Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy: “Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” (2002)/”Oldboy” (2003)/”Sympathy for Lady Vengeance”
Without a doubt, 2003’s “Oldboy” is the poster boy and central showcase of Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy. An international hit that catapulted the director onto a worldwide stage after winning that year’s Grand Prix at Cannes, the film also joined Bong Joon-ho’s “The Host” and Kim Ki-duk’s “3-Iron” as signaling the Korean New Wave’s entry into the mainstream. Park’s second entry into the trilogy has since been sullied by Spike Lee’s remake last year, but on either side of that film exist two films—“Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance” and “Lady Vengeance”—that complement it with unique riffs on revenge and its futility, a thematic notion that now seems to show up in every other gritty thriller.
The trilogy’s first film, ‘Sympathy’ follows a young man, Ryu (Shin Ha-kyun), whose kidney and money is stolen after undergoing a black-market operation to save his dying sister (Bae Doo-na). As a desperate remedy, he kidnaps the daughter of a worker at the factory from which he was recently fired. More so than in the other two films, which are morally foggy but mostly stay trained on one character, ‘Sympathy’ gains just that for both Ryu and the man trying to get his daughter back—an approach that makes its gruesome climax all the more harrowing. On the other end of the trilogy, ‘Lady Vengeance’ charts a wrongfully accused woman’s attempts to clear her name. The most darkly humorous of the three entries, the film tosses in Australian foster parents, female prison life, and some outstanding action sequences into a worthy thematic end to Park’s trilogy, also with a great performance by Lee Young-ae.
Lars von Trier’s Depression Trilogy: “Antichrist” (2009)/”Melancholia” (2011)/”Nymphomaniac” (2014)
Ambition is simply a natural resource for Lars von Trier, as he remains a filmmaker unfazed by the idea of trilogies—in fact, it seems as though he can only envision his work in the context of a grand thematic declaration. Director of the Europa, Golden Heart, and the as-yet-uncompleted Land of Opportunities Trilogies, his latest to wrap up is what’s termed The Depression Trilogy: “Antichrist,” “Melancholia,” and “Nymphomaniac.” Finished just last month, the three films concern female protagonists on a downward spiral, their conditions linked simultaneously to a larger cosmic or supernatural force at play.
This aspect is most explicitly drawn in “Melancholia,” which features Kirsten Dunst as a bride-to-be who flees the altar and instead finds solace in the literal end of the world. In the others, the narrative is more focused; it is only the world’s end for Justine in “Nymphomaniac” or She in “Antichrist,” both played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. But all three films are strangely optimistic, in only the way that von Trier can be. Beaten down mentally and physically by circumstances of their own doing, the female protagonists shirk off any idea of martyrdom and fight for their own wellbeing, regardless of whatever unconventional form that may take. Of course, von Trier prefers to take a pair of rusty scissors, a collision of planets accompanied by Wagner, or sex and Fibonacci numbers to explore that journey, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Honorable Mentions
Many acclaimed filmmakers came close to inclusion with their completed thematic trilogies, including Baz Luhrmann, who devised the Red Curtain Trilogy (“Strictly Ballroom”/“Romeo + Juliet”/“Moulin Rouge”) around motifs of individuality and “reel” time and of course Satyajit Ray‘s Apu Trilogy (and his “Calcutta” trilogy for that matter) is a major one we’ll tackle in another edition eventually. A clutch of excellent directors from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan have also made their mark in this format: check out Edward Yang’s Urban Trilogy (“That Day on the Beach”/“Taipei Story”/“The Terrorizers”), Hou Hsiao Hsien’s Taiwanese History Trilogy (“City of Sadness”/“Puppet Master”/“Good Men, Good Women”), Jia Zhangke’s Hometown Trilogy (“Xiao Wu”/ “Platform”/”Unknown Pleasures”), Ang Lee’s Father Knows Best Trilogy (“Pushing Hands”/”The Wedding Banquet”/”Eat Drink Man Woman”), or “The Human Condition” from Masaki Kobayashi.
Out of Europe there’s La Trilogie Marseillaise (“Marius”/”Fanny”/”Cesar”) from playwright and screenwriter Marcel Pagnol; Pier Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life (“The Decameron”/“The Canterbury Tales”/“Arabian Nights”), Antonioni’s famed Alienation trilogy (“L’Avventura”/”La Notte”/“L’Eclisse”) which we wrote about here; the Trilogy of Spectacle by Jean Renoir (“The Golden Coach”/”French Cancan”/“Elena and Her Men”); the Glaciation Trilogy by Michael Haneke (“The Seventh Continent”/ “Benny’s Video”/”71 Fragments of the Chronology of Chance”; Jean Cocteau’s Orphic Trilogy (“Blood of a Poet”/”Orphee”/”Testament of Orpheus”); Roberto Rossellini‘s War Trilogy (“Rome Open City”/ “Paisan”/“Germany Year Zero”); Aki Kaurismaki’s Proletariat Trilogy (“Shadows in Paradise”/“Ariel”/“The Match Factory Girl”), and the Fontainhas Trilogy by Pedro Costa (“Ossos”/“In Vanda’s Room”/“Colossal Youth”)
Finally, from the Americas, the Death Trilogy (“Amores Perros”/“21 Grams”/“Babel”) from Alejandro González Iñárritu merits a mention, as does Gus Van Sant’s own Trilogy on the same subject (“Gerry”/”Elephant”/”Last Days”). Whit Stillman created the Yuppie Trilogy with “Metropolitan,” “Barcelona,” and “Last Days of Disco,” while Sofia Coppola can lay claim to a Teenage Female Alienation Trilogy (“The Virgin Suicides”/“Lost in Translation”/”Marie Antoinette”).
