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Just saw Chan-wook Park's Vengeance Trilogy for the first time

Posted by Doug Flynn on August 14, 2010 at 16:32:19:
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.