Chinjeolhan geumjassi (2005)

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Seo-Gyeong Jeong (writer)
Chan-wook Park (writer)

Release Date:

29 July 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Bakery | Teacher | Kidnapping | Vengeance

Awards:

10 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Yeong-ae Lee	...	Geum-ja Lee
Min-sik Choi	...	Mr. Baek
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
Shi-hoo Kim	...	Geun-shik
Yea-young Kwon	...	Jenny
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
Kwang-rok Oh	...	Se-hyun's Father
Mi-ran Ra	...	Oh, Su-hee
Seung-wan Ryoo	...	A passerby
Yeong-ju Seo	...	Kim, Yang-hee
Ha-kyun Shin	...	A hired assassin 2
Kang-ho Song	...	A hired assassin 1
Ji-tae Yu	...	A grown-up Won-mo
Jin-seo Yun	...	A prisoner

Also Known As:

Lady Vengeance (UK) (USA)
Kind-Hearted Ms. Geum-Ja (literal English title)
My Lady Vengeance (Hong Kong: English title) (DVD box title)
Shed Tears for Lady Vengeance (Philippines: English title) (DVD title)
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (UK) (DVD box title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

112 min | Argentina:112 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:III | Singapore:R21 | Japan:R-15 | Denmark:15 | Germany:16 | UK:18 | Ireland:18 | USA:R | Argentina:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-18 | Australia:MA | Singapore:M18 (edited version) | Italy:VM14 | France:-16 | Brazil:18 (DVD rating) | Mexico:C | South Korea:18

Company:

CJ Capital Investment

Trivia:

Having wanted to make a film on a middle aged woman's revenge, the director originally considered casting Du-shim Ko for the part of Geum-ja. However, he had to abandon his plan for a couple of reasons. He found that Ms. Ko was rather old for the character and was afraid that the movie would look quite similar to John Cassavetes' Gloria (1980).

Quotes:

Geum-ja Lee: Be White. Live White. Like this.

Movie Connections:

References Wild at Heart (1990)

Soundtrack:

Concerto No.3 in G major, RV 310. 2nd Movement 'Largo'

Brilliant.

Just got the Korean 2 DVD set and watched the B/W version first .. and I MY GOD! THIS FILM IS A Masterpiece! I was so moved ... if you do one more thing in your life before you die .. see this film! It's true ...

And I have skimmed the colour version, and besides the opening credits being slightly different, and the much talked about retaining of colour throughout, the film appears to be exactly the same. I am sure your are all familiar with the story, and I think that the less you know, the better. At it's basic level, this film follows the quest for revenge of a beautiful woman, condemned to 13 and a half years of incarceration, for the kidnapping and murder of a young boy. In this way the film connects to the previous films in the Vengeance Trilogy, but is in no way a rerun of the same ideas.

Just like the other two films, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is gorgeous. The design in the film is extraordinary (I can't spell that one .. or can I?) and there are so many frames that are just beautiful. The use of colour is inspirational in some parts, and I really can't think of watching any other version but the b/w one. Maybe because I saw it first, but from what I have seen of the colour version, I wasn't so deeply affected. I think that which is better will be a personal decision for all who see this film. There are a some points where the b/w is very effective with spots of colour.

The characters in the film are colourful, and fleshed out enough so that the viewer feels they know them, but not enough that they know them completely. The past is something hidden for these characters, in many ways that is a thematic point of the film. The film is truly about redemption, and as we follow the moving drama within we may even come to understand something within ourselves. It is truly a fitting end to this three film exploration into hate remorse and revenge.