Park Chan-wook - Lady Vengeance

0:00 You know, we are no stranger to covering thrillers on this podcast. I'm just curious, so refresh my memory. Do you have like a favorite, whether it's you know, a popular one or a very underrated one. Popular Deliverance, underrated, Judgment Night, Judgment Night? Great? Yeah, great call there? Uh did us Leary an Amelia Estevez facing off one against each other? I haven't seen. Oh awesome soundtrack. I haven't seen that forever. I needed. I need to find that. I'll tell you if I was gonna go I mean obviously, if I'm going popular, I think the go to for me is always going to be Hitchcock's rear Window, but underrated and maybe some day we might have to talk about it. Um. Did you ever see Frailty? Yeah, with Matthew McConaughey, directed by Bay, directed by Bill Paxton. Yeah, that one. That was one. Yeah.

1:03 Well, well let's talk about a film by Park Chan Wook is two thousand and five crime thriller Lady Vengeance. Hello everybody, and welcome to the A Film By podcast. I'm Jeff Johnson, I am Brad Cozo Brad Today Uh it is we got like I think there's like two days left Asian and Pacific Islander month. It has been happening all month. We are closing out the month we're gonna celebrate Park chan Wook. Yeah, did you do your you know kind of a tribute to that. I just know I did.

2:06 I bought myself five a Kira Kurasawa films for Asian Island and Pacific or a month. Um, yeah, five films and you bought. I can tell you it was a fantastic weekend launching all those. Man, you not one, not two, but you bought fives. Hey, I went all in. I couldn't buy just one. I had to. I had to get like you know, I got seven Samurai of course, you know, a film by episodes Thrown a Blood. Had to have that um Rashaman and the u Yo Jimbo send Juro um double feature and I had never seen Sender before and it was fantastic. Nice. I feel like they need to make I know they've done done it once or twice here and there, but they need they need a definitive Kirosawa box set. Yeah, which you know I'm holding out for that, I think. Okay, But question for you, you've been to Denver recently not recently, Brad, I'm gonna tell you something I was surprised to see. Over the past thirty days, there has been a significant spike in listeners in Denver, Colorado. And I'm not talking like Horrigeous I'm not. I'm not talking about like a one or two. I'm talking like more than a quarter of our our listeners listening audience lately has been from Denver, Colorado. So I thought I was like, man is Brad on tour somewheres. He something, Hello, Denver. Listen. If you are

3:37 joining us from Denver, Colorado or Colorado in general, email us and uh, We're gonna get you some swag. Is that cool, Brad? Sounds good by me? Yeah, all right, Let's let's let's take care of Let's take care of our Denver audience and send them some fun stuff. All you gotta do email us www dot a film by podcast dot com. Let us know you're in Denver, and we'll send you We'll send you some stuff. Sound good, sounds perfect? All right? So I was talking, you know, we're talking. We're talking thrillers. You know. I was actually the other the other day I was talking with uh, with our friend Dayton Johnson, who you know, we're talking thrillers. His go to is seven, which I had the privilege of speaking with him on on the Docking Base seventy seven podcast him and Andrew Blakeley. Yeah, love love seven.

4:32 Uh we love, we love what Dayton does. Would you like one more reason to love Dayton Johnson Bread? Sure? Why not? How about this? Dayton just became our new patron. Oh yeah, yeah about how about that? He's going to try and run things now? Uh he well listen, don't don't think he wasn't considering the uh the top tier so he can do like a total takeover the show. Yeah, because we have one of those coming up. We have we have a patron who is a producer. He's at that producer level. He does get to fully call the shots on a on an episode. So, um, well, Daton, if we if we must revisit Cobra, then we will. Uh he would probably knowing him, he would probably remove it from our our library. He'd pull like a like an HBO Max like killing Batgirl. He would kill kill it.

5:30 Stay away from that dating, but listen, we don't want you to stay away. Check us out patreon dot com. Backslash a film by podcast for as little as three dollars, we are going to send you some really awesome swag and Brad Brad is a big fan of bonus features and extra content right as an always. Yeah, and that is why we are loading this Patreon every month. Uh, not just an episode here and there. We're we're trying to crank out as much awesome content as we can for you. So check us out there Patreon dot com. Backslash a film by Podcasts Brad. Yes, let's get the Lady Vengeance. I know, I know this was new for you, right, brand new? Yeah? Yeah, never set us films by the director or the movie. Yeah. Okay, So tell us a little bit about what Parks two thousand and five thriller is all about, Okay, without trying to give anything away. Um, Lee Jam Yah has confessed to killing a six year old boy who was recently kidnapped. Thirteen years later, Lee's released from prison and is on the hunt for the actual killer. Lee's ultimate revenge plan is well calculated, pre arranged, and served ice cold, not just your typical revenge thriller, and you will never see the twist coming in Park Chan Wook's Lady Vengeance very nice, Brad. At the beginning, when you said try not to give anything away, I was like, good luck, yeah, because it's hard. You know, when

