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Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2005)
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Reviews Counted:12
Fresh:6
Rotten:6
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Though Park directs with stylistic flair, this revenge thriller is more excessively gruesome than thrilling.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong gruesome violence, strong sexuality, language and drug use
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... 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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Reviews for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
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.
It is a worthy start to a trilogy and to a director who is fast establishing himself as a new light in Asian cinema.
It's all a little ultra-cool for me. Shakespeare was right. Revenge is a dish best served ice-cold, not cool.
So bloody, scatologically violent and consistently shocking, it seems to have no larger purpose than itself -- which is pretty grim.
Somehow you'd be more won over by his anti-revenge case if he didn't seem to be having such a good time making it.
This ultra-violent revenge thriller is far more notable for its baroque excesses than coherence or credibility.
You'll likely be repulsed by much of Park's vision, but, as somebody once said: no pain, no gain.
You can't look away, not only because the carnage is so masterfully photographed, but because the director sucks you into his bleak, poetic, even sensible vision of cosmic brutality.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is a stylish bloodbath relieved by shafts of dark humor.
There is so much talent on display in Park Chanwook's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, it is a drag that the film never rises to the level of its director's obvious ability.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is so badly told that it ends up dissecting a corruption that exudes from nowhere but itself.
Park Chanwook's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance accomplishes a miraculous feat by being harrowing and humane in equal measure.
Latest News for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
May 15, 2009:
Cannes 2009: The Tomato Report – Thirst’s Vampires Descend on the Croisette
Park Chan-wook is best known for his exceptional Vengeance Trilogy -- Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance -- three blood-soaked, expertly drawn films that... More...
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
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| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 82% 82% | Paranormal Activity |
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