Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance(2002)

Plot:In Seoul, the deaf and dumb worker Ryu is very attached to his sister, who needs a transplantation of kidney...

Ryu is deaf and mute. His sister is dying. She needs a kidney transplant quickly or she'll die. Ryu, an intelligent sort of guy, gave up his education to work in a factory to pay for his sister's medical expenses.His girlfriend, Yeong-mi is a minor league anarchist.After conversation with his sister's unhelpful doctor, Ryu decides he'll turn to the black market to get his sister a kidney. But his transaction with the organ traffickers ends catastrophically, propelling him to get involved in the kidnapping of his boss's young daughter so that the ransom money can save his sister.
The director, Chan-wook Park, gives a story with no easy answers. In fact, it's debatable whether he's asked us any questions. He presents a group of characters in a certain set of circumstances and sets them loose. He never passes judgement over any of his creations, leaving the audience to judge for themselves. That's the mark of a masterful director who has faith in, and respect for, his audience. The actions of his characters take place in a moral vacuum, where there is no right or wrong, only choices and consequences. There is no divine or poetic justice, only revenge.
The title of the film relates to perhaps the only real question in the whole film - who do we sympathise with?
Both men do deplorable things. Both men become savage murderers. Both men are, ultimately, the 'Mr Vengeance' of the title.
The photography is beautiful, showing the beauty and the ugliness of South Korea in equal measures. There is no real soundtrack to speak of, only the background sounds of the city and the various locales within it. There's traffic, howling wind and trickling water, depending on where we are.
The acting in this film is of uniformly excellent quality, from the main characters to the smallest of walk-on parts.Ha-kyun Shin and Du-na Bae learned sign language for this film and give such effortless performances you'd believe they'd been doing it all their lives. Kang-ho Song's turn as Park is heart-breaking, particularly the scene where the camera stays on him and only him as he looks on in horror at his daughter's autopsy, complete with sounds of cracking bone and surgical saws.To sum up, this film is a solid gold masterpiece.
4/5