You'd be forgiven, I suppose, for jumping to the conclusion that I Saw the Devil seems a lot like a lost entry in director Chan-Wook Park's "Vengeance Trilogy" (Sympathy for Mister Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance) - or, perhaps less charitably, a cheap knockoff. Between the broad outline of the story - in which an elite police agent seeks revenge on the psychotic killer who murdered his fiancee, only to find himself pushing beyond the boundaries of morality - and the appearance of Min-Sik Choi, who played the main role in Oldboy, there are definitely some commonalities. But I Saw the Devil more than stands on its own terms in any number of ways, from its astonishing visual style to its willingness to push far, far beyond what you might expect to its unflinching look at evil. It's this last section, perhaps, that most sets Devilapart from Park's films; while the "Vengeance" films made a point to humanize and sympathize with almost all of its characters, Choi's terrifying killer is never given an explanation, an excuse, a rationalization - to the film's end, he represents a pure, unblinking evil that's utterly incomprehensible and becomes all the more frightening as a result. And as these two men begin their chess game of revenge, director Kim Jee-Woon keeps the pace relentless - not an insignificant task, given the episode nature of the story. But each episode - from a spectacular 2-on-1 battle in a taxi cab to a horrific encounter with like-minded friends of Choi's - only adds to the realization that I Saw the Devil isn't just about revenge; it's about the inexplicable, nightmarish nature of evil, and the question of whether equaling its destruction is even possible, let alone acceptable. I Saw the Devil is an extreme watch, even for Asian cinema devotees; Jee-Woon pulls no punches here, and lets the violence be graphic and uncomfortable without apology. But the result is a gripping, powerful film that earns its wrenching final shot.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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