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RECCOMENDED.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance;
Chan-wook Park has just become one of my favourite directors. Added to the list which already contains Alexandre Aja, Rob Zombie, and Quentin Tarintino. Short list.
This film is not for everyone, so you must accept that before even feeling the need to watch it. Please don't take this review to heart, go out and buy it, watch it, dislike it, and then run to me saying it's trash. You need to have a certain taste to enjoy this. It's Korean, it's subtitled, there is a majority of silence and a lack of a vast amount of dailogue. It is a character-driven film, that pours atmosphere and realism. It all works, whether you accept it or not.
The first thing you will notice while watching the film is that most of it is very quiet. There is little background music, and scenes are often filled with nothing but background noises. Background noises you can hear in everyday life. The director has accepted the fact that a film does not need to have a soundtrack inserted into every little open area. Even the ending, while the credits role, has very little music and is only filled by the crying of a dying man. Beautiful.
The second thing you will notice is that the film is carried by it's characters. They are well established, acted, and defined. They are real, and the director uses every oppertunity to show this to his audience. The way they act is not typical to most movies, the way they act is typical to our lives. Some of their movements may make you wonder, and turn away in shock - but you cannot deny the fact that, in this very situation, such a response is very real indeed. The actions are explained, not by words, but by past events and situations we have experienced our self.
The title, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, is very vague once you've seen the film - and you realize it works. What you will notice as you progress in this film is that you do not exactly feel more sympathy for one character, then another. All have reasons for what they are doing, all take drastic actions against another. They are all good guys, and they are all bad guys. Just like in life. Two sides of a coin.
Another thing to note, I often get bored in at least one part of every move I watch. Where I look at the clock, check the runtime, and yawn. I did not do that ONCE in this film. I was transfixed in the silence, and genuinely interested in the events taking place on screen. It's funny how a simple thing called life can be so much more exciting then movie sof other genres.
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Salvage and Oldboy tonight. Creep and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance tomorrow night. Ichi the Killer coming up sometime later, as well as The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Promise. Oh, and The Matrix (embarrasing to admit I've never seen it.)
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