Review of Lady Vengeance

Introduction

This movie was seen pretty much as the final part of South Korean Park Chan-wook`s `revenge` trilogy that also included `Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance` and `Old Boy`. However, it`s really only linked thematically and can be enjoyed (if that`s the word) in its own right without any previous knowledge of its predecessors.

It`s a beautifully realised (technically and creatively) movie that, at its simplest, shows a woman (Lee Geum-ja played by the unlikely Lee Young) being released from jail, and then tracking down the men who put her there and dishing out some violent retribution. But it`s a much more complex, intricate and intriguing movie than just that.

From the outset, we (the audience) believe that the lady in question really committed the crime that put her into prison. There`s even a scene where she re-enacts the crime for the sake of the cameras. Smothering a small defenceless boy to death in a clinical and remorseless way. It`s a long way in before the plot thickens and it becomes clear that all is not what it at first seemed.

Life in the Korean women`s prison is tough, with `murderous dykes` pretty much in control. (There are frequent flashbacks throughout this complex tapestry of a movie).
After 13 years, Lee Guem-ja is released and is greeted by a slightly creepy preacher. He has been looking forward to her salvation, and by way of celebration, has even brought a group of Santa-clad carol singers to serenade her release. It transpires (flashbacks again) that he has become obsessed with her, having seen her innocent looking face on TV all those years earlier.

He symbolically offers her Tofu which she knocks to one side, telling him to `Go screw yourself`, again taking us an audience away from the clichéd or the predictable.

Putting on her sunglasses, she walks off into the horizon, bent on revenge.

The movie unfolds with subtle brilliance, often creating U-turns in expectation, and weaving a complex story that makes it difficult to ever quite get a comfortable foothold. Nothing and no one is quite what they seem.in common with real-life.

Chan-wook uses a wide variety of distinctive techniques to weave the tale, including frequent freeze-frame, flash-back, and even talking straight to camera. It`s a heady mix but it works brilliantly, never getting in the way of the intent.

SPOILER WARNING: The final, dreadful revenge of the boy`s true killer, Mr. Baek (Choi Min-shik) is not for the light-hearted, being the ultimate conclusion to this darkly and coldly pre-meditated avengement. But it`s actually one of the few moments of really disturbing violence in the film, which is far less explicit than `Old Boy` for example. There is some character-building nastiness though that is expertly done, like the mealtime sex scene which is so dispassionate and cold that it brings a dark cloud all of its own.

One strand of the story that failed to work for me was the tracking down and relationship with a daughter, now living in Australia. This was one sub-plot too many and didn`t seem to get any emotional traction. But that`s a small and perhaps uneccessary gripe.

In the accompanying notes with the disc it`s interesting to note that Chan-wook really only set out to make one film about `vengeance`. Then came `Oldboy` and it was the press who pushed him in an interview by seeming critical that he was making two films about revenge in a row. In a moment of rebellious inspiration, Chan -wook replied to his critics by saying that it wasn`t two films in a row, but three. That was the first he, or anyone else knew about `Lady Vengeance`.

If you`ll forgive me for further quoting, he adds: "`I`ve always tried not to fall for the lies that say things like `you can do anything if you have the will` or that `you`re the only one who can carve out your life`…what I`m trying to say is that …life doesn`t go your way`. It`s a view that definitely permeates his movies which are always unpredictable. `Lady Vengeance` is no exception.

Video

Tartan have once again done a magnificent job here. It`s uncut in anamorphic 2.35:1 and is a near perfect print. Until the advent of commercial blu-ray, this is as good as it`s ever going to get on DVD - and for my money, good enough!

Audio

It`s all in original Korean with subtitles, though there are 2.0, 5.1 and 5.1 DTS options. The 5.1 works fine with a subtle use of the surround possibilities. Excellent.

Features

There`s a slightly tedious though illuminating interview with Chan-wook, using an English translator which adds a ponderous air to an interview that never really catches fire as everything is repeated twice (once in Korean and then in English). This runs for a generous 41 minutes and the impression is that Chan-wook is a frighteningly honest individual, telling it like it is.

There`s also the de rigueur Theatrical Trailer, useful I guess if you`re running a pretend cinema with your family, as well as trailers for Battle Royale 2, Another Public Enemy and A Bittersweet Life.

Finally, there`s the small leaflet with some film notes from Billy Chainsaw included in the pack.

Conclusion

`Lady Vengeance` maybe the last film in Park Chan-Wook`s so-called revenge trilogy (starting with `Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance` and `Old Boy`) but it`s no Jaws 3. This is a truly superb film in its own right, arguably the best yet with a complex interwoven plot expertly realised and beautifully shot.

There`s perhaps a little less explicit violence here though the movie is no less disturbing than its predecessors - and it takes the `revenge` theme into some new and fascinating territory, where nothing is quite as it at first seems.

Of course, in the end, Park Chan-wook`s worldview is a bleak one, and the individuals who populate his landscape are never perfect. But that`s what makes this movie such a sublime and satisfying piece, demanding a re-watch and lingering as after-thoughts for days after your initial viewing.

This is also a really nice disc, with a simply stunning transfer. Though not for the under 18`s, nor for the feint-hearted, I recommend this whole-heartedly to everyone else.