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Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Original title: Boksuneun naui geot
  • 20022002
  • RR
  • 2h 9m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
68K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,034
543
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
Home Video Trailer from Tartan Films
Play trailer1:25
2 Videos
83 Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Thriller

A recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.A recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.A recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' friend's daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.

IMDb RATING
7.5/10
68K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,034
543
  • Director
    • Park Chan-wook
  • Writers
    • Myeong-chan Park(comic)
    • Mu-yeong Lee(screenplay)
    • Park Chan-wook(character created by: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Vengeance Trilogy)
  • Stars
    • Kang-ho Song
    • Shin Ha-kyun
    • Bae Doona
Top credits
  • Director
    • Park Chan-wook
  • Writers
    • Myeong-chan Park(comic)
    • Mu-yeong Lee(screenplay)
    • Park Chan-wook(character created by: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Vengeance Trilogy)
  • Stars
    • Kang-ho Song
    • Shin Ha-kyun
    • Bae Doona
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 158User reviews
    • 149Critic reviews
    • 56Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 7 wins & 5 nominations

    Videos2

    Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
    Trailer 1:25
    Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
    Main trailer
    Trailer 1:55
    Main trailer

    Photos83

    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Shin Ha-kyun and Kang-ho Song in Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Shin Ha-kyun and Kang-ho Song in Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)
    Boksuneun naui geot (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kang-ho Song
    Kang-ho Song
    • Dong-jin Parkas Dong-jin Park
    Shin Ha-kyun
    Shin Ha-kyun
    • Ryuas Ryu
    Bae Doona
    Bae Doona
    • Yeong-mi Chaas Yeong-mi Cha
    Ji-Eun Lim
    • Ryu's Sisteras Ryu's Sister
    Bo-bae Han
    Bo-bae Han
    • Yu-sunas Yu-sun
    Dae-yeon Lee
    Dae-yeon Lee
    • Choias Choi
    Ju-bong Gi
    Ju-bong Gi
    • Driver Paengas Driver Paeng
    Se-dong Kim
    • Chief of Staffas Chief of Staff
    Yoon-mi Lee
    • Boss of Organ Trafficking Ringas Boss of Organ Trafficking Ring
    Seung-beom Ryu
    Seung-beom Ryu
    • Retarded Boy at Riveras Retarded Boy at River
    Dae-han Ji
    • Detective Jias Detective Ji
    Jong-su Heo
    • Detective Heoas Detective Heo
    Byung-Hoon Nam
    • Man 1as Man 1
    Jae-woong Park
    Jae-woong Park
    • Man 2as Man 2
    Jeong Gyu-Su
    Jeong Gyu-Su
    • Doctor 1as Doctor 1
    Lee Jeong-wook
    • Doctor 2as Doctor 2
    Geum-hee Lee
    • Radio DJas Radio DJ
    Seung-wan Ryu
    Seung-wan Ryu
    • Delivery Boyas Delivery Boy
    • (as Ryu Seung-wan)
    • Director
      • Park Chan-wook
    • Writers
      • Myeong-chan Park(comic)
      • Mu-yeong Lee(screenplay)
      • Park Chan-wook(character created by: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Vengeance Trilogy) (screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    In Seoul, Ryu, a deaf worker has a sister who needs a kidney transplant. He tries to donate his own kidney to his sister, but his blood type is not compatible with hers. When Ryu is fired from Ilshin Electronics, he meets illegal dealers of organs, and the criminals propose that he give them his kidney plus ten millions Won to obtain a kidney suitable for his sister. Ryu accepts the trade, but he does not have money to pay for the surgery. His anarchist revolutionary girlfriend Cha Young-mi convinces him to kidnap Yossun, the daughter of his former employer Park, who owns Ilshin Electronics. However, a tragedy happens, generating revenge and a series of acts of violence. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
    • revenge
    • sign language
    • torture
    • three act structure
    • suicide
    • 175 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Revenge Was Never This Sweet
    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Drama
      • Thriller
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for strong gruesome violence, strong sexuality, language and drug use
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      First film in history to have a sex scene with sign language.
    • Goofs
      In the ransom photo of Yoosun, she is wearing the necklace Ryu made. However, he hadn't given her the necklace when he took the photo, it was later, when he traded the necklace for her doll.
    • Quotes

      Park Dong-jin: I know you're a good guy... but you know why I have to kill you...

    • Crazy credits
      The title card of the film is shown in both Korean and English.
    • Connections
      Featured in Widaehan yusan (2003)

    User reviews158

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Grips you like a vice. Hits you like a ton of bricks.
    Before you watch this film, just be aware that you're not going to walk away from it with a big smile on your face. More like you'll want to slit your wrists. To say that Mr. Vengeance is a powerful, gut-wrenching nightmare is like saying that DaVinci merely dabbled in art.

    The plot is so simple yet so complex. The direction is so elegant yet so hard-hitting. The simplistic nature of the story makes the descent into hell so shocking and captivating. You don't realize there is no going back until it's far, FAR too late.

    Ryu is a deaf/mute who works in the loudest factory in the world, doing a really depressing job. His sister needs a kidney transplant, but they don't have the money to pay for it. He cannot give her one of his own because their blood types do not match. Ryu decides to go to black market organ traders to trade one of his own for one that matches his sister. Waking up naked and kidney-less in an abandoned building he now needs to raise money for his own kidney.

    Ryu is now fired from his job by President Park, who is downsizing the company. His anarchist girlfriend Yeong-mi convinces him to kidnap Park's daughter and hold her to ransom. From then on, things get very, very, VERY heavy and the idea of who exactly Mr. Vengeance is is blurred and sympathy is felt for almost everyone. Revenge comes at a high price and seemingly never ends. Not that I am saying forgiving and forgetting is the way. But this movie will make you think twice about getting your own back.

    The violence is spontaneous and extremely graphic without ever feeling exploitational. Sometimes it has a darkly comic feel to it, the rest of the time it's goddamn hardcore. You'll wince a great deal during this movie, that's for damn sure.

    Park Chan-wook directs with such beautifully composed images that are far from the the garish MTV-style action/thriller movies produced in Hollywood these days. I don't want to sound like some sort of snob who proclaims all foreign films to be great and all Hollywood to be crap but it's not very often that Hollywood makes a film like this unless it's a remake. Written in a mere 20 hours in a single massive, creative outburst, this movie seems to have genius laced through every minute of it's running time.

    Not a date movie, not a whogivesadamn pig-out movie. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is a film you will be sucked right into and you'll be far from happy when you emerge at the end. But what a horrific ride!
    helpful•96
    8
    • CuriosityKilledShawn
    • Sep 22, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 29, 2002 (South Korea)
    • Country of origin
      • South Korea
    • Languages
      • Korean
      • Korean Sign Language
    • Also known as
      • Quý Ông Báo Thù
    • Filming locations
      • Seoul, South Korea
    • Production companies
      • CJ Entertainment
      • Discovery Venture Capital
      • KTB Network
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $45,289
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $9,827
      • Aug 21, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,046,061
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 9 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    ‘Decision to Leave’ Film Review: Park Chan-Wook Mixes Crime Story With Love Story
    ‘Decision to Leave’ Film Review: Park Chan-Wook Mixes Crime Story With Love Story
    May 23The Wrap
    There's A Reason So Many Park Chan-Wook Movies Are About Revenge
    There's A Reason So Many Park Chan-Wook Movies Are About Revenge
    May 16Slash Film

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