Director: Chan-wook Park (Sypathy for Mr. Vengeance, Lady Vengeance)Cast: Min-sik Choi (Lady Vengeance), Hye-jeong Kang (Lady Vengeance), Ji-tae Yu (Lady Vengeance)
The Deal: Dae-su Oh (Choi), who has a wife and daughter, was kidnapped and imprisoned in a shabby room for 15 years with no explanation why. In his confinement, he had a TV, through which he learned that his wife had been murdered and he has been deemed the killer. Upon his release, he is equipped with money, a cell phone, and nice clothes. He has 5 days to unravel the mystery of who captured him, and why they did it. In his quest for revenge, he recounts deep secrets of his past, which may hold the key to his imprisonment.
Thoughts: This is the second film in Chan-wook Park's Vengeance Trilogy (the first being Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, the last being Lady Vengeance), and also the strongest installment. The story is engaging, dark, mysterious, and contains one of the best cinematic twists around. There is plenty of action in the film, including a very satisfying hallway scene involving a hammer, and like Roger Ebert said, the action "makes a statement and has a purpose."
Min-sik Choi was excellent in the lead as Dae-su Oh. He displays all of the emotions one would expect for a man in his position, and he does so very believably. Hye-jeong Kang is also quite good as Mi-do, Dae-su's love interest after being released. Her character does a good job of providing comfort to Dae-su while helping to try and uncover the mysterious plot against him. Ji-tae Yu, though having far less screen time than the other characters, was quite sinister as Woo-jin Lee, the man who imprisoned Dae-su. His plot against Dae-su stretches back many years, and involves some of the most cringingly twisted acts a man could do.
The scene that stands out the most would be the hallway scene. Without saying too much, Dae-su has only a hammer, and must make his way down a hall full of enemies. It felt like like one of those great side-scrolling action games of childhood, though Park has said this was unintentional. There is also a scene where a live octopus is consumed, which many will find disturbing and cringe worthy, but this act is not unheard of in East Asia. The scene when Dae-su finally confronts his captor is epic, leading to the big reveal and ultimate twist. There are plenty of other great scenes, but I don't want to spoil anything, since this is a film with lots of twists and turns.
Verdict: A bloody and twisted revenge film containing one of the best twists in cinema. This film may not be for everyone, but I believe it is a must see. ☆☆☆☆
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