Chunhyang

Chunhyang
by Kwon-taek Im

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DVD details

Actor: Hak-young Kim, Hyo-jeong Lee, Jung-hun Lee, Seung-woo Cho, Sung-nyu Kim
Director: Kwon-taek Im
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Korean (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-10-09
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: New Yorker Video

DVD Reviews of Chunhyang

DVD Review: Missing scene?
Summary: 4 Stars

I rented this movie and later bought the dvd (region 1, New Yorker Video). The movie is really good, but I think the dvd is missing an important scene of the 2 main characters after they get together. This scene occurs right before the main actor leaves to finish his education in Seoul. There is a picture of this scene on the back of the dvd case, where Chunhyang, the staring actress, is playing a traditional Korean instrument. If anyone else has experienced this problem of not being able to find this scene while watching the dvd, please post a comment.

DVD Review: Beyond brilliant!
Summary: 5 Stars

Chunhyang This is simply the most unusual and most beautiful film ever. The morally uplifting romance is a nice enough story-and you find yourself rooting for Chunhyang and Mongryong-but the story is secondary to the way it is told. Using the device of a modern traditional Korean storyteller to narrate the poem behind the story was a stroke of genius. The cinematography takes it one step further. I am not one to buy films to watch over and over, normally I rent them and that's that, but I had to have this one. It is unforgettable!

DVD Review: Charming romance, wonderful tradition
Summary: 5 Stars

The screen starts dark, with a man howling.

After a moment, we see a performer on stage, alone with a drummer. He sings or chants roughly as he goes through the gestures of a kind traditional performance I've never seen before. The uniqueness of it fascinates me, even though I can't follow the ritual meanings and Korean language. Then, the movie begins ...

The story tells of a classical romance. The lovers marry in secret, despite the vast social gulf between them. Then the man must leave, following governmental duty. She stays behind, awaiting his return. While he's gone, a corrupt governor hears of her beauty and commands her to be his concubine. Even under torture, she remains true to her husband, who returns to save her just in the nick of time. Virtue and loyalty find their reward, with tasteful hints of marital love reminding us of the rewards that adults can give to each other.

But through it all, the chanting narrator continues telling the tale. Once in a while, the characters playing the roles in the story break into that narrative chant, too. The result becomes a unique blend of an ancient performing heritage with modern movie-making. I'm sure that people who know the tradition find even more in it than I do, but understanding isn't necessary. Romance and honor transcend culture, and the unfamiliar performing style creates a tantalizing sense that more is shown than I can see.

-- wiredweird

DVD Review: depends heavily on cultural elements
Summary: 2 Stars

i'm not sure i learned enough interesting things watching this movie to justify the time.
First, it is very culturally dependent. The way it is delivered is a particular Korean story telling procedure, without command of the language (subtitles don't make it with this movie) and some cultural sensitivity, the technique is boring.
Secondly, the story is very Confucian, probably very Korean as well, but i simply don't know enough about the genre in Korea to be sure.
The plot is simple enough.
Boy sees girl, boy wants girl, boy seduces girl with various promises, boy leaves for big city, 3 years pass and local bigwig wants girl.
She resists on the grounds that she is married. Bigwig promises to execute her if she doesn't submit to his will. Boy makes good on exams, returns and sets everything right.

Curiously, we really don't have this story in Western culture, the closest i can think of is Robin Hood. With doctrines like that of "rebellion under lesser magistrates", the West has concentrated on affirming the right of local government officials to adhere to principles and resist larger political powers. Something very effected by our individualism and elevation of the individual as the basic unit of society. As the movie makes explicit the story is about serving two masters, the local government official or her husband.

There are lots of stories about the virtuous but poor women defending their honor from grasping and powerful people, but this story comes across less as sexual (for she really submits pretty quicker to the boy) and more about the conflict with the Confucian hierarchy of greater/lesser relationships. This hierarchy of power is from servant, to husband-wife, to elder brother and younger, to father-son and finally to levels of government-local, provincial, central state kingship. I believe that Confucian is a top down structure with greater power to the higher levels. But besides this is the closeness-distance relationship as well, from husband-wife up to subject-king. The story is about how this structure can collide internally, with several layers claiming to be dominant.

The visuals are stunning, the acting is a bit wooden and stiff, the dialog via the subtitles is junk. If you have an interest in Korean culture perhaps that is enough to tip the balance towards watching the movie. As is, i found it boring with little to think about.

DVD Review: Soundtrack intolerable
Summary: 1 Stars

I found the singing in the soundtrack so utterly intolerable that I had to quit watching this after about 20% of the video. The movie seemed like it would have been nice otherwise (about a 4). The sound of the singing was very grating & harsh to my ears; since it was almost continous it made watching the video impossible. It also seemed to add little to the film in terms of content. The photography & art direction were exquisite.

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