First in Park Chan-wook's Vengeance trilogy. A movie about a deaf-mute man, whose sister is in dire need of a kidney transplant, but unfortunately the man himself cannot be a donor. Through sheer desperation the man ends up performing deeds best left undone, all in the name of his sister.
It's not a pretty movie. The man's, Ryu's (Shin Ha-kyun), actions are understandable to a degree, and one could even argue that he never crosses that final line. Oh, he crosses lines, multiple of them, but he's more pushed over some of them than he is willingly walking. Not that it changes the end results in any way. And that's the "beauty" of it.
It's also a brutal movie. A lot of gore and blood is shown, the film certainly could be called tasteless by more conservative viewers and it certainly is not for everyone. But then again, you're watching a Park Chan-wook film. What did you expect? You either like his style or you don't.
The biggest problem I have with the film is the way it flows. Or to be more specific, how the scenes are joined together. There is more than one scene where you end up having no idea how the characters got there. That man shouldn't have that information or how did that guy find this guy or wasn't that girl supposed to be there instead of here. Those kinds of things. And yes, it's mood over logic kind of film, but most of these scenes could have easily been made to work with a line of dialogue. There's no need for it to be this clunky.
Still, it's a powerful film. Unapologetic, stylish and definitely memorable. It's not quite Oldboy, the second film of the trilogy, but if you liked that film, then this one should be right up your alley as well.
It's not a pretty movie. The man's, Ryu's (Shin Ha-kyun), actions are understandable to a degree, and one could even argue that he never crosses that final line. Oh, he crosses lines, multiple of them, but he's more pushed over some of them than he is willingly walking. Not that it changes the end results in any way. And that's the "beauty" of it.
It's also a brutal movie. A lot of gore and blood is shown, the film certainly could be called tasteless by more conservative viewers and it certainly is not for everyone. But then again, you're watching a Park Chan-wook film. What did you expect? You either like his style or you don't.
The biggest problem I have with the film is the way it flows. Or to be more specific, how the scenes are joined together. There is more than one scene where you end up having no idea how the characters got there. That man shouldn't have that information or how did that guy find this guy or wasn't that girl supposed to be there instead of here. Those kinds of things. And yes, it's mood over logic kind of film, but most of these scenes could have easily been made to work with a line of dialogue. There's no need for it to be this clunky.
Still, it's a powerful film. Unapologetic, stylish and definitely memorable. It's not quite Oldboy, the second film of the trilogy, but if you liked that film, then this one should be right up your alley as well.