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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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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.

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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Release:

Nov 22, 2005

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Reviews for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/15/09
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

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
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

Slightly more enjoyable than getting a kidney transplant.

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

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

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment 1 Comment
06/08/06
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
N/R

Click to read the article

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

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
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

Click to read the article

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

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)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

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
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
10/29/05
Boston Phoenix

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
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

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
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
N/R

Click to read the article

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

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
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

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
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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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...

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