Lady Vengeance

"After a 13-year imprisonment for the kidnap and murder of a 6 year old boy, beautiful Lee Guem-ja starts seeking revenge on the man that was really responsible for the boy's death. With the help of fellow inmates and reunited with her daughter, she gets closer and closer to her goal. But will her actions lead to the relief she seeks?"



"Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)" is the third film in South Korean director Chan-wook Park's revenge trilogy, following "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)" and "Oldboy (2003)". I haven't seen Mr. Vengeance (yet), but I have seen Oldboy, which was exquisite. It had the perfect blend of action, violence, dark humor, suspense, and one of the greatest twists in cinema history. So I was expecting a lot from Lady Vengeance. Turns out it was very little like Oldboy in that it had a lot less action and the gore was much more subtle. There was also a lot more symbolism in Lady Vengeance, and I have to admit even I was confused at times. Although it wasn't quite what I expected I still enjoyed it (it's actually really funny, in a disturbing way). And Geum-ja has got to be one of the coldest b*tches ever on screen. But I wouldn't be surprised if the remake (rumored to star Charlize Theron) is dramatically simplified for American audiences, which in this case might actually be a good thing.