Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Hangul	복수는 나의 것
Hanja	復讐는 나의 것
RR	Boksuneun Naui Geot
MR	Poksunŭn Naŭi Kŏt
Directed by	Park Chan-wook
Produced by	Studio Box
Written by	Park Chan-wook Lee Jae-sun Lee Mu-yeong Lee Yong-jong
Starring	Song Kang-ho Shin Ha-kyun Bae Doona
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment Tartan Films
Release date(s)	South Korea: March 29, 2002
Running time	129 minutes
Language	Korean

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Korean:복수는 나의 것) is a 2002 South Korean film directed by Park Chan-wook which follows the character Ryu trying to earn enough money for his sister's kidney transplant and the path of vengeance that follows. It is the first part of The Vengeance Trilogy and is followed by Oldboy (2003) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005). The original Korean title means "Vengeance is Mine" or "Revenge is Mine".

Plot

Ryu, a deaf-mute man, works in a factory to support his ailing sister in desperate need of a kidney transplant. Ryu tries to donate one of his kidneys to his sister but is told that as his blood type does not match that of his sister and so is not a suitable donor. After being laid off from his job by the factory boss, Ryu contacts a black market organ dealer who agrees to sell him a kidney suitable for his sister in exchange for 10,000,000 Korean won, plus one of Ryu's own kidneys. He takes the severance pay from his factory job and offers the money to the organ dealers, who take the money and one of his kidneys, but then disappear. Three weeks later, Ryu learns from his doctor that a kidney has been found for his sister and that the operation will cost 10,000,000 won, but since the organ dealers stole his money, he will not be able to pay for it.

In need of money for the operation and in retaliation for his being fired, Ryu and his girlfriend, Yeong-mi, a radical anarchist, conspire to kidnap the daughter of the boss who fired him. Instead, he realizes that the kidnapping would immediately put them under police suspicion, and they decide to kidnap Yu-sun, the daughter of the boss's friend, Dong-jin, another factory executive. The girl stays with Ryu's sister (thinking that Ryu is merely babysitting for a time), who takes care of her while the distraught Dong-jin arranges to pay her ransom. After Ryu collects the money and returns home, he learns that his sister has discovered his scheme and, unwilling to be involved or burden Ryu further, killed herself. Ryu takes Yu-sun and his sister's body into the countryside to bury her by a riverbed they used to frequent as children. While Ryu mourns, Yu-sun accidentally slips into the river and drowns.

Days later, as Dong-jin mourns his daughter and swears revenge at the river bank, Ryu ambushes and murders the organ dealers. Dong-jin, having investigated the identities of the kidnappers, finds Yeong-mi and begins interrogating her. Yeong-mi apologizes for Yu-sun's death but warns him of her membership in a terrorist organization that, knowing Dong-jin's identity, will kill him if she dies. Dong-jin, unfazed by the threats, tortures her to death by electrocuting her. Ryu returns to Yeong-mi's apartment building and discovers the police removing her body on a stretcher. Ryu, consumed with grief, swears vengeance on Dong-jin.

Ryu arrives at Dong-jin's residence in an attempt to kill him. He waits for some time, but Dong-Jin does not arrive: he is, in fact, waiting at Ryu's apartment. After Dong-Jin does not arrive, Ryu returns to his apartment. However, Dong-jin had previously set up an electric booby trap on his doorknob, which knocks Ryu unconscious. Dong-jin then binds Ryu and returns him to the riverbed where Yu-sun died. After binding Ryu's hands and feet and bringing him chest-high into the water, an emotional Dong-jin acknowledges that although Ryu is a good man, he has no choice; Dong-jin then slashes Ryu's Achilles tendons, resulting in his drowning.

Dong-jin drags Ryu back to shore and then drives off to a desolate location to bury the body. Once there, he begins to dig a hole, but soon a group of men arrives. They surround and stab Dong-jin repeatedly, finally attaching a note to his chest identifying themselves as the terrorist group of which Yeong-mi was part. The group leave Dong-jin dying beside his car with the bloody tools and bags he used to chop up, dismember, and package Ryu's body.

Cast

Actor	Role
Song Kang-ho	Park Dong-jin
Shin Ha-kyun	Ryu
Bae Doona	Cha Yeong-mi
Lim Ji-eun	Ryu's sister

Reception

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance opened in South Korea on March 29, 2002 and had a worldwide box office gross of $1,954,937. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance received a low-profile North American theatrical release from Tartan Films beginning August 19, 2005, over three years after it debuted in South Korea. In its opening weekend, it collected $9,827 ($3,276 per screen) from three New York city theaters. It played on six screens at its most widespread, and its total North American box office take was $45,243.

The film was named the best movie of 2002 by Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, who praised the acting and the story. Bobo Deng from hdfest.com compliments the director of his visuals and the gruesome effects. The reviewer states although the film has extreme violence, it is used to help develop the story. Elaine Perrone from efilmcritic.com commented on the cinematography of Kim Byung-il, saying that the film is "far more visually striking" than its successor Oldboy.

Remake

In January 2010, Warner Bros. acquired the right for a US remake of the film. Brian Tucker is to write the screenplay.

External links

• Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance at the Internet Movie Database
• Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance at AllRovi
• Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance at Rotten Tomatoes
• Review at koreanfilm.org