Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)

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.

Director:

Chan-wook Park

Writers:

Myeong-chan Park (comic), Mu-yeong Lee (screenplay)

Stars:

Kang-ho Song, Shin Ha-kyun, Bae Doona

7 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kang-ho Song	...	Dong-jin Park
Shin Ha-kyun	...	Ryu
Bae Doona	...	Yeong-mi Cha
Ji-Eun Lim	...	Ryu's Sister
Bo-bae Han	...	Yu-sun
Dae-yeon Lee	...	Choi
Ju-bong Gi	...	Driver Paeng
Se-dong Kim	...	Chief of Staff
Yoon-mi Lee	...	Boss of Organ Trafficking Ring
Seung-bum Ryoo	...	Retarded Boy at River (as Seung-beom Ryu)
Dae-han Ji	...	Detective Ji
Jong-su Heo	...	Detective Heo
Byung-Hoon Nam	...	Man 1
Jae-woong Park	...	Man 2
Jeong Gyu-Su	...	Doctor 1

Storyline

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

revenge | sign language | sex | torture | three act structure | 

---

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Kang-ho Song's character waits for Ryu while lying down, it's suggested that he makes snoring noises to pretend that he is sleeping. However, Ryu is deaf and this strategy would prove useless.

---

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

Cha Yeong-mi: The bad image kidnappers get is because of kids getting killed. But we're different. Give us the money and we'll return the kid pronto.

---

Crazy Credits

The title card of the film is shown in both Korean and English.

---

Connections

References Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)

User Reviews

Modern masterpiece.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is, simply put, the best film I have seen all year.

Chan-wook Park's mastery of cinematic language is stunning. I Recently saw Oldboy, and was intrigued by the style and freshness of that film. but where Oldboy sometimes degenerates (albeit in a very entertaining fashion) into simple violence and visceral satisfaction, Mr. Vengeance does not.

Those not accustomed to a slower paced film may say that there is too much postulation and ambiguity in this film, but they would be completely wrong. Never has a film managed to capture my attention so fully as this one. The majority of the time, we are left in quiet reflection of the events hat have taken place. The setting is rich and South Korea is shown in all its glory as a culture emerging from a somewhat torn past.

Every moment is beautifully framed and executed, and there are multiple ways in which the viewer is drawn into the lives of the characters that exist in this space. Colour is obviously very important to park, as each moment is perfectly balanced and flows from frame to frame in a way that would make most Hollywood directors green with envy.

The themes of vengeance and tragic fate are intertwined in such a way that almost numbs the senses after a time. Even though there is no "hero" or "villian" in this film, each character shares the spotlight in turn and the motivations for their actions are slowly revealed, justified, and then torn apart as fate intervenes to bring everything to a point of complete helplessness and futility.

A very powerful, beautiful film.

Details

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean Korean Sign Language

Release Date:

29 March 2002 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Filming Locations:

Seoul, South Korea

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,827, 21 August 2005

Gross USA:

$45,289

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,046,061

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, Discovery Venture Capital, KTB Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min 121 min (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1