Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is a
2002 South KoreanKorean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North Korea and South Korea. As with all aspects of Korean life during the past century, the film industry has often been at the mercy of political events, from Japanese occupation to the Korean War to domestic governmental interference...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
directed by
Park Chan-wookPark Chan-wook is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. One of the most acclaimed and popular filmmakers in his native country, Park is most known for his films Joint Security Area, Thirst and what has become known as The Vengeance Trilogy, consisting of 2002's Sympathy for Mr...
which follows the character Ryu trying to earn enough money for his sister's kidney transplant and the path of vengeance that follows. It is the first part of
The Vengeance TrilogyThe Vengeance Trilogy is a term used to describe three films directed by South Korean film director Park Chan-wook which dealt with the theme of revenge. Tartan Films released the three films on DVD in 2007. They are:...
and is succeeded by
OldboyOldboy is a 2003 South Korean film directed by Park Chan-wook. It is loosely based on the Japanese manga of the same name written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya. Oldboy is the second installment of The Vengeance Trilogy, preceded by Sympathy for Mr...
(
2003) and
Sympathy for Lady VengeanceSympathy for Lady Vengeance is a 2005 South Korean film by director Park Chan-wook. Its original Korean title is Chinjeolhan geumjassi, which translated literally means "Kind-Hearted Ms. Geum-Ja". In the UK and North America, the film has been screened under the title Lady Vengeance...
(
2005).
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is a
2002 South KoreanKorean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North Korea and South Korea. As with all aspects of Korean life during the past century, the film industry has often been at the mercy of political events, from Japanese occupation to the Korean War to domestic governmental interference...
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
directed by
Park Chan-wookPark Chan-wook is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. One of the most acclaimed and popular filmmakers in his native country, Park is most known for his films Joint Security Area, Thirst and what has become known as The Vengeance Trilogy, consisting of 2002's Sympathy for Mr...
which follows the character Ryu trying to earn enough money for his sister's kidney transplant and the path of vengeance that follows. It is the first part of
The Vengeance TrilogyThe Vengeance Trilogy is a term used to describe three films directed by South Korean film director Park Chan-wook which dealt with the theme of revenge. Tartan Films released the three films on DVD in 2007. They are:...
and is succeeded by
OldboyOldboy is a 2003 South Korean film directed by Park Chan-wook. It is loosely based on the Japanese manga of the same name written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya. Oldboy is the second installment of The Vengeance Trilogy, preceded by Sympathy for Mr...
(
2003) and
Sympathy for Lady VengeanceSympathy for Lady Vengeance is a 2005 South Korean film by director Park Chan-wook. Its original Korean title is Chinjeolhan geumjassi, which translated literally means "Kind-Hearted Ms. Geum-Ja". In the UK and North America, the film has been screened under the title Lady Vengeance...
(
2005). The original
KoreanKorean is the official language of North Korea and South Korea. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers. It was formerly written using Hanja, borrowed Chinese characters pronounced in the Korean...
title means "
Vengeance is Mine" or "
Revenge is Mine".
Plot
Ryu, a
deaf-muteFor "deafness", see hearing impairment. For "Deaf" as a cultural term, see Deaf culture. For "inability to speak", see muteness.Deaf-mute is a derogatory term, was a term historically used by hearing people to identify a person who was deaf and could not speak...
, works in a factory to support his ailing sister who is in desperate need of a
kidneyThe kidneys are paired organs, which have the production of urine as their primary function. Kidneys are seen in many types of animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are part of the urinary system, but have several secondary functions concerned with homeostatic functions. ...
transplant. Ryu tries to donate one of his kidneys to his sister, but is told that as his blood type doesn't match that of his sister, he is not a suitable donor. After being laid off from his job by the factory boss, Ryu contacts a black market organ dealer who agrees to sell him a kidney suitable for his sister in exchange for 10,000,000
Korean wonThe won was the currency of Korea between 1902 and 1910. It was subdivided into 100 chon .-Etymology:Won is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen.-History:...
(approximately $10,000), plus one of Ryu's own kidneys. He takes the severance pay from his factory job and offers the money to the organ dealers, who take the money and one of his kidneys, but then disappear completely. Three weeks later, Ryu learns from his doctor that a kidney has been found for his sister and that the operation will cost 10,000,000 won, but since the organ dealers stole his money, he won't be able to pay for it.
