Plot: Geum-ja is released from prison after serving 13 years for kidnapping and murdering a young boy. The kind-hearted Geum-ja will start execute her long planned vengeance on the man responsible for the child’s death and her own conviction for the crime with helps of her inmates.

Review: Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is a sentimental vengeance. I will not get into the story because I believe it is better for viewers if you don’t sponge much information upon viewing the film. I will say this is the gentlest vengeance of Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy. Unlike the other two (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy), main character’s revenge is not from passionately hatred but calm storm. Geum-ja is focused and her dedicated revenge is carefully conducted. This is no mad rampage of pure vengeance. It wouldn’t guide her to analyze what is important and what is insignificant in because she has done it already in prison.  It isn’t her physicality that gets the job done. She is known as “kind-hearted Geum-ja” but she is a cold-hearted. She doesn’t rationalize her action or has any sympathy for those who mess with her. She does conduct her revenge simply for her longing for redemption. And that gets the job done.

Once again, Park Chan-wook created a new visual style to tell this story of vengeance. Every details and every special effect is carefully planned to organize the timeline of the story. And the color scheme is very monochromatic. Every little color that associates with Geum-ja becomes such a symbolic that is ideally for her inner darkness. And it is nice to see major players in Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy appear in the film.

That said, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance is much heart-felt than the first two. Perhaps it is much more malice but it leaves you with a sense of sentimentality. The film focuses on the effect of long-anticipated vengeance and it is a pleasure to go through it with Geum-ja. It is a beautiful piece of fimmaking that will be embraced for years to come.