Lady Vengeance

What About it?
(for a detailed summary, see "What Happens" below.)

Lady Vengeance is the third and last part of Park's "Vengeance trilogy," consisting of, in order, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy and Lady Vengeance. Without getting too much into the preceding films, it would seem that Park was aware that this was the final piece in the trilogy, approaching vengeance from a completely different point of view, no less violent but more passive in the planning, feminine as the other side of masculine. While Geum-ja is certainly not immune to rage at times, she doesn't feed it testosterone, but rather plans the details carefully, down to the "pretty" adornment on her custom made pistol. "Everything should be pretty." she says, although clearly some of that is out of her control. It's noted in the film that people were shocked as much by her beauty as by the horrific crime she served time for. There's no denying that her appearance affects her story and the actions of those around her.

While a man can easily be accepted as noble yet flawed, Geum-ja doesn't receive that same consideration. Many in the story (herself included) can't accept that "kind hearted Geum-ja" is also capable of horrific murder. A sort of accommodation is made, when she takes over the nickname "Witch" after killing Ma-nyeo by feeding her bleach for three years. She retains the nickname "Kind hearted Geum-ja" and adds the other as an alternate. This allows others to deal with her contradictions, although her beauty still makes them prefer "Kind hearted Geum-ja" as if beauty and kindness must be linked. Once out of prison, she has no desire to be seen as kind hearted, and the red eye shadow shows us her desire to be seen as harder than that.

We could assume that her "conversion" was an act in order to build alliances and further her plan. That doesn't seem sound to me however, as the concepts of sin and atonement clearly plague her constantly. Her deepest desire would seem to be to "live white" yet she doesn't consider the preacher's tofu for an instant as she is on a course she feels she cannot deviate from. She chooses to be "the Witch" to complete her task which will require heavy sins. Her sins are the main reason for her revenge, as she tells Jenny "He made me a sinner." While it's true that she didn't murder the boy, it's also true that she was involved in the the process including the kidnapping. This is not an innocent woman imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit. It's more a case of a woman who claims complete guilt when she should only claim a part. She has sinned. She feels this acutely, and adds to the list while in prison, leaving a true murderer, which morally renders the wrongness of her imprisonment a moot point. When she leaves, she has earned her sentence and more. While it's true that her actions helped other inmates, she sees them as sins anyway. She does however, claim what she's owed for her kindness, enlisting each woman she's helped to help complete her plan.

In the favors she collects, Geum-ja becomes worse than Ma-nyeo. She spares two woman sexual abuse and humiliation from Ma-nyeo, but then requires that Yi-jeong become the girlfriend of the monster, Mr. Baek. We are shown quite clearly what she must endure as the man she despises comes to think of her as property, to be thrown over the kitchen table for his pleasure, as a mild dinner interruption. Yi-jeong torture has an element that her struggle with Ma-nyeo never had. She must not only endure it, but she must cause it to happen and appear to welcome it, at Geum-ja's request. WHile some of Guem-ja's fellow inmates are asked for nothing more than help building a gun, it's plain that she will ask whatever she feels is required to accomplish her goal. The witch is capable of this so she clings to that perception of herself.

Her attempts at maintaining a pristine duality however, are foiled by Jenny's presence. Taking Jenny with her to Korea was not in her plan, yet she's unable to refuse her. This forces "kindhearted Geum-ja" and "the Witch" to share the same space. It's not coincidental that this happens shortly before capturing Mr. Baek. The Geum-ja that finally faces Mr. Baek, is Geum-ja with a daughter in tow. Her malice has not disappeared, but she has become more hesitant. Finding the key chain full of souvenirs from murdered children allows her to step back, her intricate and precise plan altered. Her new plan tellingly places the ultimate responsibility on others. It also mirrors her first offense. Geum-ja is responsible for the kidnapping and for being present, but does not commit the murder herself. Giving responsibility for Mr. Baek's fate to the parents of those he murdered does have an appealing symmetry, and on the surface may appear to be an attempt at justice. It may well be a plan that proves helpful to the relatives, providing some closure and personal power, but becoming a murderer to punish a murderer is sure to leave some scars as well. Geum-ja has at the very least, placed the relatives in her own position, perhaps trying to thin her own sin and guilt.

I don't think there's ever much question at the choice the relatives make. Turning the murderer over to the courts would appear to others as a confession that they didn't care enough about their lost sons. Perhaps individually reason would factor in more heavily, but once a "group" is formed, the likelihood of anything but drastic action is eliminated. As each party "visits" Mr. Baek, Geum-ja observes in the room, just as she observed Baek kill Won-mo. She did not kill him, but set up his death and was an active participant in it. That said, Geum-ja does not attempt to dodge the guilt. She accepts that she is not worthy to eat from the white cake, that she offers to her daughter. Yet, the white flakes of snow falling as if a taunt, are finally what break her resolve. She is forced to see that whatever her guilt, it is she herself who is clinging to the role of the "sinner."  while "whiteness falls from the sky anyway.She not only tries to eat the cake but buries her face in it, as if to smother herself with "white."

The narrator says "Geum-ja made a great mistake in her youth, and used other people to achieve her own goals. But she still didn't find the redemption she so desired. In spite of this, no. because of this, I liked Geum-ja." Geum-ja who prays constantly and believes firmly in atonement, desires redemption more than anything in the world, yet has set herself against it, in order to achieve "justice." She has grown used to being, the "witch" and  the "sinner." The woman avenging the fact that she has become those things, no longer feels those things, simply sees the errors that must be corrected. The ritual is observed. Won-mo will not accept her apology, as is his prerogative, but he does appear before her with a cigarette, shortly before Jenny is awakened by smoke and sent running towards her mother. Her path to redemption is simply her daughter's answer when she tells her to "Be white. Live white. Like this." Jenny (who sees not a "sinner" but a mother she loves and wants to understand) simply says "You too." and offers a taste of her own white cake. Without her many sins, would she ever have arrived at that place?

Technically the movie is beautiful, Park's attention to each shot in the film makes it ate times feel like a fairy tale and at others a gritty cautionary story. He notices the color of skin and of shoes and how the colors affect each other. He's also very playful with the fact that it is a film and doesn't need to hide it. There's a scene where Jenny is looking at the clouds in Australia, and sees them spell out "You have no Mom" only to have the "NO" disappear a moment later, heralding Geum-ja's arrival. Geum-ja looks at a photo of Jenny, which makes faces at her, when she considers that Jenny shouldn't leave the nice parents she lives with. These flourishes can happen at any time, breaking from the rules of the narrative, to remind you that anything could happen. I should mention that for this review I watched the standard color version of the film, but there is also a version called the "fade to black" version in which the film gradually shifts to black and white. Having seen the fade to black version first, I prefer it, but the color version is certainly beautiful as well. The story itself is very simple, which is not to say it has no depth. In the story's framework, we're presented with questions about many basic "truths" Ultimately this is a beautiful film about ugly things, which need to be faced before accepting a greater beauty, that of a "sinner" finding a moment of grace, which is only possible, because it's undeserved.

Yeong-ae Lee is transcendent as Geum-ja, her character covering such extremes that we would have trouble, as her fellow characters did accepting that one woman contains both the "angel" and the "devil" She displays every emotion possible here and believably enough, that like Geun-shik, we're tempted to dismiss what she's done, given the first excuse that allows it. Min Sik Choi is also great. WHile it's a relatively small role, his presence (after starring in Old Boy) gives a satisfying sense of continuity, not that the two characters share very much. Yae Yong Kwon's Jenny is also wonderful as her peart is more demanding than it looks, giving Geum-ja a believable reason to hope and to listen. The other performances are all top notch, particularly when there are so many characters involved. Everyone's presence adds to the whole. Even the relatives of the murdered boys give strong showings, remarking considering they're all introduced at once, near the end of the film. The nature of their gathering allows some chaos, but they don't step on each other, and everyone of them adds to the picture rather than takes away from it.

