Wesley's Tool-Box

The last movie in the so-called 'vengeance trilogy' by director Chan-Wook Park, called 'Chinjeolhan Geumjassi' is now showing in the Korean theatres and has already taken the #1 spot in the box office. Foreign readers will be more familiar with the English version of the title 'Sympathy for Lady Vengeance'. Director Park has carved himself a name among the minds of many movie enthusiasts everywhere with his multi-award-winning movie 'Oldboy', the second installment of the aforementioned trilogy.

Obviously, I'm writing this because I've just seen the movie. (some spoilers ahead)

Yesterday, I went to the local movie theatre with a female friend of mine (a very fun girl, I might add). Now, we wanted to watch the digital version of this, since we heard the quality is really nice for any movie and we haven't watched anything in digital at a movie theatre.

Trouble was, the theatre we went to (CGV Gangbyeon) already had the tickets sold out for the screening times that we liked. Even the non-digital version screenings didn't fare much better either. Maybe the tickets should've been reserved online first. Anyway, we were at the automatic ticketing machine, and pondered about what to do. We took a look at how the things were in the other CGV theatres in Seoul, and well, it looked like the Ryongsan (Yongsan) one still had lots of unsold seats left. So we bought the tickets for that, and took the subway to go there.

There was still an hour and a half left before screening, so we went to Pizza Hut on the same premise (the theatre is situated on the top floors of Ryongsan train/subway station complex, and the complex itself also houses several number of shops, restaurants, and even a grocery store) and, well, ate pizza. Talking and eating quickly passed time, and we went to the theatre about 5 minutes before the start.

Okay. The movie.

The movie starts out with the release of Geum-Ja Lee (played by Young-Ae Lee) from the prison. She was sentenced to 13 and a half years of imprisonment for the abduction and subsequent killing of a 6-year old boy. A church pastor and the accompanying choir greets her with literal fanfare. The pastor was apparently very moved by a confession session she gave in the church, and her reputation as 'the generous Ms. Geum-Ja (yes, that's 'chinjeolhan Geumjassi' in Korean)' in the prison probably added to the effect. However, Geum-Ja harshly turns down the reception - she's got better things to do.

She had a vengeance to seek out, 13 and a half years in the making.

The image of generosity that she built up in her prison life was, in fact, a part of her plan to avenge. She did not abduct or kill that 6-year old boy; she was framed and served time despite her innocence. She knows who's responsible for framing her, and she decided to get even. By being an 'angel' to other inmates (save one), she earned their respect and trust. When she finally got out of prison, these former inmates, who all came out before her and adjusted into social life again, would have no choice but to help her, regardless of how far-fetching the request might be.

Oh, and that one inmate who didn't get her grace? She (yes, it was obviously a female prison) was one mighty plump bitch who would take advantage of others way too much. After 3 years of slow poisoning (guess who did this?) she eventually died (well, got killed).

Anyway, Geum-Ja got a job at a bakery. The owner was very impressed by her cake-making skills during his visit to the prison several years past and naturally he hired her as an assistant. She would go back and forth her workplace and the places of former inmates to get her plans rolling - getting her custom weapon built, finding out where her target of revenge (played by Min-Sik Choi) lived, and so on.

Also, she sought out the whereabouts of her daughter. Yes, she had a daughter. It turns out she was a single mother - got pregnant while in high school. Now if you're a quick thinker, I think you can guess how this worked out against her and eventually led to framing of a crime she did not commit.

In the end, Geum-Ja did get her revenge. But as with all revenges, it left a seriously bad aftertaste. I guess she could take comfort in that she wasn't alone anymore, though.

To sum up, it definitely felt in line with 'Oldboy', but with less drama or tension. Her plan worked out so meticulously and tightly, the viewers were basically following a well-charted, narrow route. This movie was more focused in presentation of the art, so to speak - notably, you will notice that the colours in the screen slowly fade away as she gets closer to her goal. In the end the movie became completely black-and-white. First digital screening I saw was partially a black-and-white movie! Now that's something to remember. This had an interesting countereffect. The ending credit rolls were vividly coloured. You don't see that every day.

Anyway, because the colours had been completely faded by the time the bloodshed was occurring, the whole sequence felt like cruel and indifferent instead of some sort of a B-rated horror movie. I think this was a clever choice - it probably reflected the state of mind Geum-Ja was going through.

I don't think this movie will fit everyone's bill, but it's certainly a movie to watch.