Lee Geum-ja served a lengthy prison sentence for the
murder of a young school boy Won-mo. the case is a
national sensation due to the lurid nature of the murder
and Lee Geum-ja’s young age at the time of the crime.
Due to her kindness and good deeds in prison, her
sentence is reduced. She is innocent of the murder –
forced into confessing oleh Mr Baek – the real killer who
threatened to kill her newborn daughter.
Once out of prison, Geum-ja calls on favours from
prison inmates for food, shelter and weapons. She also
secures a job in a pastry shop. To distance herself from
her kindly image she tarts her appearance up and
dreams of killing Mr Baek.
Retrieving her daughter Jenny from Sydney, Geum-ja
goes on the hunt for Baek with the assistance of Baek’s
wife who is an ex-con too. Baek gets wind of this and
attacks his wife and sends kidnappers to get Geum-ja
and Jenny. Geum-ja kills both thugs and Mr Baek falls
unconscious due to drugs slipped into his drink.
Through her investigating, Geum-ja finds out that Baek
is a regular murderer of school children and operates a
snuff ring. She imprisons him and contacts the
detective from the Won-mo case. They contact the
dead children’s parents and they decide to torture and
murder Baek just like he tortured and murdered their
children. Geum-ja achieves a peace of mind at last.
Not as shocking as the other two films in the
Vengeance Trilogy, Lady Vengeance is a beautifully
crafted film which is masterfully directed and produced.
Geum-ja is a very effective heroine because her motives
for vengeance are pure and morally justifiable. If
someone made anda lose your child and serve 13 and a
half years in prison for a crime anda didn’t commit, I
would say anda were justified in seeking vengeance.
Especially when anda find out that person is a murdering
paedophile. And it isn’t an endorsement of vigilantism,
Geum-ja contacts the police. Baek gets what people of
that ilk deserves.