The Foxy Film Fan

The Handmaiden (2016) As you may already know, Park Chan-wook has been a long-time favorite director of mine, and when I heard he was directing a new film called The Handmaiden  I had high hopes for what I was about to see. So, a friend and I attended a screening in an art gallery, and found ourselves surrounded by elderly people while watching some of the most explicit and graphic sexual scenes either of us had ever seen in a movie. Bearing that in mind, I highly recommend that you watch this one at home, or in the company of people who are very comfortable with extremely graphic scenes of that nature, otherwise you'll find it hard to enjoy this beautiful and sweeping film. The Handmaiden  is based on a novel titled Fingersmith , with the setting shifted from the Victorian era to Korea under Japanese rule - the setting alone is captivating and provides added depth to an already intriguing plot. Its plot, without giving too much away, tells the story of a pickpocket n...

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) The first in Park Chan-wook’s vengeance trilogy (followed by Oldboy which was reviewed here ), Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is particularly unique. While Oldboy demonstrated the unique style which Chan-wook is now known for (lush orchestrated music, dark visual humor, beautifully composed shots which are framed as though each still could be considered art, unique color schemes which make each scene interesting to look at), Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance shows fragmented glimpses of the style he was gradually beginning to form.  The plot is simple, but effective. Protagonist Ryu is a deaf and mute young man who is desperate for money in order to help his older sister have a life-saving kidney transplant. Encouraged by his radical political activist girlfriend, he kidnaps the daughter of his former boss for ransom, only for things to fall apart the moment he seems to be getting his way. Despite the simplicity of the plot, Sympathy for Mr. Ve...

Oldboy (2003) This Sunday I will be attending a screening of my favorite director's newest film, The Handmaiden . Bearing that in mind, I decided to revisit one of his earlier works. Oldboy is one of the three films in a trilogy which Park Chan-wook has referred to as the 'vengeance trilogy'; three unrelated tales of revenge which may be viewed in any order. It is the second in the series, bookended by Sympathy for Mr. Vengance  and Lady Vengeance , but because it is the first Park Chan-wook film I watched and also the strongest example of his stylized directing, I feel the need to review this as a sort of introduction to his unique style of filmmaking. The plot of Oldboy  is simple; Oh Dae-Su is a man who was imprisoned for fifteen years without explanation, then suddenly set free. Now, he's angry and looking for the men who imprisoned him, hoping for answers and to avenge the wife and daughter he lost while he was locked away. With a very western sounding so...