Lady Vengeance | Review

Chanwook keeps the momentum going in closing project.

The third part Park Chanwook’s trilogy of revenge films offers a healthy wallop of cruelty that is one part class and one part crass but unlike the previous volumes this is not a thinking man’s settling of scores and nor is it as continually bloody. For those who enjoyed the banana-colored jumpsuit heroine of the Kill Bill films, there is perhaps more refinement to be found in this heavy on the eye-shadow vixen and while Lady Vengeance is perhaps less blood-soaked, it is just as inspired by the notion of payback.

False imprisonment is enough to make anyone’s blood boil. The apprehending of a child murderer and deciding the proper punishment is enough to test anyone’s sanity. The realization that each moment spent on earth is a precious event even if you are on the receiving end of a louisville slugger to the head is a miraculous entry point for self-awareness. Not all that unfamiliar to his previous two, Chanwook provides a tale that is full of extremes. Locked away for the magic number 13 years, revenge is sweeter when it’s methodical and especially when it is personal. Imprisonment doesn’t necessarily reform, but it informs and gives time to draw the perfect payback scenario. Heavy use of the flashback form allows viewers to get into the frame of mind of Lee Guem-ja (Lee Young-ae) and gives a cue as to why the subplot of daughter seeking out her natural mother’s attention is poignant addition to the overall story arch. In the late stage of the film, parental outrage is the film’s memorable stand-out sequence where the notion of violence being ‘personal’ is best exemplified by a bunch of parents acting out vengeance to the most imaginative form. Giggles ensue and absolute splendor is the derivative of such superb moments.

A great DVD box set in the works, like Sympathy for Mr.Vengeance and Oldboy before it, viewers will enjoy the how the visual style, shot compositions, engaging camera angles and fluid montage elevate the overall enjoyment of the film and adds to the narrative detail. More than just an exercise in style, Chanwook evens goes a far as to use an interesting usage of familiar face from Oldboy and with there are similarities to that of Tarantino, but Chanwook better executes and offers a poetic retribution that is filmgoingly rewarding.

In the same release date proximity as the X-Men III, fans who want more for their dollar in a visceral sense will want to go for this three part fest instead. Nestled rightly in its themes, Lady Vengeance delivers perhaps the best trilogy since Kieslowski’s Red, White and Blue films. Korean cinema is undergoing a transformation from the inwards out and for the past decade or so world audiences are reaping the benefits.

Rating 4 stars