7:03 we talked about thrillers, I don't care if they came out, you know, ten days ago or ten years ago, like we d know if if you haven't seen it. We really don't want to give away the big twists, but you know, sometimes you have to. But yeah, yeah, but this movie, this movie fortunately has a lot of really good twists. Yes it does. So this is your first time seeing it, I know not to not to tip your hand for later for the recommendation, but first impression, when you first impression, UM, I was a little confused at first. But once this movie starts going, it is very interesting. It is um experimental at times. UM, it's beautifully shot. UM, it's extremely well acted. UM. And you know it's you get a joy out of some you know, revenge thrillers, and you kind of do get a little bit of joy out of this of you know, this this sweet venge, you know, and it's and you're trying to figure out the whole time.

8:03 It doesn't give you everything up front. I really like that you have to under it has to all be unveiled as you watch the movie, and I really like that. Yeah, well, you know, like you said, you're a little confused in the beginning, this one kind of you have to peel it back a little out of time because it's between that and the fact that that part Chen Wouk does this this great thing. Like one thing is that he has a great visual style. I think his movies, I mean they're cinematic, but they're also they're artistic. You know, he has a very artistic eye. The way he directs I think almost like dream like. Yeah, perfect, that is That's exactly what I was thinking. Is that's what I wanted to say. And you you hit it. You hit it right there on the head, um real real, dreamlike like you're you know some of the stuff you like, what is this reality? Is it not reality? And definitely definitely engages you. I think, Wait, the way he does it. Speaking of engaging our our our female lead here, uh Lee Young, I think I hope I'm saying that right, Brad.

9:13 Apologies apologies to our our listeners in South Korea if I'm if I'm butchering these names. But she plays our our hero. Is it safe to say hero? Brad Our, our protagonist, our protagonist, I say hero, yeah okay, uh um ya right, yeah, okay, imprisoned, wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years. Uh and now she's out definitely. You know, we we've kind of covered this ground before when we talked about we talked about Spike Lee's Old Boy, which was which was a remake of Park chan Wooks Old Boy. Right, And so this is a vengeance trilogy apparently by by Woke Our Chan Wooke. It is his I guess maybe like Man with No Name trilogy in some ways. Yeah, they're they're connected, uh in tone, they're connecting spiritually, like a spiritual sequel if you will, not that you need to see one before the other or or what. And I know we're gonna get into that in a little bit, but I want to talk a little bit about jim Ya. She plays this character ice cold, yes, and you have to see her at you know, a very young age to you know, twenty two then thirty three and being a bubbly the you know

10:46 girl at times, having to do all this stuff with the religion and you know, trying to convince people that she's this reformed girl and stuff. So she's got a lot to do. Yeah. I love the opening of this film where you kind of blitz through the police catching her, her confessing and the media frenzy. The trial has a real natural born Killers vibe to it. Yeah, do you agree? Yeah? Yeah, this movie has a lot of other things going on that are telling the story in the background. Like when she's telling the story of basically what's going on, you hear it being played in the background, the screams and things that she's explaining. So there's a lot of that in this movie. You have to really pay close attention during this movie. Yeah, I think so. It's what it's a It's it's a film that lends itself to multiple viewings because yeah, again, you you enjoy it, you go back and then you start finding things you didn't see the first time, you know, And that's one thing I think is really awesome about it. Let's talk real quick about the villain, the antagonist as it were, Ye, mister Back played by Choi minsik H.

12:09 He is. Wow. It's an interesting character because it, first of all, you don't know about this character for probably I'm gonna say the first hour maybe at least okay, maybe the first forty five minutes, so you don't even know this character exists, and then this unraveling of who this person is, how he's connected to her, how it's connected to the crime. It's just it really rolls away. And at first you're like, oh, this guy's kind of moved on with his life. He's sitting there eating dinner with his wife and you know, just got the TV on the background. And then he decides, well, I'm done, or at least I'm taking a break from my food, and just devours his wife on the table, very very crudely, and you basically say, yes, this man is horrible, but even then you don't know how horrible. Yeah. He It's one of those It's one of those villains that just you start off and you're like, oh, this looks like a nice guy, looks like a normal guy.

13:13 Uh. But then the more we see of him, the more he repulses us. Yeah, right, I expected when when you're finding out about this character, I'm expecting someone very weak, very um afraid of you know, especially in the situation that you see that they're going through. Did not expect this type of character. Now, you know, when you watch a film and someone is so great at the role of being a bad guy or someone that you can't stand and then you you just you hate that person, right, Yeah, I think credit to uh to mensick here, the fact that he is the hero in the original Old Boy. You know that that Josh Brolin plays in the US remake. He plays day su Uh in an Old Boy. So the idea and then and again we talked about Spirituals, the Spiritual sequel. You know, it's a loose you know, it's a trilogy in tone. You know, you can't have the hero of Old Boy be the villain of Lady Vengeance because that would just would never work, right.

