Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (; "Vengeance Is Mine") is a 2002 South Korean neo-noir crime thriller film directed and co-written by Park Chan-wook. The film stars Shin Ha-kyun as Ryu, a young, deaf-mute factory worker trying to earn enough money for his sister's kidney transplant by holding the daughter of a wealthy man for ransom, and the path of vengeance that follows when the plan goes awry. Alongside Ha-kyun, the film's cast includes Song Kang-ho, Bae Doona, Han Bo-bae, and Im Ji-eun.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance did not fare well commercially upon its initial release in South Korea, and has garnered mixed reviews. Despite this, it won several awards. It is the first installment in director Park's thematic Vengeance Trilogy, and is followed by Oldboy (2003) and Lady Vengeance (2005).
Plot
Ryu is a deaf-mute man who works in a factory. His ailing sister is in desperate need of a kidney transplant, but Ryu's is not a match. After he loses his job, Ryu contacts a group of black market organ dealers to exchange one of his kidneys for one that his sister can use. However, the dealers disappear after taking Ryu's kidney and severance money. A legitimate kidney donor is found, but after having been conned by the organ dealers, Ryu is unable to afford the operation. To raise money, Yeong-mi, Ryu's radical anarchist girlfriend, suggests kidnapping the daughter of the executive that fired Ryu. They observe the executive with company president Park Dong-jin arriving at the latter's home one day, where one of Dong-jin's employees, Peng, attempts to commit harakiri in front of them. Ryu and Yeong-mi change their plan, deciding to kidnap Dong-jin's young daughter Yu-sun.
Yu-sun stays with Ryu's sister, who believes that Ryu is babysitting her. Ryu and Yeong-mi send a request for ransom to Dong-jin, and he obliges. Upon returning home with the ransom money, Ryu discovers that his sister learned that Yu-sun was kidnapped and, not wanting to be a burden any longer, has died by suicide. Ryu takes Yu-sun and his sister's body to a riverbed they frequented as children to bury her. Distracted by the burial and unable to hear, Ryu is unaware when Yu-sun slips into the river, and she drowns. After Yu-sun's body is discovered by the authorities, a deeply mournful Dong-jin hires an investigator to find her kidnappers. Dong-jin finds Ryu's sister's corpse by the riverbed, where he interacts with a disabled man who witnessed Ryu burying his sister, and begins to piece together the identities of Ryu and Yeong-mi.
Ryu, armed with a baseball bat, locates the organ traffickers and murders them, receiving a stab wound in the process. Meanwhile, Dong-jin finds Yeong-mi and tortures her with electricity, also killing a deliveryman who comes to her apartment. She apologizes for Yu-sun's death but warns Dong-jin that her terrorist friends will kill him if she dies. Unfazed, Dong-jin electrocutes her. Ryu returns to Yeong-mi's apartment and sees the police removing her corpse. Dong-jin knocks Ryu unconscious with a booby trap. He takes Ryu to the riverbed where his daughter died and drags him into the water. Dong-jin slashes Ryu's Achilles tendons and waits for him to drown. After Dong-jin dismembers Ryu's corpse, Yeong-mi's anarchist associates arrive and stab Dong-jin, pin a note to his chest with a knife and leave him to die.
Cast
Song Kang-ho as Park Dong-jin, Yu-sun's father and the president of a manufacturing company who is a friend of Ryu's employers Shin Ha-kyun as Ryu, a deaf-mute factory worker trying to pay his sister's hospital bills Bae Doona as Cha Yeong-mi, Ryu's girlfriend of several years Han Bo-bae as Yu-sun, Dong-jin's young daughter Im Ji-eun as Ryu's sister, who is in need of a kidney transplant Lee Dae-yeon as Choi, the investigator hired by Dong-jin Ryoo Seung-bum as a mentally disabled person at the lake Ryoo Seung-wan as a food delivery person at Cha's apartment Oh Kwang-rok as an anarchist Lee Kan-hee as Park Dong-jin's ex-wife Jung Jae-young as the husband of Dong-jin's ex-wife
Reception
Box office
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance opened in South Korea on March 29, 2002, and had a worldwide box office gross of . The film received a low-profile North American theatrical release from Tartan Films beginning August 19, 2005, over three years after it debuted in South Korea. In its opening weekend, it collected ( per screen) from three New York City theaters. It played on six screens at its most widespread, and its total North American box office take was .