Lady Vengeance is a fitting end to the trilogy. It doesn't attempt to sell us anything like "sometimes revenge is justified." or "Murder is Ok for the right reasons." This a world where terrible things happen, and are answered with more horrors. Life is no easily solved equation. The murderer Mr. Baek says "There is no such thing as a perfect person." and we must agree, although this truth does not gain him any consideration. That doesn't make murder less horrible. It doesn't matter whether killing Mr. Baek is justified, it was a course of action they couldn't turn away from, tied as it was to their pain and the love of their missing sons. The real question posed is, once that has been done, how do you live with it? We don't see how the relatives deal with it, although perhaps they continue to celebrate it as a "birthday." believing their sons are now angels passing by. We only see Geum-ja grasping to make herself right, as anyone must do, if none of us is perfect, She sets aside her need for atonement to accept a gift and where this takes her we don't know, but it's a miraculous moment that could be the start of anything and we can understand the narrator saying that it was not in spite of her mistake, but because of it, that she liked Geum-ja. I understand, because I like her too, and I'd like to think she can "live white" after so much striving.

What Happens?


Geum-ja Lee (Yeong-ae Lee) has spent thirteen years in prison for the murder of a little boy and is about to be released. We see a group of carolers dressed in bright red Santa Claus suits, waiting for her release. One of them remarks that Geum-ja is rumored to be an angel. A man dressed in normal clothes, the Preacher ( Byeong-ok Kim) waits with them and seeing her come out, directs them to sing. Guem-ja approaches, stops and stares at the camera stone faced. Although it's snowing and very cold she is wearing only light clothing. The preacher asks about the winter clothes he sent her, and then uncovers a big block of tofu, presenting it to her. Grinning, he says " It's been hard, hasn't it? 13 and a half years. I'm so proud of you."

We see news footage about Geum-ja, covering the murder of a little boy, Park Won-mo.  One of his class mates describes the last time he saw the boy. We're told that Geum-ja, 19 years old at the time, confessed to the murder and we see her in police custody before a crowd. The news announcer explains that as shocking as the brutal murder was, everyone was more shocked at Geum-ja's good looks. A director wanted to make a movie about her, and the public took to wearing polka dot dresses, similar to what she wore when arrested.

We see Geum-ja, newly in prison, meeting with the preacher who says "Behind that wicked witch's face of yours, I saw the presence of an angel." We see her praying with the preacher. She tells another prisoner "An angel, could that be true? Do you really think an angel resides in me? If so, where was that angel when I was committing such an evil act? I always wondered about this after hearing what the preacher said, and then I realized, that the angel inside me only reveals itself when I invoke it." We see Geum-ja helping other prisoners. She comforts an elderly woman, does another woman's make up, bakes a beautiful cake, and helps a woman study. She explains that the act of invoking an angel is called prayer and says "Actually, prison is an ideal place to learn to pray, because we know that we are all sinners in here." We see that Geum-is speaking into a microphone and there's a banner behind her which says "Testimonials of faith day for Inmates, 1997" She receives much applause from prisoners and officials alike. The preacher is extra enthusiastic, standing to clap for her.

We then catch up with the preacher and Geum-ja in present day, resuming with a look at the tofu block. The preacher explains "It's a tradition to eat tofu on release, so that you'll live white and never sin again. Geum-ja reaches for the tofu, but rather than take it she intentionally knocks it to the ground, stunning the carolers and leaving the preacher shaken, in tears. She looks at him coldly and says "Why don't you go screw yourself?" and leaves.

Guem-ja visits a hair salon to see her friend and former fellow inmate, Kim Yang-hee (Yeong-ju Seo) Kim is overoyed to see her, crying and giving Geum-ja a hug. We flashback to prison, and see Yang-hee arriving, mentioning that she heard of someone in this prison whose "face would shine." Yang-hee is tripped by another inmate, Ma-nyeo (Ko Su-hee) also known as "the witch" before they all go to bed. While everyone sleeps, we see Geum-ja from behind, sitting, facing a wall, as her face gives off   a very bright light.Kim recounts her offense, strangling her pimp. Geum-ja teaches her to pray and lament past lives, and we see that Kim's face glows when she prays. In the present, Kim brings Geum-ja to her home. Kim tries to be affectionate and when Guem-ja is only cold, she remarks that she's changed, and asks if she's started the plan already. Geum-ja says "No. The plan was already started 13 years ago." THey go to to bed, and Geum-ja prays until having a vision of a snowy wasteland, where she is dragging what appears to be a dog with a man's head across the snow. She looks him in the eye and says "Farewell" and shoots him in the forehead. We see that she has dark red eye shadow as she smiles afterwards. We see that the sleeping Geum-ja is also smiling.

The next day we see Geum-ja walking down a city street and ending up at Won Mo's parents' kitchen table. Geum-ja has a knife in her hand and slams it down, cutting off one of her own fingers. We're told that she planned to beg their forgiveness until she had no fingers left. The parents are horrified and call an ambulance. Won-mo's father restrains her while they wait for it to arrive. All of the money she had, is needed to get her a finger operation. Days later, she finds work at a bakery, working for a Mr. Chang (Dal-su Oh). She unintentionally causes a scene when a young employee, Geun-shik (Shi-Hoo Kim) is so taken with her beauty that he drops everything he's carrying. He awkwardly asks if he can call her "elder sister." She responds "Just call me Geum-ja."

We see her meeting with another ex fellow inmate, Woo Soo Yong (Bu-Seon Kim) who describes the early days of prison, saying "She cried like a baby.Man, it was so depressing." We see a flashback of this happening, and her cell mates getting annoyed with her. A quick flashback shows her robbing a place in a mask with her boyfriend. She explains that she felt like she was going to die because she couldn't be with him. We then see her passing out in the prison yard, as she narrates that she had kidney failure, adding "Then this bitch says she'll give me one of her kidneys. It's not as if a kidney's a bit of fluff, you give away so easily." We see Geum-ju in the medical ward in the bed next to her.Geum-ja looks at her and says "Damn bitch. It brings me bad luck. Stop crying!" before smiling. Geum-ja then meets Woo Soo's boyfriend and we see another flashback of the robbery, as he describes how fearless she was saying he's "married to a goddess." Woo Soo blames him being at her side for her fearlessness. The two fawn all over each other while Guem-ja stares at them expressionless. Woo Soo tells her boyfriend that Geum-ja is "readying a magnificent plan." and asks him to help her. Geum-ja produces a book which contains many folded pieces of paper, which they pin to the wall, producing what looks like plans to build a gun. He asks where she got it, and we see another flashback in prison.

Guem-ja is sitting with an elderly woman, Ko Sun-sook, who tells her "Go save yourself." Ko was a spy from North Korea who had Alzheimer's. She speaks to Geum-ja about dogs and chicken bones, while Guem-ja calmly looks after her. We're told that she volunteered to do this. She gives Geum-ja the book, saying "for you have vengeance to take, comrade."

We meet another inmate via flashback, Oh Soo-hee (Mi-ran Ra.) We see her getting taking advantage of by a Ma-nyeo, who forces Soo-hee to pleasure her. This happens again another day in the prison bath. Behind them, we see someone cleaning the floor with a mop and leaving. Once sexually satisfied, the tough woman walks away while Soo-hee cries. She slips on the wet floor however, and hits her head on the floor. Soo-hee looks back and sees this, as well as Geum-ja returning to the room looking over the woman's body. Geum-ja waves at Soo-hee, showing a bar of soap in her hand.  Soo-hee in the present asks about the red eye shadow. Guem-ja answers "People are always saying I look kind hearted." Soo-hee is a sculptor, and Guem-ja hands her a paper with a drawing, asking if she can make it in silver. Soo hee asks is she's killed "the bastard" yet. Guem-ja says "Not yet." and says she's been busy. She agrees though that she's "saving the best for last."

