taehyungsfatnose
This review may contain spoilers
Freezing and terrifying.
Lady Vengeance appears at first sight as a strong emotional drama, seemingly almost a pleasant film. But if you just scratch the surface a little with your fingernail, you'll soon discover a print mood so unsettling you can almost touch it.
For over 13 years, Geum-Ja has been imprisoned. The reason is that at the age of 19 she pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of a 5-year-old boy. But the confession was not the whole truth and a burning desire for revenge now hangs in the air.
Starring Lee Young-ae performs pure magic sweetly. Her face is at times so incredibly innocent - Completely glowing with warmth and good intentions, then, in the blink of an eye, turns to a harsh emptiness, tart and defiant anger and contemptuous nonchalance.
Every frame in Lady Vengance is so well thought out that it amazes you. Small surreal details inserted with a sure hand reinforce the impression that it is a unique film. Geum-Ja's story moves easily and smoothly between flashbacks and the present, while the fates of her fellow prisoners are inserted like puzzle pieces into her detailed revenge plan. Through an incredible manipulation, Geum-Ja connects more and more people in the prison - Each one fulfills a purpose and is used just as obviously. In the prison, people begin to discern the two faces of our Lady Vengeance, as she is called Geum-Ja the Kindhearted and Geum-Ja the Witch. One expressed with warmth - The other with an involuntary respect. Because for 13 years she has successively won over, exploited and helped all the people she coldly expects to need in the future and wrapped them around her fingers. Because vengeful women banded together are capable of anything.
As a film, the action moves continuously, which helps to keep the tension razor sharp. Although it is calm and serene, there is a constant awareness that it is an apparent calm that heralds a violent storm and the air crackles more and more with charged electricity. With simple means at hand, one becomes disgusted, saddened, imprisoned, All the while one is unsure which of the faces Geum-Ja shows is her true self - Or if she even knows it herself.
What makes Lady Vengance such a remarkable film? Because it is probably not a film that suits everyone. You mustn't be too restless for this movie, you mustn't expect classy action and choreographed fights, you mustn't expect a fast pace.
The contrast is most dazzling when all the slow, beautiful stillness is set against the raw and brutality of revenge. Nevertheless, if you have seen director Park Chan-Wok's previous films Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy, you risk being disappointed. Lady Vengance puts an end to the director's revenge trilogy and is light years from the previous ones. It is characterized by incredibly less violence and at the same time manages to create a greater discomfort than the other films. It is closer to the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters because it creeps up on you like cold ridges along the spine.
The violence we see has nothing hollywoodized about it, there is no high tech Matrix aesthetic here, it is close, harsh and leaves most to our own imagination. When a group of middle-aged people discuss weapons, draw lots for turn order, and protect their clothes from blood splatters, logical reasoning about the execution of revenge is one of the scariest things I've seen in a very long time.
If revenge is best served cold, then Lady Vengeance is perfection. Frosted so cold you get goosebumps just being near it. When you take it in, it's like swigging a whiskey on the rocks.
For over 13 years, Geum-Ja has been imprisoned. The reason is that at the age of 19 she pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and murder of a 5-year-old boy. But the confession was not the whole truth and a burning desire for revenge now hangs in the air.
Starring Lee Young-ae performs pure magic sweetly. Her face is at times so incredibly innocent - Completely glowing with warmth and good intentions, then, in the blink of an eye, turns to a harsh emptiness, tart and defiant anger and contemptuous nonchalance.
Every frame in Lady Vengance is so well thought out that it amazes you. Small surreal details inserted with a sure hand reinforce the impression that it is a unique film. Geum-Ja's story moves easily and smoothly between flashbacks and the present, while the fates of her fellow prisoners are inserted like puzzle pieces into her detailed revenge plan. Through an incredible manipulation, Geum-Ja connects more and more people in the prison - Each one fulfills a purpose and is used just as obviously. In the prison, people begin to discern the two faces of our Lady Vengeance, as she is called Geum-Ja the Kindhearted and Geum-Ja the Witch. One expressed with warmth - The other with an involuntary respect. Because for 13 years she has successively won over, exploited and helped all the people she coldly expects to need in the future and wrapped them around her fingers. Because vengeful women banded together are capable of anything.
As a film, the action moves continuously, which helps to keep the tension razor sharp. Although it is calm and serene, there is a constant awareness that it is an apparent calm that heralds a violent storm and the air crackles more and more with charged electricity. With simple means at hand, one becomes disgusted, saddened, imprisoned, All the while one is unsure which of the faces Geum-Ja shows is her true self - Or if she even knows it herself.
What makes Lady Vengance such a remarkable film? Because it is probably not a film that suits everyone. You mustn't be too restless for this movie, you mustn't expect classy action and choreographed fights, you mustn't expect a fast pace.
The contrast is most dazzling when all the slow, beautiful stillness is set against the raw and brutality of revenge. Nevertheless, if you have seen director Park Chan-Wok's previous films Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy, you risk being disappointed. Lady Vengance puts an end to the director's revenge trilogy and is light years from the previous ones. It is characterized by incredibly less violence and at the same time manages to create a greater discomfort than the other films. It is closer to the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters because it creeps up on you like cold ridges along the spine.
The violence we see has nothing hollywoodized about it, there is no high tech Matrix aesthetic here, it is close, harsh and leaves most to our own imagination. When a group of middle-aged people discuss weapons, draw lots for turn order, and protect their clothes from blood splatters, logical reasoning about the execution of revenge is one of the scariest things I've seen in a very long time.
If revenge is best served cold, then Lady Vengeance is perfection. Frosted so cold you get goosebumps just being near it. When you take it in, it's like swigging a whiskey on the rocks.
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