Lady Vengeance (2005)
"Chinjeolhan geumjassi" (original title)

After thirteen and half years in prison for kidnapping and murdering the boy Park Won-mo, Geum-ja Lee is released and tries to fix her life. She finds a job in a bakery; she orders the ... See full summary »

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Seo-Gyeong Jeong, Chan-wook Park

Stars:

Yeong-ae Lee, Min-sik Choi, Shi-hoo Kim

10 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yeong-ae Lee	...	Geum-ja Lee
Min-sik Choi	...	Mr. Baek
Shi-hoo Kim	...	Geun-shik
Yea-young Kwon	...	Jenny
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Barry	...	StepFather, Australian
Anne Cordiner	...	StepMother, Australian
Su-hee Go	...	Ma-nyeo
Hye-jeong Kang	...	Tv announcer
Bu-seon Kim	...	So-young Woo
Byeong-ok Kim	...	Preacher
Dae-yeon Lee	...	Prison head
Seung-Shin Lee	...	Yi-jeong Park
Su-gyeong Lim	...	A prison officer
Il-woo Nam	...	Detective Choi
Dal-su Oh	...	Mr. Chang

Storyline

After thirteen and half years in prison for kidnapping and murdering the boy Park Won-mo, Geum-ja Lee is released and tries to fix her life. She finds a job in a bakery; she orders the manufacturing of a special weapon; she reunites with her daughter, who was adopted by an Australian family; and she plots revenge against the real killer of Won-mo, the English teacher Mr. Baek. With the support of former inmates from prison, Geum-ja seeks an unattained redemption with her vengeance.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | revenge | teacher | murder | vengeance | 

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Taglines:

All she wanted was a peaceful life...they didn't give it

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violent content - some involving children, and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [South Korea]

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean English Japanese

Release Date:

29 July 2005 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Lady Vengeance

Box Office

Budget:

KRW 4,200,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,850 (USA) (28 April 2006)

Gross:

$211,667 (USA) (29 September 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Capital Investment, Centurion Investment, Ilshin Capital Investments

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The snow at the ending is not real. They brought two trucks of salt, scattered it all over the street and finally adjusted the scene using computer graphics.

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Quotes

Mr. Baek: Ma'am, there is no such thing as a "perfect person"...

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Connections

Spoofs Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

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Soundtracks

"Concerto for strings in A major, RV 159. 1st Movement 'Allegro'"
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi

User Reviews

More than just an 'Old Girl'

Chan-Wook Park was already the Master of Dysfunction after Old Boy, now he can add the title of King of Pain (thanks Sting) to his CV.

The depth of feeling in the second half of this film is staggering, and comes in stark contrast to the startling apathy of the first half. The masterful cinematography is something we have come to expect but the director's ability to compose the most evocative of tableaux never ceases to amaze- the final shot of the movie being a case in point.

As the above reviewer says, one must be cryptic in commenting on this film but it must be said that its final act really transforms it from a beautifully crafted work into a masterpiece.

This is a film which shocks without ever descending into gratuity, while frequently forcing a guilty laugh with its darker-than-black's-shadow humour.