We see Guem-ja at work at the bakery. A man seems fascinated with her and approaches her saying she's changed a lot and he barely recognized her. The man is the detective who was in charge of her case. When the detective's wife asks who Geum-ja "was" Geum-ja tells her story, even teasing the woman saying "I kidnapped and killed a boy...Don't worry, I didn't eat him." The woman leaves the bakery, hysterical, dropping her goods, saying "These were made by hands that have killed." We flashback and see the detective questioning her. Geum-ja is almost angry, insisting that she killed the boy. The detective doesn't seem convinced, asking her to describe a marble the boy had, which went missing, which she can't do. We then see the police escorting her through crime scenes, forcing her to reenact how she did it. At all the scenes, Mr. Baek (Min-sik Choi) is there, and makes slight finger gestures which appear to have some meaning to her.

Guem-ja visits an adoption agency. The woman there tells her she can't give out any records. We flashback to see 18 year old Geum-ja, who the narrator describes as "pretty enough to turn any boy's head, but wasn't the least bit particular." We see her calling her teacher, Mr. Baek, reminding him that he told her she was sexy. She tells him that she's pregnant and asks if she can live with him. He asks about her parents and the baby's father, but she says her parents don't want her there, and the father is "just a big kid, not ready for fatherhood." We see her at Mr. Baek's place, getting surprised that he comes to see her, right out of the shower without clothes. Back in the present, Geum-ja climbs up the building where the adoption agency is, breaks a window and steals some files.

She then goes to the bakery late that night, surprising Mr. Chang. She asks him for an advance. He says no, but she helps him decorate a cake which he seems to have trouble with, as his hands are shaky. He tells her that he was astonished at a strawberry mousse made by a prison inmate who, using poor ingredients, made a dessert "fit for a king." (referring to her) She just says "Three months advance." He doesn't agree but she acts as if he does, writing down her bank account number, and leaving the cake looking magnificent. She leaves with Guen-shik, who is asking her about killing, figuring she had done something wrong and paid for it and that was it. She tells him however, that she's planning to kill someone else.

He's nervous around her, and talks about his future. She gets him back to his room and propositions him to have sex, taking him completely off guard. Afterwards, she tells him, "Mr. Baek said there are good kidnappings and bad kidnappings. He said it  was a good kidnapping if the child was returned safely. ANd since they're rich, a little ransom wouldn't make much difference. And, although they'd have to worry for a few days, the emotional reunion would make the family bond more closely. That's what he said, but then he went and killed Won-mo. The boy kept crying and Mr. Baek said he'd kill him if he didn't stop in five minutes. But then he really did kill him. If he were alive, he'd be your age now, but he's dead. Then the police found a witness. SOmeone saw me taking Won-mo to a bathhouse.Then one day when i came home from the market, my daughter was gone. I got a call from Mr. Baek. He said to confess and take all the blame or my girl would die too. The kidnapper had kidnapped a kidnapper's kid. Isn't that funny?" She gives him her keys and tells him to keep her candles burning.


She flies to Australia, where her daughter lives with adoptive parents. We see her reading them a letter in English, which says she came to see her daughter "once and for all." They don't seem very pleased about it, but they have drinks and they lighten up. The stepmother (Anne Cordiner) tells Geum-ja she's jealous, that she had such a beautiful daughter, but adds "She is now our life!" Bothe her and Geum-ja laugh wildly about it, geu-ja laughing herself right out of her chair. The stepfather (Tony Barry) shows her a picture and says "We love her very much. She's got such a beautiful soul." The stepparents quickly shift from laughing to crying the stepmother saying "What would we do without our Jenny?" That night Geum-ja shares the room with her daughter Jenny (Yea-Young Kwon) who asks if she can take her to Seoul. Geum-ja refuses, reminding her of her "parents." Jenny won't accept that answer and the two argue loudly. In the morning we see the stepparents on the couch looking devastated. Jenny flies to Korea with Geum-ja.

We see that her plans are coming together, The pistol is completed and has elaborate silver sculpting on the handle. Woo Soo Young asks "What's the use of all this fanciness?" Geum-ja insists "It has to be pretty. Everything should be pretty."  Woo Soo Young's boyfriend tells her she'll need to be up close as it has a very short range. That night, before bed Jenny asks "Why'd you dump me?" Geum-ja answers by telling her they'll go on a picnic. She asks again, however. This time she answers "That's right, a picnic." Jenny wakes up in the night and sees Won-mo playing marbles. She goes back to bed when he doesn't speak English.

Geum-ja takes Jenny out the next day and they pick up a puppy. Geun-shik drives them around and Jenny sits in the back seat painting her face to look like a cat. They go out into the woods and find an abandoned schoolhouse. Geun-shik tries to teach Jenny Korean, while Geum-ja takes the gun out for practice.She remembers Mr. Baek in a classroom. We see Mr. Baek eating dinner with a younger woman. He gets up while she's still eating and lifts up her dress from behind, initiating sex. While he's taking her, she informs him of dinner plans. He insists that she isn't the one to pay. We see the caption showing that her name is Park Yi-jeong (Seung-shin Lee) and she served time with Guem-ja. He sits back down at the table to finish his dinner. We see Yi-jeong 's flashback to prison. She's being bullied by Ma-nyeo who had intimidated Oh So-hee, only she's getting beaten up.

Geum-ja is later feeding Ma-nyeo in the medical ward. We see that her hair is coming out in clumps. Ma-nyeo says "I used to have a strong stomach. I don't know what the problem is." Geum-ja smiles and feeds her and says "I enjoy helping you." Ma-nyeo remarks "You really are kind hearted." Ma-nyeo is having serious and audible stomach issues. She reassures Geum-ja that she only likes "plump girls." Geum-ja however, tells her, that she'd be happy to eat a lot and put on weight as long as she keeps taking her "medicine." which Geum-ja then puts all over her food. Ma-nyeo leans over to get sick and Geum-ja adds "And, hurry up and die." We see Yi-jeong  asking Geum-ja later "You fed her bleach? For how long?" Geum-ja says "Three years." After that Guem-ja inherited the nickname "Witch" which Ma-nyeo had, but was still called "kind hearted Geum-ja." We see Park talking with Geum-ja, saying "It has to be tonight, I can't take it anymore." The narrator explains that another ex inmate found where Mr. Baek was working and they arranged to have Park Yi-jeong visit him, leading to a "romance."

The preacher meets Mr. Baek in a classroom. He gives Mr. Baek a picture of Geum-ja at the bakery, meeting with Yi-jeong . He pays the preacher, who says the money will be used for the lord's work. Mr. Baek calls Yi-jeong, (while looking at pictures of her and Geum-ja) and she tells him to start dinner without her. He says he'll wait. We see that he has two other men at the table with him. Guem-ja calls, and Park tells her she has to make Mr. Baek eat before they do something. The two men who were with Mr. Baek, watch Geum-ja leave work with Jenny. The men attempt to abduct them and we see that Park has already been delivered to Mr. Baek, and she watches him eat while tied to a chair. They beat on Geum-ja for a while assuming she's unconscious. She surprises them by getting up and shooting the closest guy in the head, while the guy holding Jenny attempts to back away. She catches him getting right up to him before firing.

We see that Mr. Baek has fallen unconscious with his face right into his plate. A badly beaten Yi-jeong laughs. Geum-ja and Jenny get there and Geum-ja pushes him to the floor with a spoon. She then starts cutting off his hair. Shortly, we see Yi-jeong  and Geum-ja with Mr. Baek bound on the floor and Jenny asleep nearby. Geum-ja finds a letter Jenny had written, explaining how she felt about being dumped, that she wants to know the reasons, and telling her saying sorry once is not enough, but she should apologize at least three times. Geum-ja uses a Korean-English dictionary to read the letter. Yi-jeong drives to the abandoned classroom they'd found on their picnic, with Jenny and Mr. Baek in the back.