In need of money for the operation (and in retaliation for his being fired), Ryu and his friend Yeong-mi, a radical leftist, conspire to kidnap the daughter of the boss who fired him. Instead they both realize that the kidnapping would immediately put them under police suspicion, and decide to kidnap Yu-sun, the daughter of the boss's friend, Dong-jin, another factory CEO. The girl stays with Ryu's sister, who takes care of her while the distraught Dong-jin arranges for a ransom. After Ryu collects the money and returns home, he learns that his sister has discovered his scheme and unwilling to be involved or burden Ryu further, has killed herself. Ryu takes Yu-sun and his sister's body into the countryside to bury her by a riverbed. While Ryu mourns, Yu-sun slips into the river and drowns.
Hours later, as Dong-jin mourns his daughter and swears revenge at the river bank, Ryu ambushes and murders the organ dealers. Dong-jin, having investigated the identities of the kidnappers, finds Yeong-mi and begins interrogating her. Yeong-mi apologizes for Yu-sun's death but warns him of her membership in a terrorist organization which, knowing Dong-jin's identity, will kill him if she dies. Dong-jin, unfazed by the threats, tortures her to death. Ryu returns to Yeong-mi's apartment building and discovers the police removing her body on a stretcher. Ryu, consumed with grief, swears vengeance on Dong-jin.
Ryu arrives at Dong-jin's residence in an attempt to kill him. However, Dong-jin had previously set up an electronic booby trap on his doornob, and when Ryu touches it, he is hit by a powerful electric shock which knocks him unconscious. Dong-jin then binds Ryu and returns him to the riverbed where Yu-sun died. After binding Ryu's hands, an emotional Dong-jin acknowledges that Ryu is a good man but that he has no choice, and slashes Ryu's
achilles tendonThe Achilles tendon , also known as the calcaneal tendon or the tendo calcaneus, is a tendon of the posterior leg. It serves to attach the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to the calcaneus bone.-Anatomy:The Achilles is the tendonous extension of three muscles in the lower leg: gastrocnemius,...
s, forcing him beneath the water, where he drowns. Dong-jin drags Ryu back to shore, and then drives off to a desolate location to bury the body. Once there he begins to dig a hole, but soon men arrive. They surround and stab Dong-jin to death, finally attaching a note to his chest identifying themselves as the terrorist group of which Yeong-mi was part. The group leaves Dong-jin dying beside his car with the bloody tools and bags he used to chop up, dismember, and package Ryu's body.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|
| Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho is a leading South Korean film actor. A graduate of Busan Kyungsang College, he started his career in theatre groups without professional training as an actor. He made his stage premiere in 1991, in the play Dongseung.In 1996 Song started appearing in film roles and his 1997 part in No...
|
Park Dong-jin |
| Shin Ha-kyun Shin Ha-kyun is a South Korean actor. He first trained as a stage actor at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, before transitioning to film and gaining national fame with his role as a North Korean soldier in Joint Security Area...
|
Ryu |
| Bae Doona |
Cha Yeong-mi |
| Lim Ji-eun |
Ryu's sister |
Reception
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance opened in South Korea on March 29, 2002 and had a worldwide box office gross of $1,954,937.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance received a low-profile
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n theatrical release from
Tartan FilmsPalisades Tartan is a US and UK film distribution company, founded by US-based Palisades Media Group to take over the film library of Tartan Films after they folded in Summer 2008.-History:...
beginning August 19, 2005 - over three years after it debuted in South Korea. In its opening weekend, it collected $9,827 ($3,276 per screen) from three New York city theaters. It played on six screens at its most widespread, and its total North American box office take was $45,243.
The film was named the best movie of 2002 by
Harry KnowlesHarry Jay Knowles is an American online film critic known for his movie news and film review website, Ain't It Cool News. Knowles is a member of the Austin Film Critics Association.-Life and career:...
of
Ain't It Cool NewsAin't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
, who praised the acting and the story. Bobo Deng from hdfest.com compliments the director of his visuals and the gruesome effects. The reviewer states although the film has extreme violence, it is used to help develop the story. Elaine Perrone from efilmcritic.com commented on the cinematography of Kim Byung-il, saying that the film is "far more visually striking" than its successor
OldboyOldboy is a 2003 South Korean film directed by Park Chan-wook. It is loosely based on the Japanese manga of the same name written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya. Oldboy is the second installment of The Vengeance Trilogy, preceded by Sympathy for Mr...
.
External links