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Sympathy for Lady Vengeance AKA Chinjeolhan geumjassi
R3 - South Korea - CJ Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (20th February 2006). |
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The Film
 A few years ago I attended a screening of a film I had no prior knowledge about; I read the synopsis in the festival programme and thought it was interesting. At that point I had seen very little in terms of films that Korean had to offer and wasn’t really sure what to expect. The film was JSA (2000), for the following two hours I was mesmerized as to what I had just seen. It was at that moment I was motivated to track down more films from Korea and broaden my viewing palate, as I walked out of the screening I remember turning to my friend and saying the director of that film is someone to watch out for or something to that effect. Was I right on the money or what? Soon after JSA came the exciting Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) then the mind-blowing Oldboy (one of my all time favorite films of 2004) and finally in 2005 filmmaker Park Chan-wook has completed what has become his masterpiece trilogy of films The Revenge Trilogy with Sympathy for Lady Vengeance a stunning film that’s just as good as the previous two and is a solid continuation of his unique style, Wook has an amazing storytelling ability that presents time tested themes in a fresh new way. It’s also good to see that Wook is able to create with budgets substantial enough that allow his vision to be presented without compromise, thanks in part to the rising popularity of Korean films (it happens to be one of the fastest growing film industries in the world), the film looks as good as most Hollywood productions. I sincerely hope that Wook continues to deliver films with the same attention to detail and level of creativity in the future, I’m sure it won’t be hard unless he gets lured into the bright lights of Hollywood (they already know about him, Oldboy has been picked up for an American remake) like John Woo (whose best work was left behind him in Hong Kong, I don’t think any of his English Language films have been all that impressive). Sympathy for Lady Vengeance tells the story of Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae), a woman who has spent the last 13 and a half years in prison for the abduction and murder of a small child. Geum-ja has just been released and aims to reconnect with her friends she had made while serving time in order to help exact revenge on her partner in crime, a school teacher by the name of Mr. Baek (Choi Min-sik ) the real perpetrator of the crime she went to prison for. During this time Geum-ja gets a job at a cake shop and also tracks down her long lost daughter. Eventually her plan for revenge unfolds to a spectacular conclusion. Wook tells his story with a fractured narrative that jumps in time between the crime, her time in prison and the present day. This continuous jumping between time allows the audience to slowly put pieces together without giving too much away, it involves the viewer into the story a lot more than if he chose to present the film with a traditional progressive timeline. For those that have seen Old Boy and are expecting more of the same, prepare to be slightly surprised. While Old Boy is a masterpiece of revenge storytelling it’s also much more mainstream in its style and execution. Sympathy Lady Vengeance is more artistic and at times abstract in its storytelling and execution, we get a taste of this early on when Geum-ja dreams of killing Mr. Baek (represented in her dream as a dog with rocking-horse legs and his own human head). Geum-ja, a quiet and brooding figure is portrayed by Lee Young-ae, whose subtle nuances in her performance really makes for an interesting character to watch. Her character is flawed in many ways and is not your typical heroine; it’s her determination and unyieldingness of her resolve which provides the foundation of her character and a reason to root for her (well, aside from her being wronged and having to serve time for it). On the flip side we have Mr. Baek, a school teacher who has a taste for kidnapping and killing young children for monetary gain, he is portrayed as an emotionless uncaring character that isn’t allowed the opportunity to explain himself. The filmmakers chose to focus on his crime rather than revealing any good characteristics, something that would have created an interesting counterpoint to play against while she and others contemplate killing him. Although this wasn’t directly examined you can see that Geum-ja is conflicted as to how to handle her revenge and eventually we see her master work involving the families of the children he’s kidnapped and killed. A very different take on revenge that is totally personal and only made more satisfying by thinking of Mr. Baek as the monster he is and not a human being. The photography is also a stunning achievement, the film begins in lush colors and slowly desaturates until the final half hour is in black and white, it’s quite an effective gradual change, once the revenge begins we are in black and white, a statement that there is nothing more black and white than the concept of ‘an eye for any eye’. Brilliant! The film isn't entirely perfect, although at around 115 minutes it does tend to overstay its welcome occasionally, there are scenes that could have been trimmed here and there to make for a tighter pace. But that is the only the negative comment I can really say about this film. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is an excellent achievement from one of Korea’s finest filmmakers, I look forward in seeing what Wook has in store for us in the future but in the meantime I highly recommend this film buy it, rent it, whatever you do give this one a spin.
Video
Presented in the film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 this anamorphic widescreen image comes in two varieties. On disc one we have the full colour version and on disc two we have the version that gradually turns to black and white. Both versions are clean and present a sharp image, colours are vibrant and bold, since the image desturates the colours tend to fade to a black and white image that’s beautiful in its contrast. Blacks are bold and deep and shadow detail is consistent especially in dark scenes and night scenes. Both transfers are top of the line, CJ Entertainment has given us a painfully good presentation of the film.
Audio
The first disc presents the film in Korean Dolby Digital 5.1 only, while the second disc presents the film in Korean DTS 5.1 only. Therefore if you wish to view the version that turns black and white make sure you have a DTS decoder otherwise you won’t be able to view that version. I viewed the film with both tracks and I was incredibly impressed with them. Both were near identical in the sense that dialogue is clean and distortion free but what impressed me about this track was its immense depth, atmosphere is created with subtle use of the surround channels as well as a music mix stuns the senses. I did notice that that DTs track was slightly louder, whichever version of the film you choose oyu'll get a brilliant aurual experiance. The DTS track get's my vote for the best so far this year. Nice job CJ Entertainment. The film includes both optional subtitles in English and Korean on both versions of the film. Strangely enough parts of the film that feature English when Geum-ja visits Australia to find her daughter is also subtitled. Otherwise the titles are white and easy to read, there were minor grammatical errors but no spelling mistakes that I could find. I also found that there were times were the titles flash by a little too quickly.