14:22 But this guy's awesome. Uh, I'm talking about the man himself. CHOI not not mister back. He is not awesome. He he's a scumbag. So yes, he's very very very bad, very very bad man, very bad man. Yeah. So we talked a little bit about how this a lot of this stuff almost dream like, Um, what would you say, Brad as far as like how this movie begins, like because at first, like I said, you got the media blitz, the Trial of the Century. They're talking about how, you know, pop culture has kind of taken to Jumiya, you know, like the adapt that that kind of like how we how we have in the States, you know, with serial killer culture, right, they're they're all for you know, and it's terrible because like she's she confesses to kidnapping and murdering a six year old boy. Yeah, and not only that they to get a full conviction, they basically do a uh is it like a mock um crime scene, you know, retelling so to see could this person physically do this? Could they physically bind the child?

15:35 Could they physically move them? And she does it and she shows how she you know, killed the kid and stuff, and you're just like, how is You're you're still you're wondering, how did this happen? How did this happen? How is she? You know, she's innocent, but you're still trying to figure out how. And once it finally comes into to realize that what happened, it's it totally makes sense. Well, you know, like you said, like, you know, she's innocent, but the first time I saw this a while ago, I didn't know that. Because she does confess, and even when she's under police interrogation where they're trying to they're trying to push her, you know that to where you know, they're kind of insinuating that she couldn't be the killer. Yeah, she's trying to do their boy. Yeah, she's doing her best to convince them. On top of that, in prison, she is talking about how like, yeah, I killed I killed the kid, and yeah, you know, yeah, she's got the voice of an age. She's got she's she's an angel.

16:37 Well yeah, but I still, uh, I still did a terrible thing. If I'm an angel, how can I do such an evil thing? So for a while throughout the movie kind of like how we pull back the reveal on who mister Back really is, we're pulling we're doing the same thing with Jumia because I initially I was like, Okay, I why is she who who I'm rooting for? Like, I don't care that she's been you know, imprisoned and wronged because she's a child murderer. Right, So kudos to you man, because you saw you saw a little bit. It sounds like you saw a little bit faster than I did as far as like her innocence goes No, No, I mean I think I was like, all right, stay with this character. It's it's gonna have some kind of it's all gonna come together somehow, whether she sacrifices herself because of what she did, whether she had a gun pointed at her head. But once it's finally revealed, and I know, we don't try to do spoilers, but I feel this is an underrated movies, so I don't want to spoil too much because I think people will watch it after listening to this. But once you figure it out, you're a lot more invested in her because you're watching half the movie rooting for this person. But is this person a good person or not? Yeah, you're not really sure until it all comes together. And some of the she does that I know that we'll get to are questionable, but I know why she does them and the effect that she needs for them.

18:08 This movie deals with the themes of revenge and atonement because this is a character that is seeking both. She wants to atone for her sins. She also wants revenge for for what's happened to her. So and it's one of those amazing things where yeah, we think she's an an evil person, then we realize she's not. But but is that right? Because she goes to prison and becomes a bad person. Is that fair to say because she you know, she she does kill someone in prison. Yeah, but it's prison, and it's kind of have to end. It's almost necessary. Um, this this person that you know she does take out is not nice and not a really good person. And but doing what she does by getting all these alliances together, yes, swarming this plan for thirteen years and you know, you know, once the one girl says like as it started. She's like it started thirteen years ago, as the plan started, and then you're like, all right, here we go. She's got a plan. I absolutely love the storytelling device where we get a little glimpse of these women that are in prison with her, you know time. I love the little title cards.

19:36 So there's some time jumps in this movie. Yeah, but but necessary time jumps. And I think it's you know what part does so brilliantly. It could it'd be easy for him to just you know, show us like a couple, you know, quick scenes of them bonding in prison, but the way they did it coo, you know, because it's uh, you know, you get like a quick glimpse of how these women got in prison, like what was their crime and you see why they're gonna they're gonna gravitate to uh to jum Ya, and why they're gonna follow her lead and the idea of her building this this team to extract or revenge. I absolutely love it. I love it. I love the film for for for that that use of it. It's like the real Oceans eight. This this is your this is the the rated R Ocean's eight. Yeah, you know, uh, we're not gonna, We're not gonna steal it. We're not gonna knock off h like Casino. We're gonna Yeah, we're gonna murder somebody, you know, but you know, still love it. Still love it real quick before I get away from it. Uh. The music. And I apologize because I'm I'm I'm blanking on the the Gentleman's name. I really like the music in this. It has like that that old world harpsichord feel to it.

