Boksuneun naui geot / Sympathy For Mister Vengeance - A gripping drama and psycho thriller that even beats the big classics - 10/10 (04/03/11)

This movie is a horrific ride through human decay and the sense of vengeance. The movie is emotional, philosophical and the characters are authentic, unique and very touching. On the other hand, the movie is not only a profound drama but also a very haunting film noir with some gore scenes and many surprises until the very end. This movie is not only about a simple vengeance story, as there are many different vengeance stories that follow each other and are all strangely related and emerging into a very absurd "grande finale".

The biggest surprise to me was that the first half of the movie turns out to be only a slow paced but amazingly intense introduction to a really gripping and dark second part where the vengeance stories begin. In my whole cinematic experience, I have never seen such a stunning and long introduction to a main story. But all of this is entirely necessary to get into the characters and could have been an excellent drama on its own before the movie turns out to be a brutal psychological thriller. Both parts work together hand in hand and the transition is stunningly perfect so that the movie isn't torn apart but only surprisingly diversified by showing two different approaches. The first part is calm, dramatic while joy and desperation are mixed before the second part turns out to be much darker, very heavy from a mental and physical point of view and ultimately tragically absurd. The movie is touching and extreme in every meaning of the expression.

I really liked the second part named "Oldboy" of the trilogy that begins with this movie and ends ultimately with "Lady Vengeance" though all the three movies can be seen as single films as they show us three different casts and story lines that are only bound by the vengeance topic but I must admit that I prefer this first part to the shocking, calm and intriguing "Oldboy" because this movie has maybe a little bit less atmosphere but is really surprising the whole time long and something completely new for an entire genre by connecting the drama and thriller universe truly together for the very first time. This movie is one of the most innovating ones ever made in the genre and better than any psycho thriller from the Western world as it even beats the big classics such as "Seven", "Fight Club" or "Memento" which I adore by being completely unique and over the top. If you like any of the movies I just mentioned, don't hesitate to try out this one and you won't surely be disappointed.