Park Chan-wook

Park Chan-wook is an acclaimed Korean filmmaker best known for his film-adaptation of Oldboy. The movie Joint Security Area instantly made him one of his homecountry's most beloved directors and he has since then made several more films that met with great commercial success and critical acclaim.

His style is marked by explicit violence and sexuality interwoven with tragedy akin to Shakespeare (he has stated that Shakespeare is one of his influences) and lots of black humor. Not exactly something for the kids.

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Partial filmography:

• The Moon Is... the Sun's Dream (1992)
• Trio (1997)
• Judgment (1999) (short film)
• Joint Security Area(2000)
• Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)
• If You Were Me (2003) (segment "Never Ending Peace And Love")
• Oldboy (2003)
• Three... Extremes (2004) (segment "Cut")
• Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
• I'm a Cyborg But That's OK (2006)
• Thirst (2009)

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Tropes common to his works include:

• Anti-Hero
• Bittersweet Ending/Downer Ending
• Black Comedy
• Cold-Blooded Torture
• Driven to Suicide
• Fan Service
• Gory Discretion Shot
• It Got Worse
• Karmic Death
• Lighter and Softer: I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
• Production Posse: He often collaborates with Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-kyun and Choi Min-sik.
• Revenge: His Vengeance Trilogy thoroughly explores this theme from several angles.
• Thematic Series: Sympathy for Mr. Vegeance, Oldboy, and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
• Tragedy

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Tropes commonly subverted in his works include:

• Gorn: As heavy on violence as his movies may be, it always has meaning within the plot.
• High-Pressure Blood
• Infant Immortality
• Overdrawn At the Blood Bank