Extras
Although this collection includes some very nice extras the unfortunate downside is that none of them feature subtitles in English. DISC ONE: The first extra you’ll find on this disc is the feature-length audio commentary by Director Park Chan-wook and actress Lee Young-ae. I’d love to comment on what was said on this track, however I cannot understand a word of Korean. I’m sure that the track is filled with interesting trivia and behind-the-scenes insights. A second audio commentary is also included on this disc by Director Park Chan-wook, Director of Photography Jung Jung-hoon and Art Director Jo Hwa-sung. Much like the previous track this one also does not feature any English subtitles, however judging by the participants I can assume they must be disussing the visual style of the photography as well as the design of the sets and props. Next up we have the "Making of Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" featurette which runs for 10 minutes 45 seconds. This clip features interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of this film. It looks like a straight-forward EPK style piece. Following that is a section entitled "Characters for Lady Vengeance" this includes four featurettes with interviews of the various actors as they talk about the characters they play in the film, the clips runs for 6 minutes 30 seconds, the second for 6 minutes 39 seconds, the third for 5 minutes 21 seconds and finally the fourth for 7 minutes 38 seconds. "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance in Venezia" is a featurette that runs for 8 minutes 24 seconds and is a promotional clip that takes a look at the film’s showcase at the 2005 Venice Film Festival. We get highlights from the press conference to the Premiere screening of the film. Some of the clip features Festival goers speaking about the film in English. A Promotion section is included on this disc that includes: - The original theatrical trailer which runs for 1 minute 53 seconds. - The original teaser trailer which runs for 1 minute 51 seconds. - 2 TV spots that play consecutively, the first runs for 16 seconds, while the second runs for 21 seconds. - A poster gallery rounds out the extras on the first disc and includes 12 images of various posters created for the film’s marketing campaign. DISC TWO: When you put this disc in before you can have access to the menu you will be see a brief introduction to this film by director Park Chan-wook. The intro lasts for 1 minute 21 seconds and is in black and white. The third audio commentary is included on this disc by film critic Kim Young-Jin, I can only assume he talks about the critical praise this film has received and its impact and popularity in Korea? Again no English subtitles, it would have been interesting to find out exactly what has been said on these tracks. Next up is a section entitled "Style of Lady Vengeance" here we have five featurettes that explore various aspects of the production, they include: - Visualization which runs for 6 minutes 24 second, in this clip director Park Chan-wook as he discusses the style and look for the film. - Production Design runs for 8 minutes 17 seconds and sees production designer Jo Hwa-sung discuss various aspects regarding her job on this film. - Costume & Make-up runs for 8 minutes 5 seconds and features costume designer Jo Sang-gyeoung and make-up artist Song Jong-hee each talking about their work on the film. - Special Art runs for 7 minutes 2 seconds and features art director Choi Hyeon-seok discusses his involvement in the project. - GC features visual effects supervisor Lee Jeon-hyeong telling us about the effects in this film. Rounding out the extras on this disc are a collection of seven alternate scenes, you can watch these with optional audio commentary by director Park Chan-wook and cast members Choi Min-sik and Lee Young-ae. The scenes are: - S#4-1 runs for 1 minute 26 seconds, in this clip we see an alternate version of the scene were Geum-ja speaks at the faith day while at prison. - S#4G-1 runs for 56 seconds, in this clip we see Geum-ja praying at night. - S#29-1 runs for 1 minute, in this clip we see the old lady Geum-ja takes care of in prison (the North Korean spy) handing her the ‘yellowing book’ as she reads through it narration can be heard over the top of the footage. - S#115 runs for 6 minutes 5 seconds, this is alternate look at the scene were Mr. Baek translates in English what Geum-ja is saying in Korean to her daughter. There a few incomplete shots in this, were you can see green-screens in the background. - S#117-16 runs for 2 minutes 50 seconds, this is a wide-angle shot of Geum-ja choking and dragging Mr. Baek with his neck tie and then continues to hit and kick him. - S#117-18 runs for 58 seconds, in this alternate camera angle we see Geum-ja tearing the curtain down to let sun into the room, she eventually breaks down crying while Mr. Baek lies on his side strapped to the chair. - S#117-18C runs for 47 seconds, we see Mr. Baek’s reaction after the curtain is pulled down. Included in the package is a 4-panel booklet that includes notes on the film, it's cast and a synposis, all in Korean text.
Packaging
This Special Edition DVD released includes two discs housed in a heavy duty glossy digi-pack with a cardboard slip-cover.
Overall
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is one of the best films I’ve seen this year, Park Chan-wook is a brilliant visionary filmmaker that has created some of Korea’s best films. If you loved Sympathy for Mr. vengeance and Old Boy then there is no reason why you should miss this release, if you haven’t seen a film by this director before now is a good time to start. CJ Entertainment has provided us with both versions of the film, the ‘Full Colour’ and ‘Progressively Black and White’ versions, the transfer are magnificent and the sound quality is astoundingly good. Additionally the extras included are plentiful and will provide fans with a decent amount of information, that is if you are Korean or can understand the language. If you cannot I’m afraid you’ll be as lost as I was, perhaps later this year a version is released that ports these extras over and subtitles them or maybe Korean DVD companies may consider subtitling their extras in the future.
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