For all the right reasons, to help save a sister's life, off to a black market butcher and their double crossing knife. Through more formal operations, a matched kidney then appears, but the price is far too high for accessing the surgeons shears. A small ransom for a child, keep them hostage for a day, until the father drops a case of cash, then takes their kid away. Now the spiral has commenced, events cascade out of control, with the hope that dangled briefly, now scythed clean, no longer whole - and it doesn't make life easier if you're deaf as well as being metaphorically dumb and blind, no matter how desperate you might be.

There aren't to many times when credits roll on a film and I want to immediately start watching it through again. This is one of the rare exceptions.

Visually stunning with artistic merit to almost every shot. Deliberate frame composition with the eye of a classical painter married to lighting that underscores the narrative with sublime control. The shots alternate between tight intimate shots with strong angles that elude to POV and deep staged shots in full focus throughout that nearly ride the axis like looking down the barrel of a rifle into the deepest darkest corners of our characters' lives.

The light and textures on screen are lush and rich and the focus generally deep like Seven or Silence of the Lambs. Solid DOP, solid Cinematographer, solid Production Designer, Solid Art Director, across the board this film stands up as tight, smart, unexpected, sometimes abusive and always engaging like a car wreck in all the charmed ways.

Dialogue, though minimal, is always apt and loaded. Sign language feels like Tai Chi, delicate here, fierce there, somehow clear I believe even without subtitles.

This gem is deliciously horrific, a complete study of tragedy and of theater grotesque. Like Scarface the film is laden with stomach clenching non-gratuitous gore which is somehow infinitely more disturbing.

The driving narrative is about vengeance, layer upon layer, constantly underscored by social commentary both direct and sub-textual addressing inequities, rights, justice and the cruelty / fairness of commerce, fate and basic karma.

Well crafted, well delivered, well done. Excellent. And absolutely NOT for people with weak gullets, true that.

"Boksuneun naui geot" or "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" is a 2-hour movie from South Korea that will have its 15th anniversary next year. The (co-)writer and director is Chan-wook Park, one of Asia's most lauded filmmakers these days and his film here is actually the first of a trilogy that also includes the famous "Oldboi". Unfortunately, I cannot say that watching this one here got me curious about Park's other works. I see not much talent in here, just the intention to be controversial and graphic for the sake of it, not for the sake of telling a great story.

The only reason to respect or even like this film here is probably if you see it from a fantasy perspective. None of the action or horror in here is really realistic and something that could happen in real life. This is quite a shame though as the film starts with an interesting premise, namely a couple who plans to abduct the child from a rich man in order to extort money from him that they need for the urgent surgery of a beloved. And that's also how they try to justify their crime, to each other and also to the audience.

However, things do not go as planned and it turns into a chaotic, sadistic bloody mess for the rest of the film. Maybe this would have worked better as a short film as the script simply wasn't good enough for a film that crosses the 2-hour mark. There was really little dialogue in here I must say. This is also an aspect that hurt my general perception of the film. I need characters to interact with each other, but i guess Park thought this would make the film more appreciative to foreign audiences if there is not too much Korean talk. Anyway, as you probably already know by now, I did not enjoy the watch and I do not recommend you checking this one out. Thumbs down.