I have one thing to say about the new generation of Korean directors. They are all sick, sick people, and should probably spend a VERY long time seeking professional help.

I think this is my last Korean film for a while, as each one has left me more and more disgusted and repulsed. I can't fault the direction, the story, or the visuals, as each is well-made and fairly consistent. What it comes down to is I've had enough of people set in crappy situations maiming and killing each other in such brutally vicious ways. In other words, I need to rediscover my humanity, or something. It's a good thing that the next film on my list is "March of the Penguins".

Now that I'm done dishing that, I might as well review the film.

Ryu, a deaf man, and his sister live together. His sister is very ill, and needs a transplant to live. When his sister's surgery is rejected because of a miscommunication, Ryu gives up his kidney and all his money to a black market surgeon in exchange for the organ his sister needs to live. However, the surgeon rips him off and leaves him with nothing. To recoup his losses, he teams up with his girlfriend, a revolutionary, and kidnaps the daughter of his boss. Of course, things go horribly, horribly wrong...

This film is by the same director who brought us "Oldboy", which is a much more action-oriented film. "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" relies much less on direct violence and much more on the brooding, shocking acts of the two people each out for vengeance, and how their lives intertwine. This is not a film for the squeamish; people are electrocuted, stabbed, arterially ripped, bled out, drowned, autopsied, and just generally done for in brutal ways \ufffd which may sound like a more brutal film than "Oldboy" to you, but trust me, "Oldboy" comes off much more as a traditional action hero film than "Sympathy". Sympathy is more about people trapped by their situations than a quest for answers.

It's a good film if you can stomach it. As for me, I'm taking a break from Korean action films for a bit. Now, if they made more films like "The Road Home"...