LADY VENGEANCE (2005)

In many of the very best films, atmospherics are central to cinematic structure, and over the years many ambitious pieces have failed miserably as a director vainly attempts to adapt his/her production in pursuit of the appropriate atmosphere within which to develop characters or plotlines. In the best cases, the opening shot of a film effortlessly defines its mood (for example, Ridley Scott's Bladerunner), whereas in the worst cases two hours (not to mention millions of dollars) might be frittered away senselessly in the attempt to fashion a setting that moves the viewer without the use of CGI, flesh or explosions. Lady Vengeance, the latest offering by acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-Wook, certainly falls into the former category, as we are once again drawn into his strange and exhilarating world of violence, betrayal and revenge.
As the film commences we are introduced to protagonist Lee Geum-Ja, who has returned to her home town following thirteen years in jail for murder and child abduction. She is greeted by someone who may or may not be her father (Park deems not to clarify this point), amidst a group of people all dressed as Father Christmas. Thus the mood is immediately set, although Park doesn't allow the viewer time to consider the characters involved during the opening minutes of the film. Often this might herald the beginning of a poorly constructed or flawed feature, but here he seems to deliberately draw attention away from what is actually taking place onscreen. And, of course, it works; in his previous two masterpieces (Sympathy For Mr.Vengeance and Old Boy) Park made it abundantly clear that in his role as a storyteller, he has no trouble keeping his audience interested in both the characters and the storyline, as well as the occasional moment of ambiguity. Lady Vengeance is a presentation combining these different facets, an amalgamation of the classical narrative structure of Mr.Vengeance and the striking and often beautiful imagery of Old Boy, to create the final, stunning installment in his trilogy of vengeance.

At first glance the plotline is very similar to that of Old Boy, as a person enduring a long period of incarceration plans their revenge on the individual who instigated their imprisonment. However, whereas Old Boy focused its energies on deceiving the audience as to why Choi Min-sik, 'Oldboy's' madman (who appears here as the devious Mr Baek, in almost a complete role reversal from his previous outing) had been treated in such a manner, Lady Vengeance wastes no time in describing exactly why Lee has been imprisoned, and that Mr Baek is responsible. Thus, the plotline characteristics of Sympathy For Mr.Vengeance are added into the mix, as we quickly learn exactly why Lee is seeking revenge. From here, the rest of the film serves as a visual reference for the resultant torture and retribution she exacts.
Some might watch Lady Vengeance and think this is a step back for the director. Considering that this is the final installment of a trilogy, one assumption might be that a more tangible and obvious progression would occur through the three films, in terms of both plot and narrative. Old Boy was certainly wilder than Mr. Vengeance, which might lead some to believe that Lady Vengeance will be even stranger and more far fetched, and resultantly some may have to see this movie three or four times before even beginning to comprehend what is taking place onscreen. Ultimately, Park's cumulative installment of his vengeance saga offers a beautifully shot and edited narrative, combined with some incredible imagery, which sometimes jumps far from reality. However, his forays into the realm of the fantastic is coupled with a subtle and often sublime sense of realism, that will foster most viewer's empathy with the motives and actions of his female protagonist. Unmissable.

Tartan's 'Asia Extreme' presentation offers the sort of visual and audio quality one would expect for such a highly praised production. The rich 1.85:1 Anamorphic image shows off the deep blacks and deliberately gritty contrast levels very effectively whilst maintaining the vibrancy of colour and detail. The soundtrack is catered for with an excellent choice of Dolby 2.0 Stereo, DD5.1 or the slightly superior DTS 5.1. On the special features front this disk does feel on the light side given the statue of main feature, with the only real 'extra' being a 40 minute interview with director Park Chan-Wook. OK, so it is a Tartan exclusive, but a behind-the -scenes feature or a few cast interviews certainly would have help to round out the package. Even though the included interview is pretty lengthy, it is mediated by a translator who has about as much passion and charisma and Park himself, and it's a pretty tough slog for all but the most die hard of fans.