LADY VENGEANCE
Director Park Chan-wook ends his revenge trilogy on a philosophical note, but keeps the viewer engaged with stunning visuals and a great leading lady!
3-1/2 stars (out of 4) [Chinjeolhan Geum-Ja-Ssi/(2005)South Korea] - (1 hr. 54 min.)
[In Korean (subtitled) / USA distrib: Tartan-USA]
Co-written & directed by Park Chan-wook
Co-writer: Jeong Seo-gyeong
Starring: Lee Yeong-ae as 'Lee Geum-ja' (title character)
Review:
Well, Park Chan-wook's so-called 'revenge trilogy' is complete, but the third installment doesn't necessarily end with a bang. If you like gutwrenching drama, then "Oldboy" is still the best of the three, but if you want to watch the Korean director's progress as a visual (and aural) artist then this film is a gorgeous treat.
Anyone who took in Wong Kar-wai's "2046" on the big screen this past year can attest to the visual beauty of the widescreen lensing in the right hands, and director Park Chan-wook reaffirms Korea's place as a crowd-pleasing, genre-pic industry with a strong potential for creative, visually satisfying cinema that fulfulls the tenets of both art and commerce.
Basic plotline involves the title character being released from prison and then devising a plan to seek revenge on all of her former tormentors. She has strategically placed ex-inmates of where she was imprisoned in proximity to each victim. In this way she already has the inside info and can go for the kill in short order.
Or so she thinks ...
I don't want to spoil the plotline although it is far simpler than his previous two revenge opuses. Fans of "Oldboy" will also be happy to see actor Choi Min-shik is back for more torture and humiliation.
Also, cinematographer Jeong Jeong-hun takes the work he started in "Oldboy" up to the next level and creates the most powerful images of the trilogy so far. In addition to the visual beauty, you definitely want to keep your ears wide open as the layered soundtrack makes use sound effects, dialogue, and music cues to link the flashbacks that the director is famous for.
I could go on and on suffice to say this one will be well worth repeated viewing, though you need to see it at least once ON THE BIG SCREEN!
This is a revenge-genre film for the ages, check it out!!!
[Note: I know a lot of Asian cinema fans love to get these movies early on DVD due to the advent of region-free players and internet movie websites, but I say WAIT FOR THE USA RELEASE in the theaters. This is big screen movie if there ever was one, much like the recent Wong Kar-wai visual masterpiece "2046." Park Chan-wook has created his most lush and stylized work to date and watching this on a TV screen would sacrifice much of what makes this movie so wonderfully watchable.]
Additional Characters/Cast
Mr. Baek - Choi Min-shik
Bakery Employee Geun-shik - Kim Shi-hu
Det. Choi - Nam Il-woo
Preacher Jeon - Kim Byeong-ok
Bakery Owner Jang - Oh Dal-su
Park Lee-jeong - Lee Seung-shin
Woo So-yeong - Kim Bu-seon
Oh Su-heui - Ra Mi-ran
"The Witch" - Go Su-heui
Kim Yang-heui - Seo Yeong-ju
Kidnappers - Song Gang-ho,
Shin Ha-gyun Weon-mo, as an Adult - Yu Ji-tae
Korean website
Cinematography by Jeong Jeong-hun
Editors: Kim Sang-beom & Kim Jae-beom
Original score by Jo Yeong-wook
Production designer: Jo Hwa-seong
Art directors: Choi Hyeon-seok & Han Ji-hye
Director Park Chan-wook ends his revenge trilogy on a philosophical note, but keeps the viewer engaged with stunning visuals and a great leading lady!
3-1/2 stars (out of 4) [Chinjeolhan Geum-Ja-Ssi/(2005)South Korea] - (1 hr. 54 min.)
[In Korean (subtitled) / USA distrib: Tartan-USA]
Co-written & directed by Park Chan-wook
Co-writer: Jeong Seo-gyeong
Starring: Lee Yeong-ae as 'Lee Geum-ja' (title character)
Review:
Well, Park Chan-wook's so-called 'revenge trilogy' is complete, but the third installment doesn't necessarily end with a bang. If you like gutwrenching drama, then "Oldboy" is still the best of the three, but if you want to watch the Korean director's progress as a visual (and aural) artist then this film is a gorgeous treat.
Anyone who took in Wong Kar-wai's "2046" on the big screen this past year can attest to the visual beauty of the widescreen lensing in the right hands, and director Park Chan-wook reaffirms Korea's place as a crowd-pleasing, genre-pic industry with a strong potential for creative, visually satisfying cinema that fulfulls the tenets of both art and commerce.
Basic plotline involves the title character being released from prison and then devising a plan to seek revenge on all of her former tormentors. She has strategically placed ex-inmates of where she was imprisoned in proximity to each victim. In this way she already has the inside info and can go for the kill in short order.
Or so she thinks ...
I don't want to spoil the plotline although it is far simpler than his previous two revenge opuses. Fans of "Oldboy" will also be happy to see actor Choi Min-shik is back for more torture and humiliation.
Also, cinematographer Jeong Jeong-hun takes the work he started in "Oldboy" up to the next level and creates the most powerful images of the trilogy so far. In addition to the visual beauty, you definitely want to keep your ears wide open as the layered soundtrack makes use sound effects, dialogue, and music cues to link the flashbacks that the director is famous for.
I could go on and on suffice to say this one will be well worth repeated viewing, though you need to see it at least once ON THE BIG SCREEN!
This is a revenge-genre film for the ages, check it out!!!
[Note: I know a lot of Asian cinema fans love to get these movies early on DVD due to the advent of region-free players and internet movie websites, but I say WAIT FOR THE USA RELEASE in the theaters. This is big screen movie if there ever was one, much like the recent Wong Kar-wai visual masterpiece "2046." Park Chan-wook has created his most lush and stylized work to date and watching this on a TV screen would sacrifice much of what makes this movie so wonderfully watchable.]
Additional Characters/Cast
Mr. Baek - Choi Min-shik
Bakery Employee Geun-shik - Kim Shi-hu
Det. Choi - Nam Il-woo
Preacher Jeon - Kim Byeong-ok
Bakery Owner Jang - Oh Dal-su
Park Lee-jeong - Lee Seung-shin
Woo So-yeong - Kim Bu-seon
Oh Su-heui - Ra Mi-ran
"The Witch" - Go Su-heui
Kim Yang-heui - Seo Yeong-ju
Kidnappers - Song Gang-ho,
Shin Ha-gyun Weon-mo, as an Adult - Yu Ji-tae
Korean website
Cinematography by Jeong Jeong-hun
Editors: Kim Sang-beom & Kim Jae-beom
Original score by Jo Yeong-wook
Production designer: Jo Hwa-seong
Art directors: Choi Hyeon-seok & Han Ji-hye