Ok, so I'll start out by saying that it is probably the least awesome film in the "Vengeance Trilogy" but that is still saying an awful lot. These movies are so much better than a majority of western films. The other two in the trilogy are "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" and of course "Oldboy," which is one of the best Korean thriller films ever made in my opinion. Just like the original Star Wars trilogy - the best one is in the middle.
If you are at all familiar with Korean actors you will likely recognize Choi-Min-Sik, who was also in Oldboy, so in that regard his presence in this film doesn't make much sense - I'm not going to reveal why it is odd that he is in this film because that would be a massive spoiler.
He is generally regarded as one of the best actors in Korea and I always welcome his appearance in movies because he is that good. He has had some roles in western films including starring opposite Scarlet Johanssen in "Lucy."
Lee Young-ae is in the starring role and her performance is nothing short of amazing.
she won a bunch of best actress awards for this role - and deserved them
This movie follows a woman who has spent 13 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit but confessed to and also follows the lives of the people she met while doing time in jail and how she interacts with them following her release.
The movie is tragic, and the acting is superb. The actors combined with the excellent soundtrack bring out wave after wave of emotion and even though some people say that using a soundtrack to invoke feeling is cheating.... i don't mind because it certainly had it's desired effect on me.
There is a trailer out there that you can find but again, i strongly recommend you do not watch it because it spoils too much of the story and even has part of it wrong. Therefore the intro of the movie is probably better to watch.
I can't read Korean so I don't know who did the music for this film but I want to find out
The film received almost unanimous critical acclaim and once again won loads awards in Korea but not really so much abroad. It was nominated for "Best film in Asia" at the 2006 Hong Kong Awards but did not win.
Overall, if you have been following my advice and delving in to Korean thrillers, this one will not disappoint. Just once again be prepared because this film, like many other Korean thrillers, is extremely graphic.