DIR: Park Chan-wook • WRI: Seo-Gyeong Jeong, Chan-wook Park • PROD: Young-wuk Cho, Chun-yeong Lee, Tae-hun Lee • DOP: Jeong-hun Jeong • ED: Jae-beom Kim, Sang-Beom Kim • DES: Hwa-seong Jo • CAST: Min-sik Choi, Yeong-ae Lee , Go-Su-Heui
The third instalment of Chan-wook Park's Korean Vengeance Cycle, Lady Vengeance represents a slight change of pace for the director. Unlike the first two movies in the series, Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy, the audience experiences a less frantic pace, and is almost instructed to take a step back rather than jump straight in. The focus isn't on obscure and intense surrealism here, merely the need for the audience to engage and interact with a story from beginning to end.
Lady Vengeance refers to our main protagonist, Lee Geum-Ja (Yeong-ae Lee), who we meet for the first time on her release from prison. From there on, the audience are filled in on holes in the storyline via flashback sequences. We quickly realise that our anti-hero is on a quest of retribution, having been set up for the kidnapping and murder of a young child when she was nineteen. Geum-Ja admitted to the crime, fearing that the safety of her young daughter would be at risk. She is sentenced, and her daughter taken from her and put up for adoption.
In prison Geum-Ja endures a relatively average stint. However, despite being adorned with the nickname of 'The Kind Ms. Geum-Ja', she encounters 'The Witch' (Go-Su-Heui), a horrendous and brutal inmate who sexually abuses certain prisoners while terrifying others. When Geum-Ja has finally had enough of her disgusting and inhumane antics, she poisons her, bit by bit, over a period of three years. It's an interesting directorial device that makes it easier to accept Lady Vengeance as a decent human being despite the influence that murder seems to wield over her life. After her release, Geum-Ja utilises her prison contacts to track down the perpetrator of the crime that she was punished for: Mr. Baek (Min-sik Choi), an elementary school teacher, so that she can seek her own personal revenge.
Park's third instalment doesn't necessarily fit into the genre of Asian Extreme as it also showcases elements from many others. It is of a slower pace and a lower intensity than its predecessors, although this isn't necessarily a bad thing for the film. Lady Vengeance gives the audience time to relate to the character of Lee Geum-Ja and, through a touching and well constructed sub-plot involving her young daughter, we come to the realisation that the retribution Geum-Ja wants to execute can be traced back to her repentance at having to watch her daughter being taken away from her.
Is the film violent? Well, that depends on your interpretation.... Compared with other, more 'extreme' Asian films of recent years, this one isn't too heavy. Physical violence is at a minimum, but certain scenes are difficult to watch. Caution is advised, but let it not detract from an entertaining thriller. The 'difficult' scenes are needed to get certain points across, and it must be noted that the black humour throughout is very funny and almost acts as a tonic for the hard-hitting finale.
The film noir elements are easily recognisable via the colour palette that Park uses throughout, as well as age-old cinematic devices. We spend a lot of time in dimly lit rooms or outside by night. We walk home with Geum-Ja with shadows playing tricks on our eyes. We hear her red high-heels as she walks around her city. Sound plays a big role in Lady Vengeance, with a powerful soundtrack that features a superb use of Vivaldi's Four Seasons as well as original music by Seung-hyun Choi, Seok-joo Na, and Yeong-wook Jo.
Lady Vengeance is a good film: dark and difficult to watch sometimes, but ultimately a rewarding experience. Its narrative is well driven and, as a drama, the film's poetic quality is largely undeniable. In places, Park's obsession with inserts threatens to derail the audience's attention and train of thought, but overall Park achieves what he set out to do: create a journey. He does it admirably.
In cinemas 20th January 2006.