21:00 But I was doing some research, Brad, and I apologize because I was scraping the barrel looking for any kind of information on this and I just couldn't find anything. I don't know. I don't know about you, but one thing I found that was kind of interesting. The music that is used for the score is, uh, it's from Vivaldi and the piece in question actually is the story about a woman seeking revenge against a man who wronged her. Really yeah, so I thought that was kind of cool, you know. And uh, and listeners, I do apologize because you know, I'm sure we'll we'll use it as our outro on this but I don't know, I just I really dug the music. Yeah, I thought the music was really good. There was a lot of like I said, the classical violin pieces going together with the snow stuff. Yeah, the music really did did work really well. Let's talk about the U And I know we got to be careful here because we don't want to give it too much away. Um, Brad, not your favorite scene, not the best scene it was.

22:06 Is there a pivotal moment in here for you, a scene that you're just like, whoa, that's that's a beautiful when she um when she has her monologue of explaining it all, when she explained to the young the young kid, when she yeah, I mean she explains it all exactly why she's doing what she needs to do. And like I said, when she's telling the story, you hear the screams in the backgrounds and everything like that. I thought that was a really well done scene. The cameras just kind of floating around the room at the same time, and you're just you have to go on this story with this woman. But um, i'd say one of my scenes that I just cracked up on. It wasn't a pivotal scene, but there's a scene where they're all all these people are sitting there and they're just passing over these raincoats. It's very a lot like like, here's this yours, you know, this is here's your weapon, and it was just it was so it was kind of funny, and there's a few things in here that are are funny. So yes, it's a very very dark movie.

23:11 But there are some comical, good comical reliefs. Um a lot of them provided by the boy working at the bakery itself. But um, there are some take it easy. Yeah, we're doing a deep, deep movie here, but still a movie. And there's some good comical scenes in it too. But that's my pivotal one. I I like your your your your choice. One thing I really like about it, like you said, you the layering of you know, her telling her, we recounting her recounting the story that telling us the truth, you know, because as she's telling the U the kid from the bakery, she's she's telling us, she's letting she's finally letting us know and hearing those those screams kind of kind of kind of floating along her her dialogue. It's really haunting, really really dark. Uh.

24:03 I love that moment for her, though, because I feel like that's a that's it's a sense of empowerment for her, you know, because you know, and maybe it's the culture over there, but it's pointed out several times about how beautiful Juma is, you know, how how young and beautiful she is. I like that moment because she kind of shea It's an empowering moment for her with the with the the kid for the bakery because and we say kid, but you know, he's nineteen. Yeah, so's he's a kid. Yeah he's a kid. Yeah her Yeah, she's fourteen years older than him, so she's he's a kid. But I love I love the fact that she's not the typical damsel. She's not the typical you know, he's not trying to you know, because they have a they have a an encounter We'll just say a little vision quest encounter. Yeah, a little little, little, little little Linda Fioranno actually happening there. But I dig it because he is the one that's that's a little int he's intimidated, he is scared.

25:03 Yeah, and she is in total control. And I dig that about about the scene. Um, I'm gonna give you a different pivo pivotal moment. This was the one for me because yours was. I was feeling that until just a little bit further along in the movie. And I'll be and I'll be very careful because I don't want to give anything away, but the cell phone, Yeah, the charming, Yeah, because you're still kind of baffled. You see the red marble, Okay, but you really don't know what the other ones are once we and I'm not trying to to really tease or or or uh frustrate our listeners right now, but the marble. We know what the marble signifies, we know what that we know how important that marble is to this movie. And once you see the marble in relation to the other charms, it breaks the story wide open. And Brad, you talked about the twists that this movie takes and right there I was like, whoa, this just got a lot darker, it just got a lot deeper, and I'm I'm all in now, like you know, let's let's let's keep going. And I thought the movie was over at this point. At this point you're like, okay, I think this is the end, and then the movie changes again and you're just like okay, um, because you I would have been satisfied, but you get this like bonus of story that

26:37 just makes it so much more compelling and so much more of you just want to destroy this mister back and you want you want, you want Lady Vengeance to get her her vengeance. Yeah. This uh, in a way, this movie has that that Return of the King ending where you get like a couple endings because I thought, okay, great play, I used to end this and justice has served and then the ending? Can we can we talk about the ending without giving you know, to talk. I wanted to ask you about one specific scene. Okay, here, why don't we do this? Why don't we do this for our listeners? Brad, if you are, if you're all in and you don't like spoilers, go check out Lady Vengeance and real quick you could. It's streaming free on two by Pluto TV.

27:26 It's on Prime. For those of you that don't want any spoilers from here on out, go watch it and then come right back to us. Brad, I feel like we're safe now, so let's let's do what we want to do. So the scene where she has all the videos and she's going to show the parents. Yeah, Now, this scene is actually very hard to watch, and as it's happening, I'm seeing myself going I think this was a wrong choice for the director. I think it was a wrong choice to show this because this is really difficult to watch. But then it was done, and she's explaining everything to the parents there, and I don't think she would have got the reaction for them against Beck if she wouldn't have shown that. They wouldn't have gone in if she wouldn't have shown it.