Geum-ja writes a letter to Jenny, explaining that she wanted to have her very much and loved her, but had to go to jail. She adds that she plans to return her to Australia when she's done with Mr. Baek, as her "sins are too big and deep and I don't deserve a sweet child like you. You're innocent, but you had to grow up without a mother.But, that's also part of the punishment I must take. Listen carefully. Everyone makes mistakes. But, if you sin, you have to make atonement for it. Atonement, understand? Atonement. That's right. You have to make atonement. Big atonement for big sins, small atonement for small sins." Jenny asks if she's going to kill Mr. Baek, and wen she says yes, she asks why. Geum-ja says "Because, he made a sinner out of me." Jenny asks what she's done and she answers "This man kidnapped and killed a little boy, and, I helped him." Jenny offers to "say sorry to his mother." which makes Geum-ja both laugh and cry. Jenny asks "You were happy with me, right?" and she says "Too happy, for a sinner." Geum-ja then says "I'm sorry." in English, three times and even adds another.

She puts the gun up to Mr. Baek's head, but hears his phone ring and finds a key chain attached to it, with little toys hanging from it. She holds it in front of him and removes his gag. He asks "What's with the eye shadow?" prompting her to pull him backwards to the floor with his own tie. She starts kicking him. She gags him again, and then shoots him in each foot. She calls the detective, who is out with a team, who have found some children's bodies in the woods and are digging them up. She meets with him and shows him the key chain, including the missing marble. She tells him "If you'd found the real killer back then, these children wouldn't have died. Right? You know how this feels. There were four." While Geum-ja is digging through Mr. Baek's place, Mr. Chang calls her and she tells him she can't come to work. He says there are two people looking for her who won't say who they are. We see that it's the Australian stepparents, who both smile, but can't speak anything but English. She finds video of the murdered children and shows the detective, who has to throw up. We see the Australians with Jenny, who is watching video of her cat playing.

Geum-ja calls all of the parents of the murdered children to the classroom along with the detective and shows them the video with Mr. Baek in it clearly. Of course, there are extreme reactions, from screaming to throwing things, and some don't appear to register anything at all. She acknowledges each child writing their names and the dates on the chalkboard. Grief stricken, they break down uncontrollably. Once calm, she tells them "He was a teacher at English schools in affluent neighborhoods. He'd pick his victim, kidnap and kill them, then move on to another school. He'd never pick a child from one of his own classes, which is why he was never under suspicion. Children annoyed him, so he would tape them right after kidnapping them and killed them straightaway. The voices you heard on the line while negotiating the ransom were taped off the videos after the kids were already dead. Now, you have two options. If you want lawful punishment we will hand him over to Chief Choi here. But, if you want a speedier, more personalized death for him, you can have it right here and now.
One of the parents asks "Does he have a child of his own?"  Geum-ja says he's supposed to be sterile. Another parent asked what he needed the money for. She explains that he just put it in the bank and it will be returned. A mother agrees "With no kid, what did he need all that money for?" Geum-ja says "He was going to buy a yacht."

They all discuss the options before them. One woman suggesting that turning him in would just lead to long trials. Another suggests that they let Geum-ja do it, since she's already been to jail. Another counters that that is too cowardly as they were their own children. One of them stresses that no one should be forced to cross a line they don't choose to. They start to take a vote, and the concern is raised that someone who votes against their own justice could tell the police. Geum-ja settles it by implying that if anyone informs she will come after them. Won Mo's mother suggests that they all do it together, reminding her husband that he couldn't touch Geum-ja's severed finger. They agree that they "visit" Mr. Baek in groups as they choose. We see then that Mr. Baek has been able to hear the whole conversation via speaker, from the room where he's tied and gagged. They pick numbers on slips of paper to decide who goes in first. They're all given plastic coats and various weapons are available. The detective gives them some tips on proper handling of a knife, to avoid them getting hurt. Won Mo's mother goes first with Geum-ja accompanying her. She asks him Why. He answers "Ma'am there's no such thing as a perfect person." She leaves the room dazed with a bloody knife in her hand. Four of them go in together the next visit. One of the men says "This isn't going to bring our son back. Is it honey?" No one answers, as they all rush to attack him and Geum-ja watches.

One of the women in the waiting room, one of the boy's sister, mentions to another's grandmother that the parents all look well off. She says that they could barely afford to keep her brother in his school, and lost their house and everything they had to come up with the ransom. The grandmother listens and answers "My daughter in law killed herself and my son left the country. We all have our own stories to tell." Her father rushes up with an ax to take his turn. She reminds him that the grandmother still has a turn. He collapses on the way out the door, covered in blood and they help him to the other room. The grandmother gets her turn and doesn't bother with the plastic. She looks at him and walks out. We next see the detective pulling scissors with a name tag on them out of Mr. Baek's neck.

They work together to drain the blood from the plastic sheet beneath Mr. Baek, and dispose of the evidence. The detective takes a group picture of them all and they bury everytihng including the body in the woods together.  Geum-ja asks them to give her a moment before filling in the hole. SHe shoots him with her custom pistol, then drops it in with him and they resume filling.

We see everyone together later, sharing a cake at the bakery. They sing happy birthday and blow out candles. The sister of one of the boys whispers to Geum-ja asking if she'll wire the money to their account, giving her the account number, prompting the others to give their own. Everything turns silent and one of the parents says "In France, when there's a break in the conversation like this, they say an angel is passing, causing them all to look up.Guen-shik comes into the bakery and they realize it's snowing and rush out. Geum-ja gets a cigarette from her purse and sees Won Mo's marble roll across the floor. She then sees Won-mo in the corner as if he'd rolled it. He's smoking a cigarette although he's only a little boy. She starts to apologize, but he puts a gag in her mouth, as he ages to how old he would've been and stands up leaving her kneeling in front of him. He looks down at her and walks away.

We see Jenny in bed with her stepparents, woken up by smoke, although they still sleep. Geum-ja leaves the bakery and Geun-shik sings after her, the lyrics in the song daring her to look back. He asks if she's really sending Jenny back, she doesn't look back or answer. We see Jenny walking also through the snow barefoot. The narrator says "Geum-ja made a great mistake in her youth, and used other people to achieve
her own goals. But she still didn't find the redemption she so desired." We see her start running with Geun-shik following a little behind. We see that she's run into Jenny and kneels, giving her a hug. THe narrator picks up "In spite of this, no. because of this, I liked Geum-ja." Geum-ja stands offering Jenny a cake. She says "Be white. Live white. Like this." Jenny sticks her finger in the cake and licks it off. She then sticks her finger in it again, but offers it to Geum-ja. "You too." she says, although she licks it off her finger herself when Geum-ja doesn't act. Jenny looks at the snow coming down and says "More white." opening her mouth to catch a snowflake. Geun-shik does the same thing. Geum-ja looks up and smiles, shaking as if she just realized something. She then strikes her head into the cake. Jenny hugs her from behind and the narrator says "Farewell Geum-ja"  and we watch the snow fall on the three of them.

Oldboy

What About it?
(For a detailed summary, see"What Happens?" at the bottom of the page.)

Oldboy is the second film in Chan Wook Park's "Vengeance" trilogy. (The other two being, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance)  That being said, all three of the films stand alone and are only linked in that each is a meditation on Vengeance and the fact that none of the films give a color by numbers revenge story. The Oldboy story is based on Japanese manga. Typically a revenge film is one man addressing a great wrong, but Park shows us a complex world of equally complex characters, where many may have arguable rights to revenge, but seeking it seldom does anyone any good only escalating the atrocities and pain for all parties.

