Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (or, They breed 'em nasty in Korea)

For some reason, it is de rigueur to compare this, the conclusion of Chan-wook Park's revenge trilogy (that started with Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Oldboy) to Tarantino's pair of Kill Bill films. Sure, they both have strong female leads out for revenge, sure there is a child floating around, sure there is an unhealthy portion of blood dripping from the walls, but they are very different films.

The Kill Bills were a kind of in-joke in an Asian abattoir; they revelled in blood and violence then got all chatty about it. Sympathy For Lady Vengeance has its fair share of blood but manages to save most of it for its Grand Guignol ending. The poetic build up to the shocking events of the revenge act is a study of Geum-ja Lee, played to the hilt by Yeong-ae Lee, and her transformation into the Lady Vengeance of the title. This story is a fractured one, told in a series of macabre vignettes from Geum-ja Lee's prison days. Park's film is squarely in the hands of Geum-ja Lee and she is certainly a creation to remember. Calculating, manipulative and one minded, it is beguiling to watch her in action but her blood lust does not engender the expected sympathy because she has moved beyond that. To my mind the reviewers shouldn't be harping on about Tarantino's Kill Bills but Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo.

Therein lies the problem. Geum-ja Lee's revenge plot is rather threadbare and not so thouroughly thought through as Dumas' hero's, yet it is exhalted into genius by all who mention it. The true artistry in Lady Vengeance's vengeance is that she has managed to enthrall so many people in such a way as they would help her carry the plan out in the way that they do. The ultimate revenge act, though satisfying (or unsatisfying, as the case may be), was never never part of the initial plan and arises through circumstance. This renders much of the film structurally irrelevant. That said, many nuances and intricacies of the plot, by some accounts, do not translate well from their Korean context and this possibly obscures the real story arc to Western eyes.

Apologies? Sure. But it is a film for which you will actively search for reasons to forgive its flaws. Visually, it is stunning. Thematically, it is chilling. The performances are excellent and there are even some Australians in the cast (Tony Barry does an excellent Queensland drawl, Go Australia!). Enter with an open mind. Don't expect a facsimile of Sympathy For Mr Vengeance or Oldboy and you are sure to see the merits of this, the trilogy's conclusion. A fitting end to Park's haunting meditation on revenge.