Anssi Vartiainen First in Park Chan-wook's Vengeance trilogy. A movie about a deaf-mute man, whose sister is in dire need of a kidney transplant, but unfortunately the man himself cannot be a donor. Through sheer desperation the man ends up performing deeds best left undone, all in the name of his sister.It's not a pretty movie. The man's, Ryu's (Shin Ha-kyun), actions are understandable to a degree, and one could even argue that he never crosses that final line. Oh, he crosses lines, multiple of them, but he's more pushed over some of them than he is willingly walking. Not that it changes the end results in any way. And that's the "beauty" of it.It's also a brutal movie. A lot of gore and blood is shown, the film certainly could be called tasteless by more conservative viewers and it certainly is not for everyone. But then again, you're watching a Park Chan-wook film. What did you expect? You either like his style or you don't.The biggest problem I have with the film is the way it flows. Or to be more specific, how the scenes are joined together. There is more than one scene where you end up having no idea how the characters got there. That man shouldn't have that information or how did that guy find this guy or wasn't that girl supposed to be there instead of here. Those kinds of things. And yes, it's mood over logic kind of film, but most of these scenes could have easily been made to work with a line of dialogue. There's no need for it to be this clunky.Still, it's a powerful film. Unapologetic, stylish and definitely memorable. It's not quite Oldboy, the second film of the trilogy, but if you liked that film, then this one should be right up your alley as well.

Barbara Baby I'm afraid that very few of my hip and flowery fellow reviewers would fall in line and agree with my assessment of 'Sympathy For Mr Vengeance', but I just don't feel right about this film...Yeah, Park is so courageous to bring such brutal frankness in such beautiful and inspirational film work, with such talented directorial technique, that he just must be a genius.But this is my review and assessment, and if my art-house loving colleagues don't agree, then I certainly support their right to disagree with me along with their right to view this kind of work the way they want.This is a film about average-Joe working-class Korean citizens running around carving each other up and spilling enough blood to make 'Goodfellas' look like a nursery rhyme. Even a supposedly legitimate government employee (I won't name the character) decided it was just a grand idea that a father grieving over the loss of his child should watch while the child was carved open and the internal organs removed.It would still be awful, but perhaps more expected if this type of horrific slaughter was committed by the Geondal, Jopok or any number of other notorious South Korean Mafioso; but if Park is expecting us to believe that these characters truly represent what the average Korean citizen is like under pressure or when faced with tragedy, then what if anything distinguishes South Korea from the culture we are told represents North Korea? I'm assuming that this director feels that life in SK isn't so different than what he is showing to the world, that these events couldn't possibly happen there... and among the common working people at that! Even though this is film, art or whatever other rosy name you want to refer to it as, I think it is meant to reflect a slice of life that is possible in any major SK city... and it begs the question; why are we still involving ourselves, at great cost in lives and dollars, in the politics and strife of cultures we don't truly understand?

liVetoair2466698 This movie is best thought of as a Korean version of Fargo. It has, essentially, the same premise and outcome, but is MUCH more uncomfortable and gratuitous. Those familiar with the director will find his signature scenes that have been immaculately framed, and some spot on casting choices. It's best to watch this movie if you're not the squeamish type, as there is a lot of graphic (and implied) violence as well as one particular sex scene. The characters' motives are established very clearly, which helps to show that no one is actually a "bad person," and the lack of a proper soundtrack is a good choice, with it symbolising the main character's deafness. Yeah, if you're a fan of thrillers, violence and Korea, this movie is a good one.

suite92 A deaf and dumb man (Ryu) has only his older sister as remaining family. She has helped him get into art school, but fell ill while he was still in the program. She needs a new kidney, but his will not do, since they have conflicting blood types. He works in a sweatshop, double shifts, and clearly does not make much money for this. He decides to go to the black market to sell his kidney.What could possibly go wrong? He gets fired, which moves up his time table. The organ dealers cheat him out of the money they promised him, but do take a kidney. They leave him stark naked in the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, they do find a compatible kidney for his sister, and have it inserted into the donor program. How could this get worse? He does not have the money for the operation itself. His girl friend recommends kidnapping the daughter of the man who fired him for the purpose of ransom. They go through with the kidnapping. This seems to go successfully, but his sister commits suicide over the crime. So, all of the previous activity was for nothing.What story is left? Burying the sister; getting the kidnapped girl back home. His carelessness does not go unpunished. If not for a man more disabled than the protagonist, he might not have even found the body. Of course, this same disabled man tried to steal her necklace, which woke her up, which led to her drowning. He steals that necklace after she's dead.The father of the kidnapped girl sells his company and his house. The police find the apartment where Ryu and his late sister had lived, but they are long gone. Ryu keeps following the dead girl's father around; I'm surprised the cops did not trip over him. The girl's father keeps looking; he finds Ryu's sister's body, and the disabled man who stole his daughter's necklace. The cops get closer. Ryu finds the organ dealers and kills three of them.The girl's father finds Ryu's girlfriend and tortures her using electricity. One of the few high points of the movie was when the girl's father finds the many pictures of his daughter having a happy and fun time with Ryu and his girl friend, the one he's currently torturing. It seemed like a revelation to him. Then one sees it was not. He turns the current back on and goes back to looking at the pictures. She dies from it, but not before revealing she was a terrorist, at least in her own mind, and gives him a promise of retribution. Ryu returns to the apartment as the police take the body out. No one notices him. The police find out about the organ dealers that Ryu murdered. Ryu rides down in the elevator with them and the corpse. Still he is not noticed.Ryu stakes out the girl's father, but the father outsmarts him. He takes Ryu to the spot where his daughter was drowned. He starts explaining, but Ryu is deaf, and he does not know sign language. When he is about to bury Ryu, he gets to receive more vengeance from Ryu's girl friend's organization. They did the job on him that she promised. He still does not get it as he dies.Cinematography: 8/10 Competent. In some sections, there was more than a bit of camera shake.Sound: 8/10 The spoken word is Korean, and the subtitles presented seem to be OK. Some dialog and writing had no subtitles. The actors appear to be adequately miked.Acting: 7/10 Reasonable, but not the best.Screenplay: 8/10 The plot is clear, and the action and dialog moves it along, though slowly. The final minutes make it clear that the build up was worth it.