Park Chan-wook directs Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-kyun and Bae Doona in this Korean thriller where a recently laid off factory worker kidnaps a rich man’s daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister’s kidney transplant.

The first Chan-wook I saw at the cinema and the twisted, painterly house style is very much present and correct. Obtuse, almost elliptical storytelling. Mad nihilist twists. Class inequalities explored in a way he never truly came back to until No Other Choice. Zero shits about sensibilities. A very lively supporting performance from Bae Doona. Her minimum wage revolutionary is the only character who feels more complex than a chess piece on a board where all the moves have long since been fatally set.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Lady Vengeance (2006)