Palisades Tartan

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Director: Chan-wook Park
Writers: Mu-yeong Lee, Chan-wook Park
Stars: Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin and Doona Bae
(From imdb.com)

Oldboy
Director: Chan-wook Park
Writers: Garon Tsuchiya (story), Nobuaki Minegishi(comic)
Stars: Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu and Hye-jeong Kang
(From imdb.com)

Lady Vengeance
Director: Chan-wook Park
Writers: Chan-wook Park, Seo-Gyeong Jeong
Stars: Yeong-ae Lee, Min-sik Choi and Shi-hoo Kim
(From imdb.com)

What they say: SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE is the first film in Park Chan-Wook’s acclaimed Vengeance trilogy. The sister of a simple and deaf factory worker, Ryu, falls ill and needs a kidney transplant, however he is not a match so he looks to the black market which he can’t afford. After being fired from his job, his rebel girlfriend suggests that he kidnap the child of his former boss, Park. When the girl accidentally dies, her father seeks vengeance for her death.

OLDBOY is Park Chan-Wook’s classic genre-defining revenge tale of a man who’s wrongly been imprisoned for 15 years and is then suddenly released. Given money and a cell phone, he’s challenged to discover who incarcerated him in the first place, but he only has five days to uncover the truth. Even with a mysterious young girl to help him, his tortures have just begun. Cannes-winner championed by Tarantino, OLDBOY regularly appeared in top ten best movie polls across the country and is listed as one of the all-time best films as rated by IMDB users.

LADY VENGEANCE, the final film in the trilogy was created by Chan-Wook for his daughter. After being wrongfully convicted of kidnapping and murdering a young child, a beautiful young woman (Lee Young-ae) is imprisoned for 13 years. While in prison she gains the respect and loyalty of her fellow cellmates, all the while plotting her vendetta on the man responsible (OLDBOY’s Choi Min-Sik). Upon her release she sets in motion an elaborate plan of retribution, but what she discovers is a truth so horrifying, even revenge doesn’t seem punishment enough.

What I say: Park Chan Wook is truly one of the worlds finest directors. He has been at the forefront of bring Korean cinema to the rest of the world. Korean cinema, at its nature, is dark, VERY dark. And this loose collection is as dark as they come. This collection is billed as a trilogy but they are connected in theme only, as the main characters of all three films deal with the repercussions of seeking vengeance.

The best known of the three is the break out hit Oldboy. It really is quite good with awesome performances and a killer storyline that hits you with one of the most disturbing endings of any film…ever. It takes days for the ick factor to wear off.

The two other films are no slouches either. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance with its kidnapping plot gone horribly wrong will stretch your soul to its breaking point with how depressing and engaging it is. Lady Vengeance also will pull your heart strings as a young woman seeks vengeance on a man that framed her for the murder of a child. Naturally things get messed up quick as it barrels toward its tragic conclusion.

From reading this you might thnk these films are a downer, and you would be right. But the human emotions seem so true, and the films are VERY well made and compelling. You can’t take your eyes off them. Style just oozes from the frame as you experience the tragedies.

The films all look fantastic in high definition! And all three are packed with extras. There is also a booklet with more information on the films. The whole booklet is all most derailed with the inclusion of an essay by Eli “Why walk, when you have coat tails to ride?” Roth and his look at me, look at me shtick. Dude we don’t care what you were doing, just talk about the movie or shut the fuck up. But if he didn’t make it about him I honestly think his head would explode. Sheesh!

Despite Eli Roths involvement, this set really is a winner, and you will never see these films look any better.

Films: 10/10
Blu-Rays: 9/10 (One point deduction for Eli Roth)
Highly Recommended!