Lady Vengeance (2005)

After being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.

Director:

Chan-wook Park (as Park Chan Wook)

Writers:

Seo-kyeong Jeong (as Seo-gyeong Jeong), Park Myeong-Chan (comic)

Stars:

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

12 wins & 12 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
Byung-Joon Lee	...	Dong-Hwa
Dae-yeon Lee	...	Prison head
Seung-shin Lee	...	Yi-jeong Park (as Seung-Shin Lee)
Su-gyeong Lim	...	A prison officer
Il-woo Nam	...	Detective Choi

Storyline

Wrongfully accused of child abduction and murder, the angelic-faced single mother, Lee Geum-ja, is released from prison after thirteen long years. Hell-bent on taking her sweet revenge on the man behind the hideous crime, Lee hatches an infallible plan of retribution with the help of her cellmates; however, planning is easier than doing. Now--as Lee Geum-ja struggles to make amends with the daughter she was forced to give up--at the same time, she finds herself torn between her insatiable thirst for vengeance and the desperate need for atonement. Can she have both?

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | christian | cake | atonement | lesbian sex | 

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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

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean English Japanese

Release Date:

29 July 2005 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Lady Vengeance

Box Office

Budget:

KRW4,200,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,850, 30 April 2006

Gross USA:

$211,667

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,809,504

Company Credits

Production Co:

CJ Entertainment, CJ Capital Investment, Centurion Investment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

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).

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Geum-ja Lee: Listen carefully. Everyone make mistakes. But if you committed a sin, you have to make an atonement for that sin. Atonement, do you know what that means? Big Atonement for big sins. Small Atonement for small sins.

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Alternate Versions

There are two different versions of the film. One is full color. The other, called "Fade to Black Version", shifts from color to B&W over the course of the movie. Like Sin City, there are color highlighted, even in the B&W scenes. The second version is what the director intended, but he was not able to complete it properly until the Korean DVD (which includes both versions).

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Connections

References Wild at Heart (1990)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Poetic

I had the luxury of watching this last night and was awed by it's sheer brilliance. I don't want to delve into the story, as you must see it for yourself to savor the fantastic story like a glass of red wine.

The story revolves around a young woman sentence to jail due to murdering a young boy. Upon release she then embarks on a journey of redemption for the crime committed.

The cast's acting is impeccable on all sides. with sumptuous photography and a moving musical score consisting of such great composers as Vivaldi.

If you are a lover of foreign cinema this is a definite DO NOT MISS movie!