28:19 Was it somewhat unorthodoxed and cruel maybe, but now they all share this secret, you know. But yeah, like she said, you know, because I'm like, she should have just taken it to the cops. And but like I said, when the scene first happened, I'm like, I don't know if I like this, but she had to do it, and so I wanted to ask you, do you think that was necessary or could she have just told them? I think it's very necessary and it's very necessary for the film. I'm so glad that we continued on because you've once we realize that Beck has done this several times and she's got him. I mean, this is a situation where your child's been missing for years, you know, in some cases like ten years, and your child you know they were found, you know, never found, or they were found murdered. And then someone says, out of the blue, someone pulls you in and says, hey, I here, I'm gonna I'm gonna show you what happened to your child, and I'm gonna let you choose what happens to uh, your child's killer. Right that it's such a hard scene to watch, Brad, And I imagine you know, you're a you're a new father, so that had got hard to watch this scene. Yeah, well, anytime you see children in danger, Yeah, it's a hard it's a hard scene to watch because

29:49 this this guy, he's sick, he is he's kind of made these like a little little home movies. Yeah, as his keepsakes. You know, serial killers love trophies, and this is his his trophy. He has, he has his charms, and he has his uh you know, he has his little little little video cassettes. M jum Ya is she becomes in this in this moment, she becomes judge, jury and executioner. But she also brings brings this group of parents in and it now becomes where it's just one person going after revenge. Now you gotta you gott a lynch mob on your friends. And it is I mean, uh Park chan Wook, his his his films are known for their their brutal sense of violence. Yeah, because I can tell you, I mean you saw Old Boy, you saw the Spike Lee, Old Boy Brad, I can tell you his version of Old Boy. It it dials it up when it comes to the brutal violence and the torture stuff. But I love the scene because she willingly you know.

30:52 And I think this is like where she goes from vengeance to atonement. She's trying to do right, She's trying to make make good on this. Uh. So she she does this thing where it's like, hey, here's what he did. What do you guys? You we all have to choose, we all have to agree together. I love that moment. I absolutely love the whole thing. HM. Now, since you kind of had a fun little you know, like, hey, here's my pivotal moment. But here's something I thought was funny. You know you mentioned the raincoats, the passing of the passing out of the raincoats. How about the uh, the let's have some coffee and cake scene, because that's the one where I was like, uh, I laughed because I was like, but it was like an uncomfortable laugh. I was like, is this is this what we're doing?

31:34 After yeah, after the fact that they yeah, and they're all looking around, going this is really good cake. They're all like you get their um reactions to the cake and they're like, this is this is this is delicious? Yeah, It's it's such a it's such a displaced moment because you have to ask you if you're in this, if you're in such a traumatic situation, uh, you know, or a moment where you're sharing it with a collective group of other traumatized people. I guess it's in our nature to just define something. You know, people people talk about the weather, but you know, this situation, this is some great this is some good, delicious cake and it's a tribute to all their children. So I thought it was a really nice thing. Yeah, well yeah, the happy Birthday thing was.

32:22 It was heartfelt. Yeah, let's take a quick break, but when we get back, we're gonna talk about director Park Chan Wook Hi. I'm dating the host of the Documents seventy seven podcast. We talk about everything from Anthrax to the Muppets to West Side Story. All right, boys, buckle up because we have hit the bottom of the barrel. Because he slaughters all the Tuscan Raiders. The fact that she stays by his side, that that tells me everything I need to know about these women that write letters to serial killers in prison. You know, it makes it made sense. You know Moby Young Sad always dumped Tim. That was the song. You know when you listen, Tim, did you have the volume on? The witches are definitely much more nightmare fuel, But the fact that they look like the Texas Chainsaw centerfolds m if jancof Thatt is so awesome. He's hired to be cloned.

33:22 Why the hell isn't he doing the job. He's like, my client's getting impatient. What you slack ass mother? Why don't you do it? You know you're just check us out on Apple podcast, Good Pods, pod Bean, or wherever you get your podcasts. And we're back everybody. We are talking about Lady Vengeance and it's director Park Chan Wook. Now, this is the first film I've seen of his. But Jeff, you're a little bit more familiar with the director's work. I wish I was more familiar with his work because he is a fantastic director. I can tell you a little bit about him, though, just because he's I feel like he's a little new too of us. Born in Seoul, South Korea, he studied philosophy at the Sogang University. This is something I think that, uh, we definitely would appreciate or we do, we should appreciate it about him, Brad.

