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Movies / On DVD / Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

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Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2005)

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55 %
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Reviews Counted: 53

Fresh: 29

Rotten:24

Average Rating: 6.1/10

Consensus: Though Park directs with stylistic flair, this revenge thriller is more excessively gruesome than thrilling.

Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release: Aug 19, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: RYU (SHIN Ha-kyun), a young factory worker, has recently quit art school in order to look after his sister, who is dying a slow, agonizing death for want of a kidney. When a doctor tells Ryu that he is an unsuitable donor and that the chances of... RYU (SHIN Ha-kyun), a young factory worker, has recently quit art school in order to look after his sister, who is dying a slow, agonizing death for want of a kidney. When a doctor tells Ryu that he is an unsuitable donor and that the chances of finding one is slim, Ryu turns to the black market. But the old lady who runs an underground organ ring cheats him, taking both his life savings and his kidney and leaving him without the kidney she promised in exchange. Ryu's girlfriend, a Raggedy-Ann leftist named YOUNGMIN (BAE Doona), urges Ryu to kidnap the four-year-old daughter of industrialist owner PARK DONG-JIN (SONG Kang-ho), who recently laid off Ryu and many other workers from his factory. Ryu agrees, but just as the plan is on the verge of success, Ryu's sister discovers what Ryu and Youngmin have been up to, and kills herself in despair. Compounding the tragedy, Ryu loses track of his little illicit charge during a visit to his childhood haunts, and she drowns in the river Ryu and his sister played in as kids. Dong-jin's deep grief quickly turns to rage and he embarks on an implacable quest for vengeance. At the same time, Ryu goes after the organ traders, knowing that if they had come through, none of the tragic occurrences would ever have happened. Bound by their common sense of loss and deep-seated anger, the two are on a collision course of revenge. --© Tartan Films [More]

Starring: Ha-kyun Shin, Kang-ho Song, Doo-na Bae

Starring: Ha-kyun Shin, Kang-ho Song, Doo-na Bae

Director: Chan Wook Park

Director: Chan Wook Park
Screenwriter: Chan Wook Park
Studio: Tartan Films

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Release:

Nov 22, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - (unspecified)

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound - Korean

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Director's Commentary
  • Behind-The-Scenes
  • Featurette - 1. A FIRST LOOK AT SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE
  • Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer

Text/Photo Galleries:

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Reviews for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image

Park forces us to consider a world where good intentions go awry, decent people do bad things, and fate deals cruel cards. But even at its darkest moments, Sympathy finds surprising and heartbreaking shreds of humanity.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
04/19/07
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org
Ratings Image

Confirms Park's mastery of a niche style of cinema that is glossy, morbid and childishly provocative.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International
Ratings Image

Slightly more enjoyable than getting a kidney transplant.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/14/07
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
09/28/06
Sight and Sound
Ratings Image

It's more of a freak show -- although freak shows can be fun, too.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
06/08/06
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Ratings Image

Executed with style and it sets up a situation that provides some food for thought.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
01/26/06
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
01/07/06
Film Threat
Ratings Image

The best way to describe it is as the work of an artist -- director Chanwook Park -- who possesses both a conscience and a burning desire to use images to tell stories.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
11/10/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Ratings Image

A stylish exercise with some agreeably weird touches, but as a whole it substitutes atmosphere for coherence or credibility.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
11/01/05
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
Ratings Image

Park prizes craftsmanship over bargain-bin schlock. It's an odd testament to his spiritedness that, despite the coldblooded killing and trail of the dead, Mr. Vengeance feels warmly suffused with life.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/28/05
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Almost every scene contains something surprising, even startling -- we feel as if Park is searching for a new way of seeing...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
10/07/05
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Ratings Image

The movie begins as a tragic tale of sacrifice and love... intense and understandably moving. It gets a little less interesting when it turns into a gore-fest.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
09/30/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Onion AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
Onion AV Club
Ratings Image

Fun, up to a point, but once it crosses its own internal Rubicon it becomes downright horrific, with blood and torture and the vertiginous sense of being unable to wake from a particularly arresting nightmare.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
09/24/05
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
Ratings Image

It is a worthy start to a trilogy and to a director who is fast establishing himself as a new light in Asian cinema.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
09/23/05
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

It's not a new idea, that violence destroys everyone, no matter the 'righteousness' of their cause. But it's one worth relearning.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
09/23/05
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies
Ratings Image

While there's no denying that Park has strong visual skills, his content so far is in appalling bad taste.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
09/23/05
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Ratings Image

There's powerful drama in watching Ryu and Dong-Jin take their inevitable paths toward destruction, but not enough to mitigate the stomach-turning luridness along those paths.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
09/23/05
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune
Ratings Image

Park's juvenile obsession with blatant gross-outs belies his many talents.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
09/22/05
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

March 17, 2008: Charlize Theron Has Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
She'll spend the summer blending humor and superhero action with Will Smith and Jason Bateman in Hancock, but Charlize Theron already has Vengeance on her mind. More...

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