This is the second in the vengeance trilogy and appropriately it is my second favorite in the series. This film is extraordinary in that it asks a question that vengeance movies seldom ask (if ever): are you really innocent? Have you perhaps done something that merits punishment? Would you recognize it when that punishment befalls you?

Choi Min-sik’s performance is a tour de force, making Oh Dae-su simultaneously sympathetic, pathetic and contemptible. Park Chan-wook’s direction borders on the surreal as it descends into the darkest corners of the human heart. I can’t say that I’ve seen anything like it.