PREMIERE.COM'S REVIEW (posted 8/19/05)

A turquoise-haired, deaf-and-dumb factory worker named Ryu (Shin Ha-kyun, Save the Green Planet!) is mercilessly let go from his slave-rank job, while his poor homebound sister waits in excruciating agony for a kidney transplant. Desperate, Ryu entangles himself with a black-market organs operation, to whom he hands over his nest egg and one of his own incompatible kidneys. He's subsequently stitched up, screwed over, and now penniless when a legitimate donor ironically becomes available. Even more frantic to make good with sis, Ryu and his Marxist activist lover Yeong-mi (Bae Du-na, Take Care of My Cat) hatch a detrimentally bad scheme to kidnap the young daughter of his wealthy, seemingly uncaring ex-boss Dong-jin (Song Kang-ho, Memories of Murder). What unfolds is an exhausting and progressively more macabre series of retaliations that ends (nothing spoiled here) as tragicically as anything the ancient Greeks concocted.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, this 2002 baptism-by-fire into Korean pop auteur Park Chan-wook's thematically-hinged trilogy of revengers — furthered in this year's sublime insta-classic Oldboy and finalized by current overseas sensation Sympathy for Lady Vengeance — has been smacked with a bad rap as being sensationally bleak for the sake of a director's depraved fantasies. Shrugged off by more than a few U.S. critics as sloppy in its scornful political critique (maybe they can't handle a foreign cultural identity's purposeful existence in the periphery?), lacking in context to justify its brutality (to be addressed later), and unobjectively labelled a film only a fanboy could love (as if anyone has the clout to make such an inane generalization), this misunderstood thriller is hardly as one-dimensionally wanton as those snubs would have it. The only quick dismissal allowed should be reserved for those with tender sensitivities (stay far away!), as it's criminal to not recognize the film for lucidly exploring the grey-area complexities of guilt, morality, and the reactionary justifications that lead humane people to seek unspeakable retribution.

But why make a film this hardcore? Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is flawed by design in being so fervently relentless that it's easier respected than enjoyed, though Park's no sucker when it comes to channelling this potency for a greater agenda. His luxurious compositions and impressively stylish trappings can make audiences question their own voyeurism, and his obstinate mood keeps us aware of our natural defenses — even the occasional jolt of humor or close-up of adorable kids won't allow us to put down our guards. Perhaps with an open and willing mind, you'll also see the vast difference between this wily consciousness experiment and, say, Rob Zombie's new box of schlocks.—Aaron Hillis