Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Synopsis

Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae), a beautiful girl who cannot help but draw attention of all the men around her, was first introduced to the public as the one responsible for the abduction and murder of a little boy at the age of twenty. Being so young and pretty, her horrific crime drew national media attention.

But now, 13 years have passed and in that time, Geum-ja has been the most hardworking and model prisoner, earning the nickname “ sweet ” Geum-ja.

“ Sweet ” Geum-ja, however, has not been idle during her time in prison. For 13 years, she plotted revenge against her former teacher, Mr. Baek (Choi Min-sik). Her kindness while in “ the joint ” has paid off and has now gained many friends and allies. Now that Geum-ja is getting out of jail, she is ready to put her carefully conceived plan into action.

What happened between Geum-ja and her teacher 13 years ago? Why does she want revenge? And how will her quest for vengeance end? These are the mysteries of SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE.

About the film
The most anticipated Korean film of 2005

Director Park Chan Wook, who won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes International Film Festival for his dark and violent thriller Oldboy, surprised many when he announced that the last film in his blood-soaked “ vengeance series ” would star a heroine. When people learned that the female lead would be none other than Lee Young-ae (immensely popular around Asia for such films as One Fine Spring Day and such television dramas as The Jewel in the Palace), and that the object of her revenge would be Choi Min-sik (the unhinged star of Oldboy), anticipation for SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE grew even higher.

Most significantly, this is the first time Lee Young-ae and Park Chan Wook have worked together since Park ’ s hugely popular 2000 hit JSA: Joint Security Area. After focusing on male characters in the first two films of his vengeance trilogy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Oldboy, Park wanted to switch gears and explore a different direction. Writing with Lee Young-ae and her serene, gentle image specifically in mind, Park created the character Geum-ja, a mysterious woman who is at once the most heavenly of angels and the darkest of devils. The result of this inspired collaboration of Park Chan Wook and Lee Young-ae is the unique and piercing film SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE.

If the first two focused on the aggressive and exploding vengeance of male characters, <Sympathy for Lady Vengeance> looks at ways of finding her own solution for her anger. Also, while <Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance> centered around ‘ Abduction ’ and <Oldboy> ‘ Confinement ’ , <Sympathy for Lady Vengeance> focuses on ‘ Atonement ’ .


Distribution: Golden Scene Company Limited

Release date: October 13, 2005

Category: III

Duration: 116 mins

Cinemas:
AMC / Windsor / Palace IFC /Palace APM / Broadway Mongkok /
Broadway Olympian City / Broadway Cinematheque / Broadway Cyberport / Broadway Kowloon Bay /
Broadway Tsuen Wan / Broadway Kingswood Ginza / Broadway Yuen Long / Broadway Kwai Fong /
UA TImes / UA Langham / UA Cityplaza / UA Citygate / UA Telford / UA Shatin / UA Whampoa /
GH Mongkok / Golden Gateway / GH Hollywood / GH Tsing Yi / MCL Kornhill / MCL Cinema Metro /
Ma On Shan

Website: http://www.geum-ja.co.kr