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'Lady Vengeance': Ripe with violence, cruelty and beauty

In her 30s, Lee Geum-ja works in a bakery in Korea, fashioning intricately designed cakes that are as beautiful as she is. She's also planning for the future — like, how she's going to track down a particularly heinous scumbag and ceremonially off the guy.

"Lady Vengeance," the third in a sturdy and artistic series on revenge from ultra-talented Korean director Park Chan-wook, is as brutal as it is beautiful.

Tartan USA 'Lady Vengeance' B+ The verdict: A strong, chilling companion in the Korean revenge series that includes "Oldboy" and "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance." Director: Chan-wook Park Starring: Yeong-ae Lee, Min-Sik Choi, Kang-ho Song, Ji-tae Yu, Il-woo Nam Run time: 114 minutes Release date: March 10, 2005 Rating: R for strong violent content, some involving children, and some sexuality. On the web Official movie site Rate 'Lady Vengeance'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Like its predecessors — the wonderfully grotesque and imagined "Oldboy" (2003) and the often unsettling "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (2002) — "Lady" is ripe with violence, sex and cruelty. With its plot centered on child murders and its denouement wrapped in a chilling, mostly off-camera torture sequence, it's a film best avoided by the weak of heart.

While graphically violent, "Lady" (aka "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" and expected to arrive on DVD Sept. 5) also may be the most beautifully shot film seen so far this year. The cinematography is often breathtaking, showing off the director's painterly eye. The plot exhibits intelligent depth, making the film as much an emotion-churning mystery as it is a depiction of steady, bloody violence.

The multilayered story begins with our heroine emerging from prison after serving a 13-year sentence for confessing to smothering a 5-year-old kidnapped boy to death. She gets that aforementioned job in the bakery and sets her master plan in motion.

There's a myriad of characters with interesting, intertwining back stories that slowly but surely fit into the plot's enigmatic puzzle.

Park knows how to set a stage to tweak interest.

When Lee exits the prison, she's serenaded by a waiting band of religious singers, all clad in Santa Claus outfits. Their spiritual leader, clad in black, holds a small plate of pristinely sculpted tofu — the white essence that, when consumed, signifies Lee's newfound purity. With disgust, she topples the presentation toward the ground.

As Lee, actress Lee Young-ae infuses the character with equal parts devil-may-care determination and gut-wrenching remorse. She never explodes with the level of kineticism that her revenge-seeking counterpart, Choi Min-sik, does in "Oldboy," but she remains a sturdy, effective presence.

Choi, by the way, shows up in "Lady," too, portraying the ultimate object of Lee's wrath. He nails being scummy with rare, fiery aplomb.

"Lady's" most heinous carnage and blood happen off-camera. Still, there's plenty on-screen to jolt moviegoers.

It's unsettling. But somewhere you know Sam Peckinpah is smiling.