Sympathy for Mister Vengeance

I have to say, Chan-wook Park has mastered the technical aspects down to the finest detail. The flawless visual composition paired with a pleasing soundtrack was something I really liked. On the other hand, the pacing bothered me at times. The story itself sounds good on paper, and I can imagine it being filmed with more emphasis on tension. However, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance doesn’t play that way; it presents a slower build-up, with the final bloody catharsis for all parties involved bursting metaphorically off the chain. Of course, you can’t fault the acting here; Kang-ho Song, as always, guarantees the highest quality performance. So, all in all... If it had moved faster, I would have enjoyed it more. But it’s still a well-crafted film that serves as the first part of Park’s revenge trilogy. I give it 6.5/10. (03/08/2022)

The first part of a loose trilogy with a common theme of revenge, which differs from parts two and three like night differs from day. Each of these pictures takes its own peculiar path and each of these paths is brilliant. This movie takes a rough and ready little path, paved with slow pace with maximum emphasis on characters and primarily with believable and several variations on revenge. All this without a formal shell or technical games. Which not only doesn’t matter, but it’s a good thing; the intimate, chamber tone works well here. But there are two problems here. The music, which is almost non-existent, and when there is some, you don’t notice it; which is surprising in a movie from Park. And the movie works more on a level of separate, powerful scenes, rather that as a coherent whole. (29/04/2005)

This is going to sound weird, but I'm actually glad I didn't become fond of this movie and don't have any pangs of guilt. Because sometimes I have trouble giving high ratings to films whose content I strongly dislike. But otherwise I would end up rating most films negatively. And yet I didn't like the execution in this case either. Long shots of ugly and gloomy things that make me worry that I’m getting brainwashed. I hope I never find my way back to this. (05/12/2013)

More relief than pleasure three stars. It might be that I was just not in the mood for this lengthy Asian thriller, or that Park is not my cup of tea (which is more likely). I’m aware that in average I’m more into Asian romances than Asian thrillers, which is quite surprising given my otherwise darker film tastes… (29/12/2011)

An extremely depressing, dark, and bleak revenge epic with some very powerful and chilling scenes. Park Chan-wook (my first ever encounter with this appealing gentleman) here creates themes of revenge as an extremely cruel and insatiable desire for satisfaction as a result of the accidental loss of a loved one. It is precisely the cruelty and uncompromising nature of the process of "revenge" that is pushed to the limits of humanity and tolerability in this Korean rendition. It gives the impression that at a certain stage of mental (dis)integration, the act of revenge becomes the only meaning of life and forces one to commit unprecedented acts. With its minimal dialogue, absence of significant formal devices, and atmosphere of hopelessness that is all the more poignant because you have to fear what comes next, the first part of the revenge trilogy is a remarkable, raw, and actually extremely sensitive spectacle. (07/10/2012)