Chunhyang (2000)

Truly Dreadful Film

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Korean's like most of its Asian neighbors has a very rich culture but also has its history for discriminating women because its male-dominating hierarchy. The story of Chunhyang,a true-t-life story by the way, does by far relates to it. The story, though told in a "Pansori" way was kind of different and new to international viewers like myself, but fairly gives justice to as to its expressionism for its way of telling the tale.As a whole, the story is very romantic telling the endless tale of lovers Mongryong and Chunhyang, emphasizing their faithfulness with one another. It also depicts Chunhyang's ability to fight for her love for Mongryong in the time when women, most especially a courtesan like herself, have no say in society.After you have watched this, and you'd like to try something new but related to this maybe you'd like to watch Sassy Girl Chunhyang. The outline of the story is kind of the same, only with a modern touch to it and contains no "pansori". ;)

I stumbled into Chunhyang through a teaser on Sundance Channel today. The story is a variation of a timeless theme of forbidden love found and lost. Or is it lost and found?The presentation includes a staged classical Korean theater performance where a singing storyteller and a drummer (Pansori) act as the narrator. His singing punctuates and accompanies the visual story and dialog.I was afraid that the acting would be too stylized and therefore distracting, but it was very believable and engaging.Having recently become interested in Korean history and culture through their pottery, I was familiar with some of the images, values, and traditions, but the beauty of the costumes, architecture, and scenery were strikingly beautiful and compelling.I'm looking forward to seeing this again. It was so visually rich that I'm certain it will continue to be a source of beauty.

After China and Vietnam, it is now Korea's turn to export its film industry globally. Chunhyang is a refreshing poetic film, with fantastic scenery. Im Kwon-taek, Korea's leading director, conveys a message of love and hope by adapting a popular pansori to the screen. The pansori is performed by Cho Sang-hyun and Kim Myung-hwan: the voice and drum blend into the beautiful scenery.At first, the uninitiated (e.g. myself) may be shocked by the continuous singing and beats; some may even be put off by it. However, once you get used to this most peculiar type of performance, you can start concentrating on the film itself. The film itself is more of a complement to the pansori. By diverging at times from the lyrics, the scenes add a further dimension to the story by providing the environment in which the story takes place. The direction is fantastic, the scenery even more. Every frame could be a masterpiece of photography. The plot delves into the traditional issues of love, faithfulness, hatred, desire, etc... without becoming too stereotypical.See it to discover Korean art and music. See it with an open mind, as a cultural event. The rhythm and singing may put you off at first, but it is the combination of the pictures and the poetic singing that makes the beauty of this beautiful film.

The acting was marginal. The scenes well costumed but amateurish. And after listening to 120 minutes of drumming and bellowing by the ONLY decent performance, the "narrator," I wanted to scream as if being tortured.2 out of 10 stars!!