I caught Sympathy for Lady Vengeance by Park Chan-wook (2005) a few years back and this easily became one of my favourite films. Starring Lee Young Ae who is famous for her role in the popular Korean drama Dae Jang Geum, I watched the film out of pure interest for Lee Young Ae’s performance (my family and I were fans of that drama during then), and indeed, she delivered her role in the movie with such a powerful concoction of emotions, it totally knocked me over.
Why sympathy for a lady who is out to seek vengeance? Lee Young Ae portrays the enigmatic Geum-ja Lee, who was wrongfully jailed for thirteen years for a crime that she did not commit, circumstantially taking the rep for the crime due to the threat by the real murderer Mr Baek, who was holding her child captive. Geum-ja meticulously plans her path to revenge from the moment she was jailed, donning the angelic figure to garner support from her prison mates in aid of her vengeance plan. As the movie goes along, she unfolds her revenge on Mr Baek and even helped parents of the children that he murdered of, to seek revenge together. I was amused at the scene when their discussion for his retribution was amplified to him, it was an ingenious form of torture, adding elements of humour to the dark plot.
All that Geum-ja had done was for the sake of her daughter, yet the passing of time and distance rendered her daughter viewing Geum-ja not as her mother, but rather, as a stranger who she does not mind talking to and spending time with. In the scene when Geum-ja talked to her daughter Jenny with the help of Mr Baek translating her Korean messages into English (Jenny could not understand Korean, that’s why), Geum-ja relates her tale, her plan to finish off Mr Baek and also the hideous crime he committed, Jenny poses an innocent question, “do you want me to say sorry to his (the child who Mr Baek killed) mother?” Jenny’s innocence, along with Geum-ja’s complex despair for redemption and the knowledge that she has sinned way too much, certainly made it very heart wrenching. Jenny gives Geum-ja a hug, and the close up shot of the two pinning their faces to each other and Geum-ja’s pistol-holding hand cradling Jenny’s face amplifies the sorrow even more.
Another scene which was etched in my memory would be the ending scene, of Geum-ja rushing to meet Jenny, and presenting a snow white cake to her daughter, telling her the lines with her limited proficiency of English, “Be white. Live white. Like this.” Jenny, who does not understand the underlying messages Geum-ja is desperately trying to convey, innocently tastes the cake and offers Geum-ja the cake, and then faced the sky to taste the white snow. Geum-ja swells up with emotions and buries her face in the white cake, to which gave the little Jenny a shock and she offers Geum-ja a hug to soothe Geum-ja down. The ending served an impactful dose of sadness. Geum-ja is done with her vengeance journey, yet would she ever be able to redeem herself from the sins she had done? The motivation that fuelled her for years comes to a closing end, what would she do from then? I could not help but to feel sympathy for Geum-ja, her array of personalities, goals, and behaviour, is all out of her love for her daughter, there is nothing a mother would not do for her children. Despite her manipulative acts, her multi-faced persona, her great depths of emotions, she is simply just a mother - and certainly a mother who is willing to go to hell for her beloved daughter.
References:
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - Talking to Jenny
Sympathy For Lady Vengeance - Ending scene
Lady Vengeance Reviewed By: Paul Griffiths
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
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