Oldboy is significant for it's misdirection, and the intricacy of it's plot and Woo Jin's revenge scheme. We sympathize with Dae Su, for enduring fifteen years of imprisonment, and hope that he gets the answers he wants. Realizing that imprisoning him for fifteen years was actually a minor part of his plan, only fulfilled to allow Mi-Do to become an adult, not recognizable to Dae Su, is not a conclusion one would easily jump to. For most of the film we follow Dae Su's quest, to get the who and why behind his imprisonment as this is what consumes him.

His offense to Woo Jin is interesting in that he did nothing but start a rumor, which countless high school kids do every day. In this case however, the rumor causes the worst possible damage, and the person it affects the most, (aside from Soo Ah) has vast resources and an obsessive nature. To Dae Su, starting the rumor had little significance at all. As Woo Jin points out, it was simply something he forgot because it didn't matter to him. He transferred schools and was not privy to the rumor spreading or it's effects. Dae Su fills many journals with names of people he has wronged, but the rumor never occurs to him at all, not seeing it as a wrong, perhaps, but part of his childhood. 

Dae Su refers to the person he becomes after being freed as "the monster."  but judging by his journals and what little we see of him before he's kidnapped, it's debatable which is the better man. The old Dae Su, wronged countless people, including his wife on a regular basis, thinking nothing of it. After the imprisonment, he doesn't commit "casual" wrongs the same way. This is partly because he's obsessed with his mission, but partly I think because his time had made him more aware of all of his "sins." "The Monster" is far from good. He thinks nothing of pulling a man's teeth out for information, but unlike his past self, "the Monster" has a reason for his actions and they are only directed at those who wronged him. The only instance of "The Monster" attacking the innocent is when he attempts to force Mi-Do to have sex. But that comes across as half hearted, with him causing no real harm before she easily gets him to back off. Even then, he apologizes immediately, which his old self would likely not bother to do.

Woo Jin, on the other hand is completely amoral on the surface. He thinks nothing of any action required to fulfill his plan. The only time he shows any emotion is the moment before he kills himself. We see that his sister's death shattered him, and while he imprisoned Dae Su for fifteen years, we get the very real sense that despite his means, he has been imprisoned ever since that day. The ethical and moral issues of his inappropriate relationship with his sister are forever unexamined, as he can't get past the fact that he loved his sister and she's dead. The issues are addressed in some fashion, by his method of true revenge, fooling Dae Su and Mi Do into falling in love, he removes Dae Su's ability to judge him, knowing that Dae Su, even unknowingly has begun a father/daughter relationship, makes his own brother/sister relationship seem smaller. The depths of his manipulation also make it difficult for Dae Su to find his own right moral choice. While he may be shocked by the revelation, it's unthinkable to him that Mi-Do could bear the knowledge, not only that he's her father, but by implication that her whole life was manipulated in order that this would happen.

For a movie with such tight plotting it's surprisingly energetic, with plenty of action to accompany the plot twists. Seeing Dae Su take on ridiculous amounts of people is always entertaining, and Min-sik Choi does a wonderful job showing the complexities of this character who is past the edge of lunacy and yet remarkably self aware in a way that only fifteen years of isolation could produce. The fighting is not graceful, but unconventional. This is a man who could likely avoid a hit but doesn't always want to bother stepping out of the way. Plowing through is his main tactic and he does quite well with it most of the time. It's also of interest that for such a bloody story, Dae Su doesn't kill people, happy to stop when he has what he wants or they stop attacking. His first fight is almost entirely based on curiosity, can his imaginary practice work? We get the sense that being hit, is nothing to him and almost welcomed as a reminder that he isn't imprisoned anymore. He's full of rage, but not arbitrary malice. He's into hitting but not creating suffering, except for a few exceptions.

Ji-tae Yu's Woo-Jin is the perfect contrast. He's everything that Dae Su is not. He has no interest in getting his hands dirty at all, perfectly content to hide in the background and let others do the work. Where Dae Su welcomes violence to vent his rage, Woo jin sees it as a very small gesture, putting much more value on the lasting damage he can do, by affecting someone's mind and actions. His malice doesn't care about any casualties, provided Dae Su has full knowledge of what he did and what revenge has been taken against him. To kill Dae Su would be to make his plan less effective, better to let him live in a situation that's completely abhorrent to him, knowing that his own actions were in some way responsible.

Dae Su's very idea of revenge is changed. While he imagines that killing the man who wronged him was all there was to it. He comes to realize that it isn't so simple. Given the chance to kill Woo Jin, he stops when he's reminded that if he does, he won't know "why." Obviously, knowing the why, gives him no satisfaction at all, only deepens his problems, but he discovers that the knowing is as much a part of his quest as the retribution. Neither man ends up satisfied with his revenge. Woo Jin's inability to let go of his sister is only increased, and we get the sense that he planned to kill himself anyway, his revenge on Dae Su just a checklist item he had to take care of before he checked out. Dae Su's revenge attempt at revenge only leaves him completely lost, with far more guilt than he imagined possible. He is left more powerless than he was when he was imprisoned, turning to hypnosis, one of the tools used against him, as his only means of coping.

All in all, Oldboy is an in depth look at vengeance from many angles we don't normally see fleshed out. While it's been denounced as a celebration of violence, I can only imagine that his label is used by those who haven't see it, or else saw it and didn't pay attention. Violence here is shown to be completely ineffective. We start with what appears to be an old fashioned "eye for an eye" story, but it doesn't last long. These are characters forced to admit that their revenge solves nothing, and that their pain and guilt will never be fixed, although they would do anything in the world to prove different. The lengths they will go to set things right are all that hey feel they have. Woo jin would devote his life to studying Dae Su, and Dae Su surprises himself perhaps when despite his palpable rage, he's able to put aside his revenge entirely for a moment and cut off his own tongue rather than traumatize Mi-do. The major damage done to the characters is what they do to themselves. The tough question is "What happens when it's gone?"  Wu-Jinn answers clearly, feeling he has nothing left. Dae Su's only wish is to stop thinking about it, and maybe he can accomplish that, his smile at the end doesn't tell us for sure.  In any event, his character has grown a lot, if too quickly and painfully, in that making his decision, he truly considers the feelings of another, an action beyond the original Dae Su.

What Happens?



At the beginning of  "Oldboy" we meet the threatening figure of Dae Su (Min-sik Choi) leaning a man over the roof of a building, using the man's tie to keep him from falling. Dae Su says "I said, I just wanted to talk to someone." The man is panicked but begs Dae Su to let go of him. We see Dae Su's face threateningly cloaked in shadow before flashing back in time to Dae Su, now clean cut at the police station being held for drunkenness. The officer's get quickly tired of him, reminding him repeatedly to sit down, although he can't stop being an extreme nuisance. He explains that his name, Dae Su means "getting along with everybody." and he also mentions that it's his daughter's birthday, explaining the costume angel wings he's wearing, as her present.

Eventually a friend, Joo Hwan, (Dae-han Ji) bails him out and he and Dae Su stop at a pay phone to call his daughter and tell her he has a gift for her birthday. Joo Hwan asks for the phone to wish the little girl a happy birthday as well. While Joo Hwan talks, Dae Su wanders off. Joo Hwan assumes he's playing games, but we see the angel wings in the street. We next find Dae Su confined at an undetermined location reaching his hand out of a small hatch in a door pleading with his captor to explain something to him, threatening, and asking to be let out. The inside of his cell looks like a hotel room. He wonders in voice over. "If they had told me I was going to be locked up for 15 years, would it have been any easier to endure, or would it have been harder?" We see Dae Su with his hair overgrown and unshaven looking like a completely different person. He explains that his captors play the same music every night before gassing his room to put him to sleep. "I found out later that it's the same  valium gas Russian soldiers used on the Checyen terrorists." While he sleeps they cut his hair and clean up the room. He remarks "They're gracious bastards."  Dae Su spends much of his time watching television. He learns that his wife has been killed while he's been confined and that he is the prime suspect. Police also claim that he took a photo album from the house before disappearing.

