Review of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) by Andy L — 01 Aug 2012

This movie is a mystery to me. It's incredibly dark and difficult to handle in spots, but at the same time it is beautifully filmed, capturing amazing colors, angles and such humanity. I have seen the second act of Park's Vengeance trilogy, Oldboy, but this one seemed to have more life and vitality to it.

I need to rewatch Oldboy again because I think there are some amazing camera shots in that as well, but it's been awhile. It's hard to watch this series because it seems to begin in the second half of any Shakespeare tragedy, but not the high tragedies like King Lear or Richard 3, more like Coriolanus or Titus Andronicus.

Yet I think Park succeeds in showing us more humanity in his films than Shakespeare did with his lesser tragedies. I know that's a bold statement. And I am not comparing Park's works with King Lear, Othello, Hamlet, et al, but Park's skillful art in these films seem to take dark themes and grotesque images from Bill's lesser tragedies and elevate them into a higher art form.