The Vengeance Trilogy

DVD cover of the Vengeance Trilogy

The Vengeance Trilogy (Korean: 복수 삼부작) are three films, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005), directed by South Korean film director Park Chan-wook, which dealt with the themes of "revenge, violence and salvation". Originally, these three films were not the official series, but spiritual successors to two films (Oldboy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) followed the film Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.

In the United Kingdom, Tartan Films released the box set of the three films on DVD. In the United States, Vivendi Entertainment released the same set.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

The first installment in Park's trilogy was the 2002 film, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, a bleak and violent tale of revenge gone wrong. It tells the story of a deaf-mute man who kidnaps a young girl to pay for his sister's much-needed kidney transplant. When the young girl accidentally dies, her bereaved father goes on a search for answers and vengeance. The film did reasonably well at the box office in South Korea and was named the best film of 2002 by film critic Harry Knowles.

Oldboy

Actor Choi Min-sik at the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Park's next film in the trilogy was the hugely successful 2003 film, Oldboy. It told the story of a man who is imprisoned for fifteen years and then released with no explanation as to why he was confined and released. Now, he has been given five days to learn his captor's true identity and find out why he was imprisoned, or his new love interest will be killed. The film was very well-received at film festivals and at the box office in South Korea. It won the Grand Prix award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and received great reviews from critics. The film has gained a cult following in the years following its release and is seen as a classic to many people.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

The third and final installment in the trilogy was the 2005 film, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (or Lady Vengeance). The film tells the tale of an innocent young woman released from prison after doing time for a child-killer still at large. Once freed, she seeks out her long-lost daughter and unveils her plan for revenge against the ghastly man for whom she served time. This film was also well received by critics and South Korean audiences alike. It grossed $7,382,034 in its opening week and competed for the Golden Lion at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival in September 2005.

Use of Same Actors

Numerous actors and actresses feature throughout the trilogy, sometimes only as cameos.

• Oh Kwang-rok is the only actor to make an appearance in all three films.
• Song Kang-ho as Park Dong-jin in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Hired assassin 1 in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
• Shin Ha-kyun as Ryu in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Hired assassin 2 in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
• Choi Min-sik as Oh Dae-su in Oldboy, Mr. Baek in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
• Yoo Ji-tae as Lee Woo-jin in Oldboy, older Won-mo in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
• Kang Hye-jeong as Mi-do in Oldboy, Tv announcer in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
• Oh Dal-su as Park Cheol-woong in Oldboy, Mr. Chang in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
• Kim Byeong-ok as Mr. Han in Oldboy, the preacher in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

Box office

Director Park Chan-wook at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Worldwide box office gross:

• Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance : $1,954,937
• Oldboy : $14,980,005
• Sympathy for Lady Vengeance : $23,457,690

Total : $40,392,632

External links

• Movie Review: The Vengeance Trilogy at Eye for Film
• Movie Review: The Vengeance Trilogy at OneKnightStands.net
• Movie Review: The Vengeance Trilogy at Culturazzi
• Movie Review: The Vengeance Trilogy at Neoimages (Korean)
• Cartoon about The Vengeance Trilogy at Maxmovie.com (Korean)