Dae Su advises "If you're standing aimlessly at a phone booth on a rainy day. and you meet a man whose face is covered by a violet umbrella, I'd suggest that you get close to the TV. The television is both a clock and a calendar. It's your school, your home, your church, friend and your lover."  Dae Su soon finds another activity, "I decided to write down all the people I fought, bothered and hurt. This was both my prison journal and the autobiography of my evil deeds. I thought I'd lived an average life, but I've sinned so much." His journal takes up many notebooks. He notices that he's given three chopsticks for his meals and imagines his "neighbor" must eat with one chopstick. He draws the outline of a body on his wall and starts practice fighting, punching the wall, in hopes of eventual revenge. Dae Su uses his extra  chopstick to attempt digging through the bricks in the wall and tattoos himself with a line for every year confined.

We see fifteen years pass via historic moments on the television. One morning a woman comes into his room holding a bell, she says "You're by yourself. Right now, you're lying on a plane. When you hear the sound of the bell, turn your head and look down. Do you understand what I'm saying?" She rings the bell and continues "You will see an endless field of green grass. The sun is shining brightly and there's a cool breeze." We then see a red trunk in the middle of a field. The trunk opens and Dae Su gets out of it. The grass is on the roof of a building and the man we saw in the beginning being suspended by his tie is there holding a dog. Dae Su touches the man and dog as if to prove they're real. The man is shaken by this and asks him "You see, even though I'm worse than a beast, don't I have the right to live?" Dae Su repeats the man's question. We see that the man throw himself backward over the ledge, attempting suicide. Dae Su catches him by his tie and asks the man to delay his death to hear his story. The man remarks "That's awful" after hearing Dae Su's tale. He then asks Dae Su to hear his own story but Oh Dae Su leaves. We see the man fall from the roof onto a car as Dae Su walks out at ground level.

Dae Su can't contact anyone being wanted for murder. Walking around the city he runs into a group of young thugs who assault him. He wonders "Can fifteen years of imaginary training be put to use?" After beating the whole group, he remarks "It can."  A homeless man approaches him on the street, handing Dae Su a wallet and cell phone, remarking "I don't even know where this stuff comes from, so don't even ask." Finding money in the wallet, he enters a sushi bar and tells the woman working there, "I want something that's still alive." The woman thinks that he looks familiar, and he thinks she does too. He realizes he's seen her on TV, as one of the youngest female chefs. He tells her "women's hands are usually warm so they can't make sushi." His phone rings and a man asks if he likes his clothes. Dae Su asks the man on the phone who he is making many guesses which the man tells him are all wrong. He offers "Me, I'm sort of a scholar, and my major is you. A scholar, studying Dae Su, an expert on Dae Su. Who I am isn't important. Why? is important. Think it over. Review your whole lifetime. Since school is over, it's time for your homework right? Keep this in mind, a grain of sand or a rock, in water, they both sink." Dae SU tells the man he knows that he was hypnotized while captive and asks what he was made to do. The man only answers "I miss you. Hurry and come back." The woman chef gives him a live octopus and offers to slice it for him. He doesn't wait and just puts the live octopus in his mouth to take a bite, the tentacles fight as he consumes it.

He passes out and wakes up in the woman's apartment. She asks him about his journals which she's been reading. She also asks why he fainted and he tells her lack of sunlight depleted him of vitamins C and E. She tells him that the bathroom door doesn't lock but warns him not to get any "bright ideas" before she visits the bathroom. He does however get a "bright idea." and rushes into the bathroom while she's on the toilet attempting to take her by force. He asks "Can fifteen years of imaginary training be put to use?" She hits him in the head with the handle of a knife she's holding, and he remarks "It can't." He starts getting ready to go and apologizes to her. She tells him she understands and she likes him. She tells him "You don't even know who I am, I'm Mi-do. You'll see. Later on, when I'm really ready, I swear that I will do it! I promise!" She tells him she knew there was something she liked about him from the moment she saw him and tells him the next time, even if she resists to go ahead and take her anyway.

 Mi-Do (Hye-jeong Kang) helps him look for information, finding his daughter's address from a storekeeper, who explains that his daughter has Swedish foster parents and she calls looking for Dae Su once in a while, not even knowing that he killed her mother. Mi-Do gives him the daughter's address.Her name is apparently Eva now and she's in Stockholm. Mi-Do offers to call for him, but he declines the offer. She offers to visit his wife's grave with him as well, but he's determined to kill the man who did it first. The two of them start visiting every restaurant that serves dumplings for a lead, as he was fed dumplings every night in captivity, and can't forget the taste.

Mi-do sets him up an email and chat account and Dae Su is curious about a chat friend she has who tells her his favorite movie is "Count of Monte Cristo." Dae Su is upset at Mi-Do's chat friend's response and takes a hammer from Mi-Do and leaves telling her "I don't know who you are." Oh Dae Su finds the dumplings at the "Magic Blue Dragon." and follows a delivery boy to the place he was held. Using his claw hammer, he gets to the building manager, Mr. Park (Dal-su Oh.) He displays his tattooed lines and tortures him, pulling his teeth out with the hammer until he talks. He discovers the manager's tapes and leaving the office, finds the hallway full of thugs. Before fighting them he asks if any of them have AB blood, sending the manager to the guy who raises his hand to go to the hospital with him. Dae Su then fights the whole group who attack him with knives, boards and pipes. Even after getting stabbed in the back he beats them all and leaves them lying on the floor. As soon as he's finished, the elevator arrives with a fresh batch of thugs. Dae Su smiles and we see him exiting the elevator moments later stepping over them to get out after he's beaten them.


On the street, he remarks "I can't get along any better now than I did before. I've become a monster now. When my vengeance is over, when I've had my revenge, can I ever return to being the old Dae Su?" He collapses in a crosswalk and a passer by puts him into a cab with instructions to get him taken care of. Dae Su, thanks the man, who smiles and shows his face, saying "Not at all! Farewell Dae Su!"  Dae Su realizes this is the man who had him imprisoned, but he's too weak to follow. Once treated and bandaged, he returns to Mi-do. We see that someone is taking pictures of Dae Su from across the street. He starts listening to the tapes he took from the manager at the captivity building. He hears them discuss him, but the only reason the man gives for imprisoning him is that "he talks too much." He decides to visit his friend Joo-Hwan at the internet cafe. He's thrilled to see him. Joo-Hwan listens to the tapes and when Dae Su asks if he knows the voice he answers "Now how the hell should I know, all the names of all the husbands whose wives you screwed." Dae Su logs into his chat account finding a suspicious chat friend with "evergreen" in it, which he questions Mi-do about after tying her up.

He finds an address for the evergreen email account, and rushes there, finding his captor Woo jin (Ji-tae Yu) there with bodyguards. Woo jin tells him "You want to know what's going on. You want to know who I am. Come on, it's a game! First the who, and then I'll tell you why. If you figure it out, come see me anytime, I'll raise your score. You have until July 5th. Oh no, only 5 days left! Too short? Hang in there, if you succeed, I'll kill myself and not Mi-do." He adds "I will kill every girl that you love until the day that you die." Enraged by the taunting, Dae Su chokes Woo Jin, who tells his bodyguard not to intervene. Dae Su prepares to torture Woo Jin, but he reveals that he has a pacemaker in his chest with an off switch enabling him to kill himself at any time, which would prevent torture and Dae Su from getting any answers. Woo Jin and his bodyguard leave reminding him that he left Mi-do tied up and the door is unlocked. He rushes back to her place and finds the building manager there with some thugs. Mr. Park shows off some new teeth and he has Dae Su held down making preparations to extract his teeth. Park is surprised that rather than cower, Dae Su laughs. Before he's able to do anything, he gets a call telling him to leave. Dae Su tells Mr. park that he's going to chop off his hand for touching Mi Do's breast, but he is not able to follow them. Dae Su tells Mi Do some of the details of what happened.

