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58.169.39.237
On Blu-Ray of course! Warning, some spoilers below.
All I can say is WOW. Why can't Hollywood be this inventive, original, humorous, chilling, mesmerising and subtle? I've never been so blown away by a modern series of movies before. I was astounded by Park's ability to keep doing original things with just one theme - revenge.
My favourite was the first movie, Sympathy For Mr Vengeance. It resembles a Greek tragedy fused with Kafka, with some LSD thrown into the mix. That scene where the "hero" buries his sister and the spastic guy stumbles into the picture, with the girl drowning in the background, was a complete mind-f**k.
The second movie, Oldboy, follows a more conventional story arc (which is not to say it's conventional, it's just that it's less weird than the other two). I can usually figure out the ending of a movie in the first five minutes, but in this case I was genuinely puzzled about the motive right up until Oldboy started looking through the photos of his daughter.
The third in the series, Lady Vengeance, is more nuanced. Its music, style and cinematography are superior to the other movies, but it is more of a slow burn.
These movies never insult the audience. They also do not hold the audience's hand. You have to pay attention, closely. Park only gives you the bare minimum of information in terms of dialog and action. The picture and audio quality is first rate. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, you have to see this on Blu-Ray.
I suspect these movies will improve with multiple viewings.
Any other recommendations for contemporary Korean cinema? Mother and Memories of Murder are next on the viewing list.
Follow Ups:
fds
Vengeance is a specialty of Korean cinema.It's been a few years since I've watched any, but you may wish to try A bittersweet Life or PRincess Roanoke(?) . I'm not sure if they are available in the US as an R1 disc or not-many of the good ones are not.
Jack
PS. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance was my favorite of the trilogy.
Edits: 08/14/10
the humor is terrific and the art direction and cinematography priceless. "Mr Vengeance", to me, was the most Lynchian with the cast and story. The scene where he goes to get his money back and extract revenge was so much like Lynch I had to check the credits twice.
The Koreans have a serious film industry and I appreciate so much of what they do.
Share a bowl of grits with someone you love tonight.
If there's any character study more painful than Raging Bull...it's Oldboy.
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We must be the change we wish to see in the world. -Gandhi
Good, but too intense. Frequently downbeat. Hell, even in some of their romantic comedies, people die and/or suffer horribly.
Jack
Edits: 08/16/10
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Share a bowl of grits with someone you love tonight.
I would have eaten 5
GW
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We must be the change we wish to see in the world. -Gandhi
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