Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance Review Country : South Korea Year: 2005 Genre: Horror/Action Format: Video Running Time: 129 Minutes Distributor: Tartan Asia Extreme The maker of Oldboy returns with a bone-jarring tale of corruption and violent retribution set in the underworld of South Korea..... Credits Directed by Chan-wook Park. Written by Jae-sun Lee, Mu-yeong Lee, Yong-jong Lee and Chan-wook Park. Starring Ha-kyun Shin, Kang-ho Song, Du-na Bae and Ji-Eun Lim. From its very first scene, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance feels as if it's designed to put a choke leash around your neck so director Chan-wook (Oldboy) Park can give it a good, hard yank whenever he wants you to feel something. Much like Oldboy, this film grabs you and never lets go. This is the story of Ryu (Ha-kyun Shin), a deaf man, and his sister, who requires a kidney transplant. Ryu's boss, Park (Kang-ho Song), has just laid him off, and in order to afford the transplant, Ryu and his girlfriend develop a plan to kidnap Park's daughter. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge. Those not accustomed to Park's style of film may not like the slower parts of the film. But, to me, every moment is beautifully executed, and there are multiple ways in which the viewer is drawn into the lives of the characters that exist in this film. Ha-kyun Shin gives the kind of engrossing and powerful performance you want, culminating in several scenes in which he thinks he's doomed and all but gives up. However when things go horribly wrong with the kidnapping, all is lost and he is a machine. Kang-ho Song to me is the epitome of Mr. Vengeance and pulls off an emotionally draining performance, gets his revenge, and then ultimately seals his own fate. Totally powerful on both ends. There a few other standouts in the film, but these two really did it for me. Park also delivers the goods again and changes up his direction, but not enough that a fan won't recognize his signature style. I adore the scenes in which Ryu is signing and Park takes the time to matte the screen and subtitle what he is saying, much like the silent film era. Brilliant....and just the thing that makes him a stand out director. Everything in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is pure genius and works on a new level. Park is not only setting the standard for Asia extreme, but he is setting the bar high for all filmmakers, all across the globe. The new generation of horror has arrived people....Takashi Miike, Eli Roth, Chan-wook Park, Dante Tomaselli, and of course Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. A new inspiration, for a new generation. I just can't wait for Park's next film simply titled Lady Vengeance. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance just hit DVD and has a great directors commentary, trailers, and a sweet preview of Lady Vengeance. I give it the highest Pit rating possible. MORE INFO Review by John Gray, for Pitofhorror.com