Fairytale Beauty: Chunhyang (Korea, 2000)
Mar. 1st, 2006 02:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieToday's movie rec and picspam of the day is Chunhyang, a South Korean movie made in 2000.
Why? It's a fairy tale for grown-ups (I actually read the story the movie is based on when I was a child, in a collection of Korean legends) that is probably, visually, the most beautiful movie I've ever seen (and that's quite a competition). It has also a very unusual structure as the whole story is being told within the framework of the Korean performance art form of Pansori. (Pansori is a type of verbal storytelling, where a singer, known as a Soriggun, tells a story accompanied by a percussionist, known as a Gosu. Such performances, which can last up to eight hours, incorporate expressive singing, stylized speech and a repertory of narratives upon which the singer improvises.) The movie intercuts between the story and the performance itself, which is jarring at first but by the end melds perfectly. Oh, and there is angst and romance, of course.
Plot: Mongryong, the privileged son of the Governor of Namwon, falls in love with Chunhyang, the beautiful daughter of a proud former courtesan. Soon after they are married in secret, Mongryong is ordered to Seoul to finish his education. He leaves reluctantly and promises that once he finishes his schooling he will send for his beloved. But time passes, and a new, vindictive Governor is appointed in the province where Chunhyang lives. This new Governor pursues Chunhyang and when she refuses his advances, she is imprisoned and sentenced to death. Chunhyang's only hope for being saved is her faith in the promise Mongryong once made to her.
I have to warn though, for those whom that might bother, that this movie is explicit, both sexually and when Chunghyang is being punished (which I suppose would qualify under 'violence'). It was fine with me (this is hardly Showgirls or Kill Bill, sex or violence-wise), but just wanted to mention it.
The lovers:
Angst:
Beauty:
Why? It's a fairy tale for grown-ups (I actually read the story the movie is based on when I was a child, in a collection of Korean legends) that is probably, visually, the most beautiful movie I've ever seen (and that's quite a competition). It has also a very unusual structure as the whole story is being told within the framework of the Korean performance art form of Pansori. (Pansori is a type of verbal storytelling, where a singer, known as a Soriggun, tells a story accompanied by a percussionist, known as a Gosu. Such performances, which can last up to eight hours, incorporate expressive singing, stylized speech and a repertory of narratives upon which the singer improvises.) The movie intercuts between the story and the performance itself, which is jarring at first but by the end melds perfectly. Oh, and there is angst and romance, of course.
Plot: Mongryong, the privileged son of the Governor of Namwon, falls in love with Chunhyang, the beautiful daughter of a proud former courtesan. Soon after they are married in secret, Mongryong is ordered to Seoul to finish his education. He leaves reluctantly and promises that once he finishes his schooling he will send for his beloved. But time passes, and a new, vindictive Governor is appointed in the province where Chunhyang lives. This new Governor pursues Chunhyang and when she refuses his advances, she is imprisoned and sentenced to death. Chunhyang's only hope for being saved is her faith in the promise Mongryong once made to her.
I have to warn though, for those whom that might bother, that this movie is explicit, both sexually and when Chunghyang is being punished (which I suppose would qualify under 'violence'). It was fine with me (this is hardly Showgirls or Kill Bill, sex or violence-wise), but just wanted to mention it.
The lovers:
Angst:
Beauty:
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no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 08:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-01 08:45 pm (UTC)The middle is the best part, btw...
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Date: 2006-03-02 07:23 am (UTC)i've seen him in other movies and he's a good actor.
i however saw the tv adaptation Sassy Girl Chunghyang which is one of my favorite korean dramas. :D
no subject
Date: 2006-03-02 03:43 pm (UTC)*adds to the list*
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Date: 2006-03-02 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-08 11:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-08 08:05 pm (UTC)