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Park Chan - wook is a consummate director and writer from South Korea , who specializes in craft psychological horror and thriller . A former film critic , his motion picture likeOldboyandThe Handmaidenhave received plaudit from critics and audiences alike all over . One can argue his shock and bequest to be adequate to that of fellow South Korean maestroBong Joon - ho ( Parasite , Snowpiercer ) .
The initial movie of his early career in the 2000s might not be that impactful but he put Korean thrillers on the single-valued function with his " Vengeance " trilogy , three films that are spiritually connect to each other with the coarse theme of revenge . Park Chan - wook ’s film boast of adequate doses of style and substances , often pock with vivid scene of gore and sensuality .
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002) — 56%
The first chapter in theVengeancetrilogy can be examine as one of the few Park Chan - wook films that emphasize panache over substance . critic and audience were of the consensus that the film ’s violence and gore overshadowed the plot . Sympathy For Mr. Vengeancealso could n’t achieve much success at the box office . Nevertheless , the film was still a big striking amongst local laurels ceremonies .
standardized to the managing director ’s other adrenaline - fuel revenge drama , the film deal with a mute man named Ryu who holds a fat tycoon ’s girl for ransom for fund his sister ’s kidney transplant operation . When the kidnapping plan goes cockeyed , the tycoon — played by frequent collaborator Song Kang - ho — gets driven by bloodlust for revenge .
Stoker (2013) — 70%
Stokerwas Park Chan - wook ’s English - speech debut , asterisk a talented castled by Nicole Kidman , Mia Wasikowska , and Matthew Goode . For the picture ’s screenplay , the director rely on an unlawful option . Prison Breakstar Wentworth Miller helm the script of this thriller , with thin story elements invigorate by Alfred Hitchcock’sShadow of a Doubt .
The moving picture is also pretty different from Park Chan - wook ’s common filmography , in terms of style . But if nothing else , Stokergoes on to show the director ’s versatility with slowly - burning thriller too . Stokerdeals with the mysterious show of a girl ’s uncle after her father ’s wrong demise . While she develop an infatuation with this relative , she also realizes that he might have some posterior motives of his own .
Lady Vengeance (2005) — 76%
The final chapter in the filmmaker ’s Vengeance trilogy , Lady Vengeancerevolves around the taking into custody of Lee Geum - ja ( Lee Yeong - ae ) who gets framed for a slaying she never committed . Similar toOldboy ’s protagonist , the character rots in prison house for several years until she last gets released . Once set free , she decides to look for the help of her prison Friend in executing a elaborated architectural plan to demand retaliation from the people who conspired against her while get hold her alienated girl .
interchangeable to the other hyperviolent entries in the trilogy , Lady Vengeancecan be brutally disturbing for some viewer while being visually enthralling at the same time .
TIE: Joint Security Area (2000) — 81%
This 2000 plastic film takes place in the DMZ , the heavily build up border that lies between North and South Korea . After a fatal shot of North Korean soldier , a neutral Swiss citizens committee intervenes to nibble the incident together as it gets different narratives from soldier of both sides .
Joint Security Areawas a major beginning not only for Park Chan - wook ’s calling but also for its lead men , Song Kang - ho and Lee Byung - hun , both of whom would eventually pick up outside fame later . The former would cease up appear in several other memorable Park Chan - wook films . The motion picture was a crowing smasher in South Korea , becoming the highest - grossing film of its sentence .
TIE: Thirst (2009) — 81%
Thirstfinds Park Chan - wook venture into eroticvampire territoryas Song Kang - ho act as a non-Christian priest who undergoes a drug test before using it to push famine in African commonwealth . This drug alter his moods and curses him with an insatiable lust and taste for blood . The non-Christian priest gives up his moral affiliations as he engages in a downward spiral of wild and sexual encounters .
With haunt aesthetics and top - notch playacting performances , Thirstis another furor thriller in the visionary music director ’s filmography . Despite its horror premise , the film can also be seen as a sinister comedy .
Oldboy (2003) — 82%
The movie that precede Park Chan - wook to a global interview , Oldboyhas put up the test of sentence as an influential thriller and action plastic film . The protagonist Oh Dae - su ( Choi Min - sik ) serve as a thoroughgoing graphic symbol study for understanding the brain behind revenge and the eventual madness that accompanies it . The plot of land kicks off with his solitary confinement for several years and his eventual release . However , now Oh Dae - su ’s charge is to find out the identity behind his capturer , an old conversance who has a vendetta of his own .
The grievous story apart , Oldboy’saction sequences(the hallway scene in particular ) stand out , influencing even Hollywood fight scenes . Director Spike Lee free an American remaking in 2013 starring Josh Brolin .
I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok (2011) — 92%
The lightest film from Park Chan - wook ’s catalog , I’m A Cyborg , But That ’s Okis aromantic comedythat ’s wholesome yet self-examining . The bizarre statute title can be explained from the heroine ’s article of faith that she ’s a armed combat cyborg . When she ’s admit to a psychiatrical infirmary , she find solace in a schizophrenic kleptomaniac .
Likable characters , offbeat humor , and minimalist visuals embellish this feel - salutary film . The tether performances by I m Soo - jung ( ofA Tale of Two Sistersfame ) and popstar Rain also drew further praise .
The Handmaiden (2016) — 95%
The Handmaidenis perhaps Park Chan - wook ’s most multi - layered film , venturing into the writing style of pornography and psychological repugnance . jell in a menstruum when Korea return under Nipponese rule , the film start off with the endeavor of a dip ( Kim Tae - ri ) to seduce an elect Nipponese charwoman ( Kim Min - hee ) and finally fleece her of her inheritance . What stick to is a sophisticated plot that undergoes several twists and turns .
For the film ’s story , the director was inspired by aVictorian - eranovel . However , the stylistic elements and the big reveal in the end , highlight the thriller veteran ’s originality .
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