One of the unexpected delights in setting up the Foreign Favourites series has been discovering new bloggers and their enthusiasm to contribute. This includes Laura O at Filmnerdblog, whose site is a delightful mix of film genres housing detailed and well written reviews. I have been catching up for lost time and really recommend you have a look too.
Film Favourites series: Lady Vengeance
Overview
Lady Vengeance is the final film in what’s become known as South Korean writer/director, Chan-Wook Park’s, Vengeance Trilogy. And what a finale it is! Don’t worry if you haven’t seen Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance or Oldboy, it isn’t that kind of trilogy. Each film stands alone on its own merits and tells a separate story about unrelated characters and events.
So, to Lady Vengeance. This film tells the story of Geum-ja Lee, a beautiful young woman who, when we meet her, has just completed a thirteen and a half year prison sentence for kidnapping and murdering a little boy. So far, so grim, right? Stick with it.
Upon her release, Guem-ja, sets the wheels in motion for an elaborate and gruesome revenge plot against the man she holds responsible for her incarceration. Park shows how ‘kind-hearted’ Guem-ja is now a cold, determined, manipulative and damaged woman, as desperate for redemption as retribution.
We’re also treated to a series of flashbacks which shows her innocence and naiveté before the crime, as well as her time in prison. In these scenes she seems to be a quiet and unassuming character, although we soon see that she has a dark side, even if her actions have good motives. And that, dear readers, is pretty much all I’d like to say about the plot. I fear to say any more may spoil it for those of you who’ve not yet seen it, but might want to one day.
My two pence
I was hooked right from the opening credits…that music! It somehow conveys a sense of mystery and intrigue, not to mention foreboding. Listen to it here
Lady Vengeance is visually striking too, from the opening sequence where Guem-ja leaves prison to the scenes in the deserted school, there is some really memorable imagery. Yeong-ae Lee shines as the tragic Guem-ja, the ultimate anti-heroine, successfully expressing the full gamut of emotions. While there’s a solid supporting cast of characters, it’s Yeong-ae Lee who carries this film.
Lest I give the wrong impression, I should say that Lady Vengeance is flawed. It takes long while to get going and at times the story seems muddled and a little confusing. But for all that it is a truly unique story, perhaps partly because the vengeful protagonist is a woman.
While it certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste – it’ll be too violent for some – much of the violence here takes place off-screen, unlike the utterly brutal (and brilliant) Oldboy. If you’re able to cope with a generous dose of blood in your films, give Lady Vengeance a go.
Score: 8/10
Watch the trailer here
My thanks to Filmnerdblog for participating, and for such an impressive review. I haven’t seen it, but with such a positive write-up I probably will for sure.
Shucks, thanks for the glowing endorsement! I’ve been wanting to re-watch this for ages, so thanks for giving me an excuse, and thanks for having me.
Thanks for entering. Clearly seems a really cool trilogy. I hope to have mine up soon.
I hope you like them…
I haven’t seen this either. But Park’s work is on my list. When I get to seeing it, I hope I like it as much as you do, Laura!
It’s definitely worth seeing, he’s an inordinately talented director. I must admit that Oldboy is my number one, though.
That seems to be something of a consensus. But I figure I’ll watch them in release date order. Someday. 🙂
Enjoy!
Its a great film, not quite up with Oldboy but its visually stunning and shocking. Great review
Thanks, so much. Oldboy is definitely my favourite of the trilogy (can you call something ike Oldboy a favourite?!), I’d say it’s near perfect.
Haha yeah its a favourite of mine too, the remake was awful compared to it
I’m going to have to watch the remake, just out of curiosity, but I don’t really want to!
I reviewed it a while back if you fancy reading about it 🙂
Don’t there are ever many good remakes 😦
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Very recently watched and loved this. Geum-ja Lee is such an interesting character.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I thought her gender added an interesting dimension – women don’t usually get to be so tough.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I thought her gender added an interesting dimension – women don’t usually get to be so tough.
nice review Laura O. I’m not the biggest fan of non-English language movies, but I might give this one a try
Thanks very much. Subtitles can seem like a pain at first but if the story’s good enough I usually forget about them after the first five minutes. Let me know if you do give it a try, I’d be interested to know what you think.
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Hi Alex! Did we talk about my doing another foreign favourite? I’ve just written up Metropolis, but I can post it to my site if someone else has already covered it?
Love that movie. That would count more as a silent film so you’re more than welcome to put it up on yours. If you think of another one though, would be great to include you again. Really, really, liked your first entry.
Damn! Back to the drawing board!
Metropolis is good though, isn’t it?
It really is. Saw it years ago but need to see it again. Was mesmerised when I first saw it. Happy to suggest films if you want ideas.