34:14 It's it's at school. He starts his own cinema club called the Sogang Film Community, and he starts publishing articles on contemporary cinema. Oh that's something that you and I would have done. Yeah, I like that I should have done when we were in college. Right, Uh, originally he was there, he had he had intended to become an art critic. But Brad, we're talking thrillers. Today, he sees Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and decides to be a filmmaker. Now, Brad, I know when it comes to Hitchcock, isn't that your favorite? I think so. I think it's definitely one of my favorites. Um. It's just a very good, um, creepy, you know tale that just keeps I keep finding new things in it.

34:58 Yeah, I mean you, I mean you've you've even walked You've walked the film locations? Yeah, yeah, to um yeah, I can't remember the area right now, but I've been to it with the horse the horse place. Yeah. After school, he works as an assistant director on two films before making his directorial debut, a little film called The Moon is the Sun's Dream in nineteen ninety two. Did you catch that one? No, this is my first I did not either. Five years later, in nineteen eighty seven, he makes his second film called Trio. I didn't see it. I know you didn't see it. Guess what, most people didn't see it.

35:40 Because his first two films out the gate, Brad very poorly, poorly received and uh, you know, not successful with the box office. And that is why he becomes a film critic to make a living. Okay, nothing wrong with that, Nothing wrong with that. Yeah, we're we're critics, so we know what. We know what he's talking about. Now. In two thousand, he directs a film called Joint Security Area. It is commercially and critically successful. It becomes the most watched film ever made in South Korea. And if you want one more unusual accolade for this film, Quentin Tarantino, who obviously is a big fan of Park Chan Wook Tarantino says, this film but kind of you know, people know as JSA. Tarantino says, it's one of the top twenty films since nineteen ninety two. Well, it's definitely worth given at least a try. We got tried. Yeah, absolutely, I like this. During an interview in twenty seventeen, Park says, many people know my directorial debut is Joint Security Area, and I want to keep it that way. With that, said, Brad, I know he's done about twenty pictures, and you know, you've seen this one and I've seen three others, so I kind of feel, you know, like we should just kind of jump around, skip around, mention a couple of them. If you're good right that. Yeah, yeah, it sounds good.

37:12 All right, all right, sounds good. So after Joint Security Area in two thousand, we're gonna skip ahead to two thousand and two. Sympathy from Mister Vengeance. Now, this is the first one in the quote unquote Vengeance trilogy. He wrote it and he directs it. I'm gonna tell you, because it's available out there. If you it sounds like a it sounds like you're really digging lady Vengeance. I'm definitely gonna recommend that you check out Sympathy from Mister Vengeance. Oh I want to see the trilogy now, yeah, you have to. You can't just watch one more. It's fantastic. Two thousand and three, he does the second film, Old Boy, which again stars Choi Min Sick as the lead protagonist that we saw Josh Brolin play in the Spike Lee remake. I would love to hear your thoughts on on Wooke's Old Boy, because I know you've seen you know, we've obviously we've talked about Spike Lee's version. I would love to hear what you have to say about it, and I know we can. I'm bummed that we can't really get into it and talk about it, because I think you would have a lot of great things to say about this. So you got to check it out. Man. Well, I really would like to see it.

38:29 And I don't know if it's the rest of the country, but I do know in Los Angeles it is being rereleased for its twentieth anniversary, back in the theater for a little while, So old boy coming back to theaters. You gotta go check it out. I'd like to. Yeah, I like, yeah, you gotta go. Ya'll tell you what you go, you check it out. We might have to do like a follow up to this little Old Old Boy review. Yeah, Wilke verse Lee, how about that sounds good? All right? We've been talking about Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, uh otherwise known as Lady Vengeance, Brad. This is one of those odd odd titles where it's it's got a couple it goes by a couple different names.

39:10 It's uh so Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. And you said, I think it's Russia where it's called that or yeah, but yeah, it's it's a couple of different names. He has that with another film, like it's called like something else, you know besides that. But Um, but yeah, I mean it's it's Lady Vengeance. I just like you said, it's part of this Vengeance trilogy. You know. It starts with Sympathy from Mister Vengeance, includes Old Boy, and uh concludes with Lady Vengeance. Yeah, listeners the fastest way to find it if you're searching for it to stream it, Uh, just type in Lady Vengeance and uh and you'll get to it. Because oddly enough, if you sit there, do you take the time to type out sympathy for You're never gonna find it. Simple. Yeah, sympathy for mister Vengeance will pop up pretty quick, but Lady Vengeance not so much.

40:00 Um. Now, a film I've never seen of his, and I didn't know he directed until very recently that I've always wanted to see is two thousand and nine Thirst. Have you ever seen this? I have not. I would like to see this. Do you have a little bit of background you can tell the I know, through a failed to medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon asthetic ways. And I've heard on this movie shows up on a lot of lists of you know, underrated horror films or best vampire films. That one's always on there, and so I'd really like to check out Thirst. We got to check out Thirst. Uh he he writes this, he directs it, he produces it.

