MovieChat Forums > Boksuneun naui geot (2002) Discussion > If you didn't like this film... why not?

If you didn't like this film... why not?

posted 10 years ago by johnnysmac
9 replies | jump to latest

I thought it was a masterpiece, brilliantly stylish, but done with restraint. It's cold and tragic but also humane, with great acting.

It has a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes. I find most of the comments relate to its bleakness. I don't think the film tried and failed to provoke happiness, it did what it aspired to, successfully (for me at least). A quote from Entertainment Weekly: "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is so badly told that it ends up dissecting a corruption that exudes from nowhere but itself." Seems like a pretty meaningless thing to say, to the point that it's kinda funny. New York Times: "There is so much talent on display in Park Chanwook's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, it is a drag that the film never rises to the level of its director's obvious ability." Doesn't tell me why.

Anyway, if someone can expose a flaw in the film, or let me know why it doesn't deserve, say, an 8.3/10 score instead of a 7.7/10 I'd sincerely appreciate it!

I'm going to find it and I'm going to destroy it. I don't know how yet. Possibly with dynamite.

[–] TheLastStop41 10 years ago

I'll preface this post with the fact that I really liked Oldboy and Lady Vengeance (though the latter, I don't remember all that well, I just remember liking it a lot).

But I thought this was a chore to get through, primarily because I felt the first hour easily could have been told in 20 minutes, and we as an audience would have lost nothing. By the point that the first hour is expired, I had pretty much already stopped caring because so much time is wasted on things that really don't matter (The four boys masturbating to what they believe is a woman having sex, but really is writhing in pain, for example).

To me, it just felt like a lot of excess to stretch out into a 2-hour movie.

Illusions Michael. Tricks are something a whore does for money.

[–] chilone 9 years ago

I disagree. I love languishing in a long colorful story as long as it goes somewhere which this one clearly did.

Not every scene has to be monumentally important. Garnish is a good thing :)

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ransomgilbert 9 years ago

Loved Oldboy and liked this, but I felt the way the story was told did not fit well to subtitles. Very few names were clear and all the cut phone scenes at the end were a little tricky to follow.

[–] The_Blue_Spirit 9 years ago

I have no idea why somebody wouldn't like this film. Calling it bleak is a cop-out, that doesn't mean the story wasn't really well told. I kept up with the pacing fine and thought it was on-par with Oldboy, but just below it. Lady Vengeance on the other hand, was a very pointless and slow film, brought nothing new to the revenge drama and had a really bad lay-out.

I can't say enough good things about this film. It was such a clever story all the way through, I don't see why someone wouldn't like it either.

"During the meeting, I was the perfect prince. But I wasn't me." -Zuko

[–] johnnysmac 9 years ago

Agreed about Mr Vengeance. However! While Lady Vengeance is the worst film in the trilogy, it's still one of my top 40 films. Yes I've seen all the Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Coens, Lynch, but this film is right up there with the greats, even above some of them. The first time I saw it, I wasn't impressed. But I saw it again, slightly inebriated but not really (some movies have a better feel to them that way--less overthinking more feeling/mood) and it was fantastic.

I've seen it again a couple more times, completely sober, and I just love the cinematography, Lee Guem-Ja's character (that actress was great), the music, the humor, and the ending. I didn't think it brought nothing new to the revenge drama. Most films don't revolutionize their genres. I thought the structure was unique. I can't tell you why, but the way everything leads to the next thing, while cutting between different time periods, it's just great. Everything leads up to the ending, viscerally, especially. I'm sorry it's so hard for me to articulate why this film is so good. But watch it again. Or tell me more about why it wasn't convincing.

I'm going to find it and I'm going to destroy it. I don't know how yet. Possibly with dynamite.

[–] The_Blue_Spirit 9 years ago

That's a fair point about films not revolutionizing their genre. The problem I had was I walked away completely empty. It wasn't even on the same league as Oldboy and Mr. Vengeance. It almost felt like a parody of a revenge film, not the conclusion of an epic trilogy.

I had a problem with the actual plot of getting the parents involved to take revenge against the teacher. The story seemed very contrived, COMPLETELY opposite of Mr. Vengeance. That storyline had heart to it, so many little elements that made the movie incredible.

Visually, Lady Vengeance is a wonderful film. Story-wise, not so much. But I was mostly just disappointed, as Oldboy and Mr. Vengeance are on my top 20 films, and I wouldn't put Lady Vengeance in my top 50.

"During the meeting, I was the perfect prince. But I wasn't me." -Zuko

[–] palvdb 8 years ago

I think it's pretty fantastic but honestly, do you really find it hard to imagine why someone did not enjoy this movie?

[–] rnmboon (407) 4 years ago

I didn't hate it (I gave it a 7/10) but I didn't think it is great either. It leans a bit too much on style and violence: especially in the second part. I found the early part of the movie (which was often comedic) the most interesting and the most enjoyable. But after the death of the sister much of the that atmosphere went out of the window. I still enjoyed the movie but I felt that is a bit uneven and the end not very satisfying.