Sunday 8 April 2007

The Vengeance Trilogy

About a year ago, I dragged one of my work buddies to see Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. I can't remember why I wanted to see this film, as it's a 'foreign film' with English subtitles, which had never really appealed to me before! Within 5 minutes, I was totally hooked! It was beautifully made, although somewhat graphic in parts, and surprisingly, quite comical (in a dark way)! It was all about a woman who was imprisoned for 13 years for the kidnap and murder of a 6yr old boy, and whilst she is in prison she recruits inmates to help her seek revenge on the man who is really responsible for the murder/ kidnap of the boy.

My film buddy, who'd had quite a conservative upbringing as a white African, did not appreciate this film at all, and I think everyone in the cinema could sense his discomfort during the 2-3 sex scenes! To give you some idea of how awkward this was, I actually felt more comfortable watching puppets having sex in Team America, which I watched with my dad!!! When my film buddy stated "I can't believe you've brought me to a film which features 'rug munching'," in a Very Loud voice, I could have quite happily punched him!

Roll on to about 6-7 months ago, and I was talking to a different friend about films, and I lent him Lady V, as I thought he might like it... I was right, he loved it too. He lent me his favourite Korean film, Oldboy, which I also fell in love with. This film is about a man who is imprisoned for 15 years, and does not know why - he is then released and given 5 days to find his captor.

After geeking off on IMDB.com, the penny dropped that both films had been directed by Park Chan-Wook, and were both part of his Vengeance Trilogy. My brother and his wife got me this trilogy boxset for my birthday, and I've finally got round to watching the 3rd film, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance. Another great film, beautifully directed! This film is about a deaf mute who needs to raise money for a kidney transplant for his ill sister, as he is unable to donate his own. He gets sacked, and ends up kidnapping his wealthy ex-boss' young daughter, but things don't go according to plan...

I only know of 2 of my friends who'd be enthusiastic about watching these films, but I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who doesn't mind watching a subtitled film, with great storylines! Mr Vengeance and Lady Vengeance both scored 7.8 on IMDB, and Oldboy actually scored 8.3, which goes to show what great films they are!!!

2 comments:

Gina said...

Ugh! You watch some fugly films.

Ruthie said...

Yes, needless to say, you weren't one of the "2" I was referring to ;o)

And what do you expect? We've still got 2 weeks til Heroes is back on!