40:43 Um. It's a couple of years later, twenty thirteen. I am familiar with his work in twenty thirteen bread So one one project I don't know if you saw he uh he wrote it or I'm sorry he directed it, did not write it. A film called Stoker, starring Nicole Kidman, Dermot Mulrooney and uh that Mia Wassakowska. I think, yeah, I think Matthe yeah, Matthew Goods in it. Yeah. It is a very uh how do I say it? Uh? You know again thriller, not not brutally violent like Lady Vengeance, but in a haunting way, you know, um mysterious if if you would, I thought this was kind of cool. He actually when when Woke got got his hands on on Stoker, he knew it.

41:36 It had to be Nicole Kitman had to be Nicole Kidman in the lead. Fun fact about it, though, Brad she was not wanting to travel overseas and be away from her family, and they were like wanting to push and say, hey, find someone else. He says, no, this is a guy. Now, if we didn't mention it before, Park does not speak any English, okay, really he uses he uses an interpreter on set, and all his films are you know, are made in South Korea. Until we get to Stoker. He actually decides to relocate the story to Nashville, and the house, like the main setting that they use in the movie is like about a ten minute drive from Nicole Kimmin's actual house. So that's how he kind of convinces her to take on the roll. She's like, I don't want to leave my family. He goes, yeah, you won't have to be home every night for dinner. Okay, that we're pretty awesome, right Yeah. Now, I'm gonna cheat here because he didn't write it, he didn't direct it, but he didn't produce it. And I know you've seen this, brat because I love it. I'm a fan of this one, the sci fi, the dystopian sci fi thriller, Snow Piercer.

42:45 You know it's Snow Piercer. I'm gonna have to give another chance. I was not a big fan of it the first time I saw it. I no I wasn't wasn't a big fan of it, but I would definitely give that a second chance Sunday, Brad, it needs a second chance Sunday. Now, I'll be honest. I really wasn't a fan of the television series that they tried to do, that they tried to adapt. But the film itself is awesome. Chris Evans, you know, you know when you need a chance to say, Hey, I want to see Chris Evans, but I don't want to see Captain America right snow, Piercer Man, It's it's awesome. A couple of years after that, now you know we're talking.

43:28 I know he has got some critical acclaim for a movie called The Handmaiden. Okay, I have not seen it, Brad. It came out to twenty sixteen. Again, he writes, directs, and produces The Handmaiden. I know it. Uh, it was big on the award circuit. One one quite a few things. I want to see it. Do you know anything about it? I know nothing about it. I'm looking at the information right now. But I mean, I from what I've experienced with this one movie, this is definitely a director I'm going to give another chance, you know, I mean, he you know, you entertained me. You showed me a different kind of movie. And like I said, you you threw me for twist, you lived up on that, you stuck to the landing each time. I'm gonna keep seeing more of your stuff. Having having seen the Vengeance Trilogy and Stoker, The Handmaiden is next on my list, just because again this guy has his His visual style is fantastic. He knows how to direct a film. Uh if we didn't need, you know, not that we need more reasons to go and to go see The Handmaiden. I know it wins Best Film at the British Academy Film Awards. It was it competed for the Palm Dior a can in twenty sixteen. So I'm all in.

44:49 I'm all in on this guy. I want to see more of his stuff. Uh now I'm gonna I'm gonna throw a loop. I'm gonna I'm gonna throw you for a loop here, Brad. I got a question, you know, because we always like to talk about what we would like to see from the director next, right, okay, yea, And I don't know that you and I right now, right now, I don't know that you and I are qualified, you know, until we see a little bit more of his work, right right, right, So I'm gonna cheat. I'm gonna ask you because I know you're a huge fan of Spike Lee's Old Boy remake, and I kind of feel like this this story would translate well just as well as Old Boy. So my question to you if a US remake was going to happen. You're the producer on this one, Brad Yep, I want to know who's going to direct it and who's gonna star in it as as Jumia Okay Lady Vengeance directed by Robert Edgers, starring Anna Taylor Joy.

45:51 Wow, I was about to school you, man. I thought I had a great answer, and I thought I kind of threw that at you, thinking like you're just like, well, no, let me think about here. Damn. That's a good answer. Somebody with a great visual style, somebody that's not afraid to do the obscure, and we need somebody that's got a very trusting leading lady that can go from young to older very easily and can look like somebody that could be manipulated but then also be very strong. So there's my team. Oh man, you know we were just a couple. What was it like two weeks ago we were talking with filmmakers Stimpson sneed you guys. I thought, is this about to turn into an Egger's podcast? Because you guys are you know? I mean, I don't get me wrong. I love the Lighthouse and I love I love the Northman.

