptiness and bitterness.
There is a lot of beautiful cinematography in “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance”. The shots are wide, taken from a distance, asymmetrical, making you feel like a peeper. It’s just so elegant yet brutal and mundane. The realistic direction, its rawness and the lack of any metaphors are the things that make this movie so terrifying. It doesn’t need any frightening music, suspense or scenes full of blood. Its down-to-earthness is what makes it a horrific ride. Because it can happen in the real world, outside the screen.
It’s amazing how silent this movie was for the most of the time, without any unnecessary background music. Just fascinating direction, good plot and the most incredible actors.
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It is 2021 still relevant.
I watched this movie in 2005, I liked, the plot starts like black comedy, after gets serious. Those things really happens. People die, disappear, wakes up without liver. Because there is a market. Some countries like the US if you are rich enough you don't need to go in waiting list for transplant.In the 80s in Brazil they discovered children they thought were being adopted were killed for their organs.
It is serious.
The time I watched this movie only Song Kang Ho and Park Chan were famous. After watching Beyond Evil I wanted to watch Shin Ha Kyoon in others dramas, I was surprised to see another of my favourite actress was in this movie, I love Bae Doona. She and SHK were promising since their early 20s.
What is amazing this movie still relevant. Good thinks doesn't get obsolet
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This review may contain spoilers
Revenge movies have always been my taste. South Korean filmmakers have a great skill in churning out excellent revenge films, with OLDBOY and I SAW THE DEVIL being the best examples. While these films have grown into being classics ever since they released, Park Chan-wook, the director of the former film, gave another solid revenge film even before it came out. The film, SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE, is to say simply one of the best revenge films to come out from South Korea. Well-written and well- timed, there's a lot one can take home after watching this film.SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE, as the title itself says, is a film about revenge and thus it's no spoiler. In its overall duration, there wasn't even a single dull moment and the film was livened up by a solid execution along with some top notch performances and the screenplay.
Song Kang-ho is one of my favourite South Korean actors, and he proves why. He portrays every emotion with perfection. He breathes and rather, lives the role of Park Dong-jin. Shin Ha-kyun is excellent as Ryu, and his performance will definitely have you rooting for him in certain scenes. Doona Bae as Cha Yeong-mi has a lot to do, but delivers only occasionally. Other actors, including Han Bo-bae and Lim Ji-Eun are excellent too.
The film's editing is commendable, along with the cinematography being another major plus. The action is brutally intense and well executed on screen. There are some gruesome scenes as well, but they aren't too extreme to be very difficult to watch. This must indicate that this film isn't for kids or even, the faint-hearted. The emotional scenes are quite effective and manage to make you feel for the characters. The screenplay is excellent with no major hindrances to storytelling, eventually leading to a powerful and effective climax.
The only flaw is that the story is a little convoluted in a few scenes due to which many might not be able to understand what happened.
Apart from it, there is no such flaws you'll find. Just start watching it. You won't even wish to find any.
To sum up, SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE is a powerful and intense action thriller which raises the bar for South Korean revenge movies, eventually finding its top position in the list of the best movies of the World Cinema. You may definitely watch it, and it would be better if you watch it as soon as possible. Better catch it on a Blu-ray, to experience the depth with which the cinematography captures the fine visuals in this dark yet entertaining film.
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Boring and not thrilling
This movie was marketed as a thriller but upon watching it, I did not feel thrilled at all.The story was just really meh — nothing really stood out to me, and it was kind of predictable. The characters didn't have much depth outside of their stories and the pacing of the movie just felt really slow and boring. I didn't feel the stakes in anything, mostly because a lot of the decision-making was questionable; it just felt as if the characters were going through the motions in order to make the plot play out tragically the way it was supposed to.
I'll still watch the next few movies but hopefully they make me feel more emotions; I didn't feel any while watching this one.
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Review for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) by Park Chan Wook
Overview: This is my second Park Chan Wook's movie, the first one being Oldboy. I really enjoyed watching this movie, it was amazing. It really makes you feel confused as to who to root for since both sides were given an equal to shine on the screen.Direction: The director did a fantastic job at trying to capture the story of both sides beautifully. The thing that I can criticize the director on is probably his timing for cuts. He would just abruptly cut a scene at probably the most weirdest time possible which sometimes made the scene really hard to understand because some cuts even had a lot of time skip. The only cut that I can appreciate him on is towards the end which I can't say a lot about because I don't want to add spoilers.
