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lady vengence interview
lady vengeance interview
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Director Park Chan-wook gets his own back.

For a man who has evidently had vengeance on his mind, Korean director Park Chan-wook looks remarkably sanguine as he discusses his new film over a hot beverage. Lady Vengeance, the last in a purported “revenge trilogy” which began with Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Cannes prize-winner Oldboy, returns to Park’s now familiar theme; all three films dwelling – often in vividly gruesome detail – on the nature of revenge. So what is it about this subject that so fascinates him?



“When someone goes through a great sense of loss and important things are taken away from him, that person is reborn as a madman,” he offers, via a translator. “But once you have performed the act of vengeance, you realise that it can bring no joy or reward. In this moment you die again, internally. I think that’s life in a caricature form.”

In Lady Vengeance, a young woman, Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae), is jailed for the kidnapping and murder of a little boy. She’s – partly – innocent, however, and during her 13 years in prison designs a complex scheme to get even on the man (played by Oldboy star Choi Min-sik) who betrayed her and stole her own daughter. In contrast to Mr Vengeance’s brutal single-take realism, or Oldboy’s manga-inspired baroque, this time Park offers a more contemplative tone to the retribution.

“It’s unusual, this particular vengeance story, in that the motivation behind revenge is redemption,” he explains, in reference to Geum-ja’s internal conflict. (Indeed, the film’s Korean title is Kindly Miss Geum-ja.) “In my opinion, probably women have a more acute sense of responsibility and guilt than men. The stepping aside when the revenge is before your own eyes maybe is more fitting with a female character.”



Not that Park stints on his trademark blend of outrageous visuals - the fable-like design and cinematography are stunning – quirky humour and, yes, wince-making violence. So is making these films some kind of therapeutic release from his own aggressions?

“It’s true to a certain extent,” he reasons. “But as a way to vent your anger, film is not a very effective medium. If you’re a heavy rocker, for example, you can jump about onstage and instantly unleash what’s within you in music. Filmmaking is such a lengthy process. In fact the anger is exacerbated because the process takes so long.” Presumably, when we get Park Chan-wook’s thrash metal album, we know we’re in real trouble.


Leigh Singer 16 February 06
Lady Vengeance, on selected release 17 February 06.
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comment by flyingtwinkle    Feb 17, 2006
i believe can act and react with more dtermined vengence
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oldboy
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mr vengence
review

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