46:44 But I was like, man, these we're all in on this guy. Yeah, and now that you're thinking, now that I'm thinking about the Lighthouse seeing Edgar's style, Yeah, with a move with you know again woke has that dream like you know, prepy vibe going through that this whole thing? All right? Do you say, William Dafoe as Beck, Oh see, now you're just making I care. I don't know if I can compete with you now, Okay, okay, yes, what do you have? All right? I was quick to as far as my director I was. I was immediately looking at Emerald Finnel, who a lot of people don't know her name, but we know. Uh. One of her most recent films Promising Young Woman with Carrie Mulligan. Okay, remember that, remember that, like it's again a woman on a revenge story. Yeah, that's a great movie too. It's a great movie, So I thought she was my first thought, and I was like, you know what, She's kind of been in this territory before, so that's a little too easy. So I'm gonna give I'm gonna give a I mentioned to uh Lynn Ramsey. You probably remember her, Brad. I think her most famous film is probably we need to talk about Kevin from like uh eleven, maybe two thousand and ten, something like that, But it's her film you were never really here in twenty seventeen with Joaquin Phoenix. Have you seen that? Okay, it's on Prime? I

48:14 think, uh that's at least I saw it on Prime last year and just loved it. So it's got that dark, foreboding revenge kind of vibe to it. So I'm I'm gonna go with Lynn Ramsey and man, I had I had Sydney Sweeney all set to take on this role because we need someone that can play nineteen, can also play maybe thirty, and you know, as the cinematic beauty that that Jumya has. But I'm really digging your your answer, I don't know, listeners. Lets let us know. Let us know once we post the episode. What do you guys think? Yeah, let it. Let us know are you know you guys are the producer.

48:54 Brad is pitching um the US remake with Roberts starring Anna teller Joy and he's he just he he pulls in Willem to foe. So I don't know if I can compete with that. I'm going with uh with Lynn Ramsey, uh and Sydney Sweeney. So let us know who you're backing. There's a team Brad or team Jeff because uh, yeah, Brad, I I know I know recently, uh you you got some some acclaim online Brad. Yeah, I think I think it was a star with Brad this time because you know, you know, I think he had the right answer here. So we'll uh, we'll see what we'll see what they have to say this time. Absolutely, Brad, I think it's safe to say I know the answer.

49:34 But uh, let's talk about your your recommendation for this film. Um absolutely, uh see this film um uh, like I said, you can see it on. I saw it on to be a quick reference for anybody watching on tb um. But he said, the film is um, you know, in a different language. You have to put on the closed captioning to get the subtitles. You we will get Korean subtitles when some of the English language comes on, but when you hit the closed captioning, it will only play the subtitles. They won't play like the crack of sounds, you know, coming from the inside. It's just basics something. So just hit close captioning and you should be good. Okay, first off, thank you for for letting them know, because you know, I love to be That was the first place I went to watch this, and the film starts, you know, we get like the yeah, we get the things, we get the yeah we well even before that with the title screens, you get like the South Korean uh on the on the screen, but then you also have the English next to it, right, yeah, and there's a couple of songs that are in English. You hear too. Yeah, So they're singing and it's like, okay, well here's the song. But then when when the the cast starts talking, I was long. I was like, wait, where's yeah, just subtimes. So I actually I did not do the detective work like you. I jumped right over to Pluto TV where it's also streaming, and Pluto had it set up to where you know, at least,

51:05 I don't know. Maybe I did it with my remote, maybe I didn't, but it was it was It had the subtitle this is this is not what you Yeah, this is not one that you're going to find a US dub though, right at least I couldn't see it. I couldn't find anywhere. So, but there's a lot this movie is very visual, you know, it's it's has dialogue, but it's it's more of a visual movie, you know, of just seeing people's reactions and and just following the story as it goes, you know. So it's not hugely important. But you know, if if you do not like watching subtitle the movie the subtitle, you're not going to be overloaded. I agree. Now, if you do not like brutal violence, do not watch. This might not be the one for you. But if you don't mind it, or you're like, yes, get that guy it is, it is definitely uh something that you might be up for. All right, what do we got coming up next week on a film by I am very excited for next week a film at forty five. Our good friends Scott and Dave. They have been just doing an amazing job on our our latest limited series a film at forty five, Brad, they are going to be talking about what I feel is probably the best movie of nineteen seventy eight, definitely my favorite movie of nineteen seventy eight.

52:28 I'm talking about Superman. Oh, it's it's time. It's time for the Superman. It is time, and Brad, these guys are talking with Aaron Smolensky. Aaron who plays the young Superman in the film. He is gonna be here in the studio with him. He's talking to him about the film, about his experiences. I am so excited to hear what he has to say about the film and and how that's gonna all gonna go down. I think it might be time to break out the Superman collection. The fact that they're actually talking to someone who plays Superman in the nineteen seventy eight film, A man, I'm jealous. That's all. That's all I can tell you.

53:13 I usually watch that film at least once a year, and now I have a special reason to watch it. So yeah, join us next week as we as we talk with the Scott and Dave and h and Aaron Smilinsky. All right, I've enjoyed talking about Lady Vengeance Jeff, I know you have, and we want to thank everybody for listening and we will see you next time.