Acting: The cast did an amazing job at acting most of the time. The actors did an amazing job of portraying emotions. However, I did spot a problem. I don't know if it's the director's fault or the actors. But in one of the introductory scenes, Ryu smiles as if he could actually hear the radio when in reality, he's supposed to be deaf.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is good, it's just nothing special that actually stands out on its own.
Final Verdict: If you've decided to watch this movie, I recommend it to you and I guarantee that you'll not regret it.
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We are all powerless in the face of senseless evil acts
I’m… oh man this thing is harsh.Not gonna lie, this movie wasn’t really having me in the first half. It was interesting but I wasn’t too into it.
But, like clockwork, as soon as a Park Chan-wook movie (or any movie, really) begins focusing on Song Kang-oh, it’s like magic happens.
This one is quite sadistic. I’d say so far that it’s this director’s most repulsive movie overall, even felt more genuinely gratuitous than Oldboy to me. As usual the script is well-rounded, the pacing deliberate so we can get really into the characters’ messy heads, and the violence often sudden and brutal. I like the twist with the title, a really nice touch.
But what was lacking to me in this movie compared to his other work was the feeling of going on a journey with the characters. I felt detached a bit, like I was missing a piece of the puzzle. I get that the blind man is dense but why is he so? I didn’t get a good sense of that. While Park Chan-wook’s style was much more pronounced in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, this felt less distinguished to me. Slightly.
Sounds from my review so far like this movie is not so good but I thought it was great, and I respect it in a weird way, especially from the half-point and onwards. It’s brilliant and unique in a way and Song Kang-oh’s acting was exceptional. The dramatic irony in this movie is off the charts. It stays with you.
I'm thoroughly impressed with this director.
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La mejor película de la trilogía, al menos para mí.
¡Hola, bellezas! Me paso por acá un lunes porque esta semana se la voy a dedicar a "La trilogía de la venganza", del director Park Chan Wook, que empieza con "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance".Un hombre sordomudo desesperado por ayudar a su hermana (quien necesita un trasplante de riñón), hace un trato con unos traficantes de órganos, pero eso no sale tan bien como él esperaba, por lo que se ve empujado a tomar unas cuantas decisiones cuestionables.
⚠️Antes que nada, háganme caso y no busquen más información sobre la película si es que todavía no la vieron, porque seguro se terminan arruinando unos cuantos giros de trama muy interesantes.
Ahora sí... La amé. Posta no me acuerdo cuándo fue la última vez que la pasé tan mal viendo algo. Toda la película emana un aire de incomodidad muy fuerte y es imposible no mirarla con la constante sensación de que algo horrible va a pasar en cualquier momento. Obviamente todo esto es gracias a la increíble actuación de los actores (Song Kang-ho y Shin Ha-kyun son dioses), al manejo de la música y del silencio, a la paleta de colores que es tan bonita como inquietante y un largo etcétera. Además, el trabajo del director, que de por sí tiene un estilo muy marcado, es una maravilla a pesar de no tratarse de una súper mega producción. En definitiva: una película deliberadamente incómoda, atrapante y muy buena.
La trama en sí es bastante simple y el ritmo de la película es tranquilo, pero muy entretenido. En este caso yo destaco más el desarrollo que la idea, porque la construcción de todo lo que va pasando es excelente. Eso sí, préstenle mucha atención a todo, porque muchos datos importantes los dicen o los muestran solo una vez y muy rápido, pero les prometo que al final no quedan cabos sueltos.
¿Es una película violenta? Sí, pero no es ultra gráfica. Casi no muestran nada de forma explícita, cosa que no ayudó para nada a disminuir mi sufrimiento al verla. De hecho, todo lo que dejan a la imaginación es de lo que más mal yuyu me dio jaja.
En fin, se las súper recomiendo, sobre todo si son fans de los thrillers cargados de tensión. La van a pasar muy mal, pero al mismo tiempo van a ser muy felices.
•IG DE RESEÑAS CORTAS: @altoplottwist
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