Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (친절한 금자씨)
Park Chan-wook, 2005
A dark comedy tinted by violet, the cold meld of blue reason and red vengeance.
Lady Vengeance leaves my mouth frothing with a saccharine taste and an acidic kick. Geumja is kind-hearted yet manipulative, pitiful but twisted. Her life consumed by plans of revenge, she raises the question: does redemption come with revenge, or are both ultimately unattainable? The film also represents cinema at its best with its impeccably composed frames, sharp-witted dialogue, and detail-bursting production design.
The American release chose the word “sympathy” in translating the title of the film, yet the Korean title “Chinjeolhan Geumjassi” literally translates to ”Kind-hearted Ms. Geumja.” The nuance of sarcasm is different in the two titles, which is why I’m not a fan of the American title. For one, the word “kind-hearted” is much more cutting than “sympathy.” “Sympathy” reads as eliciting a certain emotional response from the viewers, which may be a forced laugh from understanding its tongue-in-cheek nature, or well, sympathy.
The poster for the American release also misses the point by excluding the contrast between the modern backdrop and the retro vibe of Geumja, the bakery, and the cakes. The poster for the film’s Korean release:
The alternate version:
My favorite from the film though, are the cakes:
Fuck. Now I’m craving chocolate cake.
All stills captured by me. I own no rights to these images.
