This film is currently unavailable
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Acclaimed director Park Chan-wook (The Handmaiden, Oldboy) kicks off his celebrated ‘Vengeance trilogy’ with this dazzling, shocking tale of kidnapping, organ transplants and revenge.
Director: Park Chan-wook
Overview
A deaf-mute man, Ryu, works in a smelting factory and inhabits his own silent world, oblivious to the din both at work and in his downscale apartment building. He idolizes his sister, who urgently needs a kidney transplant, and when he's laid off and then tricked out of his savings by organ traffickers, his wacko girlfriend, Yeong-mi, suggests kidnapping his former boss's daughter to pay for his sister's operation. Yeong-mi sees it as social revenge. Ryu, initially scared of the consequences, finally agrees after seeing another laid-off worker attempt hara-kiri outside the boss's home. After kidnapping the boss's daughter, their whole plan starts to quickly unravel with horrible consequences.
This cruelly compelling crime drama kicked off Park Chan-wook’s celebrated ‘Vengeance trilogy’, which continued with the now iconic Oldboy (2003) and concluded with Lady Vengeance (2005). It also established a template for Korean thrillers by erupting into sheer bloodlust after an almost unbearably controlled extended build-up.
Related
20,000 Species of Bees 20,000 Species of Bees
Drama 2023 128 mins Director: Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
Sofía Otero ignites this warm, rich Spanish drama woven from a child’s probing question: who am I?
Undertow Undertow
Drama 2009 101 mins Director: Javier Fuentes-León
Miguel, a young married fisherman with a baby on the way, struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town’s rigid traditions.
Tótem Tótem
Drama 2022 95 mins Director: Lila Avilés
A poignant birthday party exposes a series of family tensions in Lila Avilés’ outstanding follow-up to The Chambermaid.
Variety Variety
Drama 1984 101 mins Director: Bette Gordon
Bette Gordon’s groundbreaking, gloriously subversive neo-noir thriller is one of the very best American underground films.
Leap Year Leap Year
Drama 2010 92 mins Director: Michael Rowe
Michael Rowe’s outstanding, Cannes winning debut feature is a bold, minimalist study of a woman’s urban isolation and self-destructive acts.
Naked Naked
Drama 1993 131 mins Director: Mike Leigh
David Thewlis gives an outstanding performance as a morally questionable force-of-nature.
Nil by Mouth Nil by Mouth
Drama 1997 129 mins Director: Gary Oldman
Twenty-five years old and newly restored, Gary Oldman’s BAFTA-winning debut as writer-director remains a magnificent achievement.
Enys Men Enys Men
Horror 2022 91 mins Director: Mark Jenkin
Mark Jenkin follows Bait with this chilling, endlessly mysterious folk horror tale, beautifully shot on grainy 16mm.
Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies
Drama 1963 91 mins Director: Peter Brook
Peter Brook’s Palme d’Or-nominated adaption of the classic novel by William Golding.
Blue Jean Blue Jean
Drama 2022 97 mins Director: Georgia Oakley
A closeted PE teacher reckons with her identity during Thatcherite Britain in Georgia Oakley’s delicate yet gripping BAFTA-nominated debut.
Pirates Pirates
Comedy 2021 80 mins Director: Reggie Yates
Set in London at the turn of the millennium, Reggie Yates’ hilarious debut feature takes us on a journey back to New Year's Eve 1999, reviving memories from the 90's garage scene and Moschino fashion for pure nostalgic cinematic joy.
Tenebrae Tenebrae
Crime 1982 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Following his supernatural sojourns, Suspiria and Inferno, Argento steps back into the real world for a blood-soaked tale of murder and meta-textuality.
JSA: Joint Security Area JSA: Joint Security Area
Thriller 2001 109 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Gunfire breaks out in the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea in this gripping thriller from Park Chan-wook.
JSA: Joint Security Area JSA: Joint Security Area
Thriller 2001 109 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Gunfire breaks out in the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea in this gripping thriller from Park Chan-wook.
Oldboy Oldboy
Thriller 2003 120 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Park’s wilfully grotesque fable about an abductee trying to fathom the mysteries of his past.
JSA: Joint Security Area JSA: Joint Security Area
Thriller 2001 109 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Gunfire breaks out in the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea in this gripping thriller from Park Chan-wook.
The Handmaiden The Handmaiden
Crime 2016 146 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker) channels Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, to create a sumptuous twisty psychological thriller full of erotic intrigue.
Lady Vengeance Lady Vengeance
2005 115 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Following Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy, Park Chan-wook completes his thematically linked trilogy of revenge.
Of Time and the City Of Time and the City
Documentary 2008 74 mins Director: Terence Davies
Brilliantly mixing archive film and music, Liverpool-born director Terence Davies reflects with wit and wisdom on a times of change, for good or ill
20,000 Species of Bees 20,000 Species of Bees
Drama 2023 128 mins Director: Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
Sofía Otero ignites this warm, rich Spanish drama woven from a child’s probing question: who am I?
Undertow Undertow
Drama 2009 101 mins Director: Javier Fuentes-León
Miguel, a young married fisherman with a baby on the way, struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town’s rigid traditions.
Tótem Tótem
Drama 2022 95 mins Director: Lila Avilés
A poignant birthday party exposes a series of family tensions in Lila Avilés’ outstanding follow-up to The Chambermaid.
The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future
Fantasy 2022 99 mins Director: Francisca Alegría
Francisca Alegría brings together family trauma and ecology into a poetic journey of rebirth. A mysterious and poetic tale on our collapsing ecosystem and finding balance.
Underground Underground
Comedy 1995 170 mins Director: Emir Kusturica
Set against the backdrop of 50 turbulent years of Yugoslavian history, this deeply moving and masterful tragic-farce from director Emir Kusturica earned him his second Palme d'Or.