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 Bichunmoo
Starring: Shin Hyun-Joon, Kim Hee-Sun
Directed by: Kim Young-Joon
Running Time: 120 mins.
Language: Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin
Subtitles: English, Chinese, Simplified Chinese
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Now!!
Medieval Korea. The Mongolians rule Asia and are in conflict with
the Hans (Chinese) and the Koryo (Korean). Jinha (Shin), a Koryo
peasant is raised by his uncle after his parents are murdered. Uncle
teaches him the secret art of Bichunmoo, a coveted martial arts
technique that is wanted by pretty much EVERYONE. During this time,
he and Sullie, the daughter of a Mongolian General's concubine grow
up together and fall in love.
Sullie's father is recommissioned and decides to take her with
him. Jinha is not allowed to follow as he is a lowly Koryo. After
time, Jinha learns the real reason for his parents' death. He and
Sullie decide to make a run for it and are caught by Sullie's suitor.
A fight ensues and Jinha falls over a cliff and is presumed dead,
while Sullie ends up marrying the suitor. All is not lost, for Jinha
as survives and emerges 10 years later as an assasin named Jahalang,
ready to take revenge for himself and his family.
There is an awareness towards Asian cinema today that focuses upon
the Hong Kong movie industry. With icons such as John Woo, Chow
Yun Phat, Michelle Yeoh, and Jackie Chan starring in U.S. productions,
and more recently with the wide-eye acceptance of Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon...Asian cinema is taking the States by storm. However,
as most of us fanboys on the planet already know, Hong Kong action
flicks are nothing new. CTHD is not ground-breaking. We have been
watching chinese actors climb walls, traverse rooftops, and fly
like superheroes for many many moons.
What is new? Korean cinema. And you know what? It is a good thing.
Yes, Bichunmoo is a Korean movie. In fact, it is one of the biggest
budgeted Korean movies ever made, and it shows. The production value
is top-notch while the set pieces and costumes are wonderfully developed.
To add on top of that, the cinemtography is superb. This is a beautiful
movie starring beautiful people with beautiful swordplay to complement
an old, but beautiful love story.
Bichunmoo, however, is a long movie and it feels that way at points.
Because the storyline is very involved with many subplots, the transistions
in the movie seem abrupt at times with the filmakers expecting you
to draw conclusions and fill in the blanks. More time should have
been devoted to Jinha's recovery, and more time should have been
devoted to developing the love relationship between him and Sullie.
You definitely get the idea that they love each other, but if love
aspect was stressed even more...this movie would deserve a second
watching immediately after the first. This is after all, a love
story with kick-ass martial arts.
Many will compare this movie with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,
and that is fine as they are both very similar. What makes this
movie stand out, is that it is not riddled with Ang Lee's sensitivity.
What you get instead is a lot more action scenes and the awe-inspiring
fact that this is not a Chinese movie, but a movie from a nation
that we need to keep an eye on. Korean movie industry, we are watching
you!
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