(Sympathy for) Lady Vengeance – 2005 (Written in English 04/06/2007)

Lady Vengeance is a Japanese film with English subtitles and it stars no one I have ever heard of. As it scored 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, and we are working our way through their top 100, we decided to get it. It is not a general crowd pleaser, but an exquisite tale of vengeance and redemption.

For the first half an hour you find yourself quite confused by the storyline, but intrigued by the lead character. The plot unfolds quietly and you will be blown away by the outcome and one particular scene in a dilapidated classroom involving 5 sets of parents. I am not going to reveal any more about it, accept that it is reminiscent of a scene in Japanese Story where Toni Collette battles with a dead body.

Plot: After 13 years the ‘heroine’ Lee Geum-ja is released from prison with a masterful plan of revenge. I shall say nothing else.

Bottomline: Lady of Vengeance is a creeper: a movie that creeps up on you days after you have seen it and keeps you mulling over the performances and the futility of revenge.