What thematic trilogies do you count among your favorites, and which ones did we miss? Let us know in the comments below. —with Rodrigo Perez
Guy Maddin\’s \’Me\’ trilogy – Cowards Bend The Knee, Brand upon The Brain and My Winnipeg. The closest cinema ever came to the Nabokovian melange of sarcy wit and nostalgic evocation? I have no earthly one but it\’s fahkin mustard
I could never really picture those Carpenter movies as a trilogy.
I guess they all involve the end of the world or something, but that seems like a minor aspect to the best of the three, and the other two just seem so removed in feel and quality.
And to be honest I'm not always comfortable considering the first 3 SW's a trilogy, return being so bad. Its like calling the first 3 X-men a trilogy.
I'd prefer not to.
It's Wajda, not Wadja! An exquisite article, though. I'm glad you mentioned KieÅlowski's Three Colours.
Gus Van Sant's death trilogy in which he has even said are connected: GERRY, ELEPHANT and LAST DAYS
Oliver Stone's Vietnam Trilogy
Platoon/Born On The Fourth Of July/Heaven And Earth
John Carney's struggling musician trilogy-in-a-making.
Once
Begin Again
How come you forgot to mention Wong Kar Wai ?? such a shame…
Barry Levinson's Baltimore Trilogy–Avalon, Diner and Liberty Heights.
Ozu's Noriko Trilogy is not here.
Oliver Stone Vietnam trilogy?
Upon completion, "Silence" will complete what could be called a "meditation on faith" trilogy for Scorsese, preceded by "Last Temptation of Christ" and "Kundun".
In We own the Night…..James Caan Its not the father of JoaquÃn phoenix and Mark….is robert duvall
I think John Frankenheimer's (self titled) Paranoia trilogy should be there.
1) Manchurian Candidate
2) Seven Days in May
3) Seconds
Another worthy honorable mention is Spielberg's "running man" trilogy – Artificial Intelligence A.I., Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can. All three feature alienated and isolated protagonists who find themselves on the run from forces they cannot control. And all excellent movies, of course.
Missing two trilogies from Stanley Kubrick and Paul Thomas Anderson.
Kubrick: Dr. Strangelove, 2001 and A Clockwork Orange
Anderson: There Will Be Blood, The Master and Punch-Drunk Love (view in that order)
Director Theo Angelopoulos had 3:
The Trilogy of History: "Days of '36", 1972; "Traveling Players", 1975; and "The Hunters", 1977.
The Trilogy of Silence: "Voyage to Cythera", 1984; "The Beekeeper", 1986; "Landscapes in the Midst", 1988
The Trilogy of Borders: "The Suspended Step of the Stork", 1991; "Ulysses' Gaze", 1995; "Eternity and a Day", 1998
He would have completed a fourth trilogy (referred to as Trilogy on Modern Greece) that began with "The Weeping Meadow" (2004) and "The Dust of Time" (2009) but was killed during the filming of the third film, called "The Other Sea" (2012).
No Canada? Bruce McDonald's Rock 'n' Road trilogy? Highway 69, Roadkill, and Hardcore Logo?
1. Francis Ford Coppola's 'Godfather' Trilogy
2. Satyajit Ray's 'Apu Trilogy'
3. Satyajit Ray's 'Calcutta Trilogy'
Clearly The Playlist hates Linklater and his "Before…" trilogy…
The Cornetto Trilogy? Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End
Where in the hell is Sergio Leones "Once upon a time…" Trilogy?
Other than that and the missing Herzogs Jungle Trilogy, really great list.
How can you forget Pakula's paranoia trilogy…Klute, Parallax View, All the President's Men!!!
Ulrich Seidl's Paradise trilogy from last year was brilliant. Love and Faith in particular, but Hope is excellent as well.
From the Americas, it could also be mentioned Pablo LarraÃn's trilogy of the Chilean military dictatorship: âTony Maneroâ (2008), âPost Mortemâ (2010) and âNoâ (2012).
Can't forget the dour and depressing tone of all the films in the "Jennifer Connelly Suicide Trilogy" – ie. "Requiem for a Dream," "House of Sand and Fog" and "Dark Water".
Great list, though I submit that Claire Denis made a quadrilogy– "White Material" was almost certainly a cap on her colonialist films. I would also recommend Werner Herzog's "Kinski in the Jungle" trilogy (for lack of a better title): "Aguirre," "Fitzcarraldo," and "Cobra Verde."
Park Chan-Wook didn't win the Palm D'or with Oldboy, he won the Grand Prix.
Both John Frankenheimer and Alan J. Pakula produced "paranoia trilogies". Frankenheimer had The Manchurian Candidate (1962), and Seven Days in May (1964), and Seconds (1960). Pakula directed Klute (1971), The Parallax View (1974), and All the President's Men (1976).
Wong Kar-Wai?