NO MERCY

Official Selection, 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival

Lee Si-young returns with a hostage-rescue-in-heels film that will leave you saying “Liam Neeson, who?” When former bodyguard-turned-inmate Park In-ae (Lee Si-young, How to Use Guys with Secret Tips, SDAFF ‘13) gets released from a long prison stint, she only has one thing on her mind: getting home to her 18-year-old sister Eun-hye. After their long-awaited reunion, In-ae’s sister goes missing and no one seems to care. Tracking down mean high school girls and amateur teenage blackmailers, she uncovers a pervasive world of petty criminals and sexual abuse. Time to whip out the martial arts badassery for some big sister payback.

An action-filled vengeance thriller, director Lim Kyoung-tack breaks character limits in more ways than one. A red sundress doesn’t stop Si-young from driving a sledgehammer through someone’s hand. The friendly neighborhood uncle is also secretly a perverse sleazebag looking for any chance to act on it. With a world filled 95% with morally corrupt characters, Lee Si-young delivers every punch and furious stiletto to the face with ferocious purpose, reminding us that she can’t be typecast. Prepare for tense fight scenes set in logistical nightmares. Savor every cocky gangster beatdown in a cramped car, every high-speed race set in reverse, and every time a man underestimates In-ae’s strength only to be shoved face-first into the ground in a film where every second counts.

–Aleya Zenieris

Co-Presented by the Korean American Bar Association