Woo Jin learns that Dae Su and Mi Do have left her apartment and that she quit her job. Mi Do reveals that she's in love with Dae Su and they finally make love. Woo Jin tells his bodyguard that he's getting depressed and that they'll leave when this is done. At Dae Su's new place we see gas coming in under the door. Men in gas masks enter while they're out and leave a gift wrapped box on the table containing Mr. Park's hand, which Dae Su had threatened to chop off. This tells Dae Su that Woo Jin is listening to them. Mi-Do investigates "evergreen" and discovers the phrase "evergreen old boys" a term for attendees of  Dae Su's high school. Mi Do and Dae Su visit the school and find Woo Jin's picture, as well as the fact that in the same class a girl, Soo Ah, has had her pictures cut out of the yearbook. Dae Su calls Joo Hwan to ask about this and he tells Dae Su that Soo Ah died after Dae Su transferred out of the school. Describing her, Joo hwan says that she apparently committed suicide, jumping off a bridge and that "She was a total slut. On the outside she acted just like a prude, a good girl, inside she was really wild. Rumors had it that slut fucked everyone at school! I should have gotten a piece of her." Joo-Hwan doesn't realize that Woo jin is in the internet cafe with him, eavesdropping. Enraged at what he's hearing, he kills Joo-hwan. He then gets on the call with Dae Su and tells him "My sister wasn't a slut!'

Dae Su and Mi-Do then locate Mr. Park who offers to help, claiming he hates Woo Jin for cutting off his hand. He leaves Mi-Do with Mr. Park for protection while he digs deeper. He visits a school friend of Soo Ah, who says that Soo Ah was definitely not a slut but she was seeing someone, that nobody knew about. The conversation jogs Dae Su's memory and he recalls his last day at the school, and talking to Soo Ah. She leaves the conversation abruptly and he discreetly follows her finding that she and her brother Woo Jin are in an empty class room together. Woo Jin takes pictures of her, which lead to Woo Jin making curious sexual advances. Soo Ah is horrified however, when she sees Dae Su watching them through a broken window. Later, Dae Su tells Joo-Hwan, warning him not to tell anyone, although he promptly tells everybody. He fill Mi-Do in on his memory and she's surprised that he would be imprisoned for fifteen years for such a relatively minor offense. Dae Su reminds her of what Woo Jin said, "Be it a grain of sand or a stone, in water they both sink." He also realizes that the deadline of July 5th was the day his sister died. Mi-Do proposes that now that he knows he can stop seeking revenge but Dae Su tells her that revenge has become a part of him now.

Dae Su tracks down Woo Jin's penthouse apartment using a proverb that Woo Jin quoted. Woo Jin and his bodyguard escort him to the right floor when he can't figure out the access code. In the elevator, Dae Su says "You had sex with your sister." Once they reach his place, Woo Jin tells his guards to attack. Dae Su easily beats then all except for Woo Jin's main bodyguard, who doesn't fight, but tells him to be nice. Woo Jin explains to him that the rumor got around to everyone that Soo Ah was pregnant, causing her to develop a fake pregnancy. Dae Su accuses him of killing his sister to cover up the pregnancy. He notices Woo Jin has a picture of Soo Ah on the bridge she jumped from dated July 5th, although she supposedly died alone.

Woo Jin then interrupts to tell Dae Su about post hypnotic suggestion. He explains that he hypnotized both him and Mi-Do, as both were highly susceptible to hypnosis. His first hypnotic suggestion was to go to Mi-Do's restaurant. The second was a response to the cell phone ring, causing him to say "Who are you?" Mi-Do was conditioned to react to that phrase, grabbing his hand, which in turn caused him to pass out. All of these events were designed to make the two fall in love.

He tells Dae Su that rather than asking why he'd been imprisoned, he should have been asking why he was released after 15 years.

Woo Jin points out a purple gift wrapped box which Dae Su opens, finding it contains his own family photo album with many pictures of his daughter, who he realizes is Mi-Do. We see Mi-Do with Mr, Park wearing the angel wings from the beginning. Dae Su, enraged,  now attacks the bodyguard who easily throws him back every time.  The bodyguard doesn't realize that Dae Su had a pair of scissors in his hand which he had shoved into his ear, leaving him paralyzed and disoriented. Woo Jin shoots his bodyguard to put him down and he falls. Dae Su asks if Mi-Do knows, and Woo Jin tells him he was stupid to leave her with Mr, Park, who wasn't angry about the hand but gladly gave it up for a good amount of money. He also tells Dae Su that he has been secretly raising Mi-Do since she was 4. Woo Jin then arranges for a call so Dae Su can talk to Mi-Do who is with Mr. Park. She tells him that Park has a box there he wants her to open. He pleads with her not to open it. Dae Su then grovels on the ground begging Woo Jin not to tell Mi-Do as she's done nothing wrong. He abandons all dignity, crawling like a dog and barking, even licking Woo Jin's shoes. He ultimately cuts off the tip of his own tongue off, in order to get him to spare Mi-Do. Woo Jin laughs at the display but calls Park and tells him to leave the box closed. He holds a gun to Dae Su's head but takes it away. Dae Su realizes he's dropped the trigger device for his pacemaker and grabs it as Woo Jin walks to the elevator to leave him. Dae Su presses the trigger but rather than kill Woo Jin it plays audio of he and Mi-Do having sex. Before the elevator doors close, he tells Dae Su "Believe it or not, my sister and I really loved each other. Can you two do the same?" Dae Su is left there to listen. In the elevator, Woo Jin remembers the day Soo Ah died. In the memory he struggles to hold her arm, as she hangs from the bridge. She begs him to let go and he finally does, watching her fall. In present time, Woo-Jin shoots himself in the head.

We discover that the whole story was a letter written to a woman that haggard, gray haired Dae Su is meeting with in a snowy forest landscape. She tells him that she has no reason to help him, but she found something he wrote touching, "Even though, I'm worse than a beast, don't I have the right to live?" She warns him that hypnosis could distort his memories, but he isn't bothered by that. She asks Dae Su to stare at a tree and she retells part of the story. "You're inside Woo Jin's penthouse, it's a dreary night. The sound of your footsteps to the window permeates the room. When I ring my bell, you'll be split into two persons, the one who doesn't know the secret is Dae Su, the one who keeps the secret is the monster. When I ring my bell again the monster will turn around and walk away. With each step the monster will age one year. When the monster reaches 70, he will die."  Mi-Do finds him sleeping in the snow and asks if someone was with him. He notices the woman's footprints and sees two chairs set but but gives no indication. Mi-Do says "I love you, Oh Dae Su" and he smiles strangely.

Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance

Despite the appearance of a revenge thriller, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is a story about helplessness. Ryu (Ha-Kyun Shin) a deaf, dumb and low income factory worker has a sister who desperately needs a kidney transplant. They care for each other very much, being each other's only family. She had taken factory work to support Ryu going to Art School, but once she got sick (possibly due to the work) he left school and took on the factory work himself in order to care for her.

He decides to donate his own kidney, but finds it's not compatible and has no way to secure another. He is also fired from his job to complicate things further. He turns to the black market, and finds an organization that demands his own kidney as well as 10 million won (all the money he has.) They take his money, remove the kidney on the spot and leave him naked in the middle of the city.  He is then told that the hospital has found a legitimate kidney, however the operation will cost 10 million won, which he no longer has.

