Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance ( Boksuneun naui geot ) Movie Information

Movie Information

Overall Rank: 971

Average Rating: 3/4

# of Ratings: 88

Theatrical Release Date: 03/29/2002

Language: Korean

Genre: Drama, Thriller

MPAA Rating: R

Director: Chan-wook Park

Actors: Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Du-na Bae, Ji-Eun Lim, Bo-bae Han, Se-dong Kim

Plot: A man desperately wants to save his sister from dying of kidney failure - but he goes from being conned in a black market operation to kidnaping the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. As things go from bad to worse, anger and revenge take over.

Quick Movie Reviews

Rating of
3/4

mitchellyoung - wrote on 01/27/2012

As a beginning of Chan-wook Park's revenge trilogy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is brutal and emotionally-scarring. The film is, visually, a masterwork (especially with the way Park plays with negative space and wide shots to reduce emotionality), and, plotwise, packs quite a punch, as well.

Rating of
3.5/4

Chris Kavan - wrote on 02/19/2007

If revenge is a dish best served cold, Chan-wook Park serves his in Siberia. The first in the "vengeance" trilogy comes at you fast and furious. You won't know who to hate and who to sympathize with in this film. In the end that's the point

Full Movie Reviews

Rod
Rod
Producer

Rating of
3.5/4

Sympathy for the rich and the poor

Rod - wrote on 06/11/2020

A top-tier thriller film which managed to present a dichotomy in seeking vengeance. The film's strongest attribute is its visual story-telling that engages viewers not only to the whole film narrative but to every sequence, every scene, and every shot. The narrative in itself shows brilliance in juxtaposing two characters who share the same goal of avenging the death of their loved one in a society where one cannot rely with the police and other institutions. ***SPOILER ALERT*** They both decide to put justice in their own hands, reaching the extreme point of killing the people responsible for their loved-ones' death. The difference, however, is that the poor one does this because of the absence of necessary resources while the rich one does it because of the absence of compassion. In …

Daniel Corleone
Daniel Corleone
Movie God

Rating of
3/4

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance review

Daniel Corleone - wrote on 05/24/2013

The first from the The Vengeance Trilogy. Compared to Lady Vengeance and Oldboy, this had more long tracking shots and slow pace. Ryu (Shin Ha-kyun), is a deaf-mute man trying to aid his sister to have a kidney but gets fired. Yeong-mi (Bae Doona), Ryu's radical anarchist girlfriend suggests that he kidnap Yu-sun, the daughter of factory President Park. The humor in the beginning turns to a dark crime drama. The detective Choi was not much emphasized and score not as enticing. Highlights would be the engaging story and powerful acting. Song Kang-ho just expresses sadness and a look of revenge, which makes him an unlikely killer. The defying line from the picture: "But why? I don't understand." from Pres. Park. It definitely encompasses the themes of karma, unexpected deaths, …

Yojimbo
Yojimbo
Movie God

Rating of
3/4

"Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance" by Yojimbo

Yojimbo - wrote on 04/05/2012

A deaf-mute tries to sell a kidney on the black market to pay for a life saving operation for his sister, but when he wakes up left for dead minus both the money and his kidney he hatches a scheme to kidnap his ex-boss' daughter for the ransom. When she is accidentally killed it sets in motion a sequence of events that result in bloody vengeance for both men. The first chapter in Chan-wook Park's vengeance trilogy reminded me very much of a Tikeshi Kitano film; beautifully shot but very understated with moments of surreal humour, brief outbursts of grim violence and a typically nihilistic ending. He attempts to show the motivations and context of the actions of all involved and so the brutal acts of vengeance perpetrated by the characters who have become increasingly black-hearted …

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