Ryu spends most of his time with his girlfriend.Cha Young-mi (Doona Bae) an aggressive anarchist who is part of a secret revolutionary group.While temperamentally the opposite to Ryu's always calm nature, she communicates with Ryu almost effortlessly. They are very committed to each other and come across as nearly telepathic.

Distraught over the situation, Ryu takes Cha Young-mi's advice to kidnap his former boss, Park's (Kang-ho Song)daughter, Yossun, for ransom. They  assume that he has plenty of money and perhaps don't mind punishing him for firing Ryu. Cha Young-mi goes so far as to suggest that the kidnapping "won't even be a crime," that Yossun's family will be so happy to see her that they'll grow closer, and that the movement of the money helps their economy. She's very convincing. He agrees to do it, ready to do anything to help his sister. They begin spying on Yossun, trying to find the ideal situation to grab her.

Park meanwhile is confronted by another ex factory employee, who throws himself in front of Park's moving car. The man can't take the loss of his job and after pleading with Park to reconsider, the worker cuts himself in the street, while telling Park about the year's he devoted to the company. He is soon subdued by Park's bodyguards although very likely not surviving long afterwards.

They abduct Yossun and tell her that her Dad asked them to watch her. She stays with Ryu and his sister, who is now at home waiting to be admitted for surgery in five days. Ryu can't tell his sister about the kidnapping so has to coordinate the stories he told Yossun and his sister. They get along very well and they bond quickly, Yossun revealing details about her parent's divorce (Dad was too busy) and how she gets lots of toys but no attention. Much of the time Ryu's sister is also very sick and he takes care of her, but she spends a good amount of time playing with Yossun.

Park has received the ransom note, and Cha Young-mi follows him as he follows instructions for the drop off. The last part of the plan has Ryu tying up Park and putting a bag over his head so he can't follow them. Ryu's sister, meanwhile makes some phone calls and discovers that Ryu's story was a lie. Ryu returns home with the money, to find Yossun watching cartoons alone. She tells him that his sister is washing, but when he doesn't hear any activity for a long time, Ryu checks and finds his sister has cut her own wrists in the bathtub rather than go along with the kidnapping. This of course devastates him.

Park is still tied up after many hours, presumably forgotten. Ryu takes his sister's body to a riverside park to cover it in stones (he can't call the police, thanks to the kidnapping) He brings Yossun along but is distracted hiding his sister's body and leaves Yossun in the car. A mentally disturbed vagrant bothers Ryu and after being shooed off, wakes up Yossun trying to steal her necklace. She runs to find Ryu, but falls into the lake and screams for help right behind him, although he can't hear a thing, being deaf. He sees her floating by in the water but it's already too late. He pulls the body from the water but leaves it to be found.

Park has gotten free and is soon informed about his daughter. When the police ask him if he's provoked anyone, he answers "I thought I'd lived an honest life." The policeman takes a call and reveals that his kid needs an operation which costs 10 million won. Park soon becomes consumed with finding his daughter's killer. He starts seeing vision's of Yossun, and she asks him why he never got her swimming lessons. Park sells his company and house and devotes all his time to getting revenge. He meets with the police detective who helps him investigate. It occurs to Park that it could be an ex employee so they start looking in that direction finding many of his ex workers living in horrible conditions. The detective brings Park to check on his son who is in the hospital and with very little hope, according to the doctor.

Ryu and Cha Young-mi are trying to keep a low profile, Ryu now staying at her place. Park is examining Ryu and his sister's now abandoned place, when he hears a radio show dedication from Ryu to his sister from the radio the tenants next door are playing. The DJ says that Ryu is deaf, which jogs Parks memory. She remembers that he had sent a postcard months ago, saying his sister needed an operation, and she reads a new postcard over the air, in which Ryu claims that he killed her. They then read the address of the radio station. The DJ wants to send him a refrigerator as part of their program and asks the audience to let her know if they can get an address as he didn't provide one. Park visits the radio station and finds the postcards are detailed pictures Ryu painted of the riverside and the accident, including Yossun in the water. He visits the scene again and while skipping stones uncovers Ryu's sister's body. He also encounters the vagrant who is wearing Yossun's necklace and brings him to the police. Questioning him, they get information about the car Ryu was driving and check it out.

Cha Young-mi meets with the organ dealers, which turns out to be a family business, in order to supposedly get a kidney, but really helping Ryu find them, so that he can pay them back for ruining his sister's chance at the operation. Ryu locates them and starts taking revenge killing the sons in front of their junkie mother, who has a scalpel hidden in her palm.

Park has now located Chan Youg-mi. He ties her in a chair and starts torturing her, using violence and shock treatments to get information fron her. She remains defiant, but tells him that killing Yossun was an accident. She also warns him that she's part of a terrorist group whichshe has given Park's picture, so if anything happens to her, "they'll kill him, 100%" and that if he wants to live he should leave. Park doesn't listen, of course and shocks her to death.The police investigating her death, assume that she was the only member of the terrorist organization.

Ryu is bleeding, having been cut by the mother before killing her. He finds out that Cha Young-mi is dead and ends up in an elevator with the police and her corpse, trying to hide his bleeding. He manages to hold her hand for a moment before getting off, now having a reason for seeking revenge against Park. The police reveal to Park that not only did Ryu kill the organ dealers, but he took all of their kidneys. They urge him to stop looking for Ryu, convinced that he's far more dangerous than they thought.

Park doesn't listen and sneaks up on Ryu, knocking him out, tying him up and bringing him to the river. He unties Ryu when they are both in the water and explains that he knows he's a good guy, but has to kill him regardless. He clearly he takes no joy in it. Of course things don't end quite so simply as there are other consequences waiting to occur, but everything does get resolved.

Be advised that this movie while not extremely gory by horror movie standards, has its fair share of visceral and graphic bloody injury. Even without that, it succeeds at disturbing. Someone getting shocked with a blanket over them, is in my opinion more unsettling than seeing the action. For a revenge movie, it does an interesting job of making all the major players sympathetic. Park and Ryu are not horrible men who deserve to be killed, but the victims of tragedies that all their best intentions can't resolve. Everything that they do. they do for the sake of their family, both knowing that nothing will make things right. The acting is solid throughout, which is vital in a movie, where our lead character shists halfway through and we're asked to not onlt identify with the new lead, but retain sympathy for the original one. Ha-Kyun Shin does an outstanding job portraying a deaf and dumb character, who is not limited by his lack of hearing (other than at one key point) and maintains our interest with only the way he presents himself physically. Kang-ho Song's Park is also played perfectly despite a challenging character. Although oblivious to the world around him, even when his own actions create sufferring, we nevertheless come to understand that he is not malicious, only ignorant and soon too absorbed in his own hurt to change. Doona Bae plays a great counterpoint to the two more serious characters. While not completely unserious, her character's radical nature, and her ability to embrace lunacy, provides a few needed laughs.

Chan-wook Park uses interesting effects, such as cutting out the sound occasionally to give us Ryu's experience and flashing between two similar conversations that both end the same place. He omits certain details, forcing us to make assumptions based on our knowledge of the characters (and doesn't stray from their logic either) Overall it's shot beautifully and has a sense of fluidity that presents these lives as sad and inevitably ruined by circumstances they didn't create or intend. It's definitely not a movie to encourage revenge seekers, as it's completely unglamorous, nobody ends up well, and the best they can hope for is to be glad that it's over.  While the story is about as far from happy as it gets, it's nonetheless touching in it's own way to see the lengths that they will go to maintain what they love even when the object is gone. These are not caricatures, but people that are seriously broken, by their own depth of feeling, leaving us with not a celebration of violence, but a mournful look at the mess it makes.