Develiker terrible... so disappointed.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Meganeguard In one of his essays The German philosopher/critic Walter Benjamin compared film with theater stating that the lens of the camera replaces the audience as the spectator, but because the camera is emotionless the actor is unable to feed off the audience's reaction. However, in some films theatrical aspects are not only used, but become part of the film itself. For anyone who has watched Ichikawa Kon's An Actor's Revenge or Shinoda Masahiro's Double suicide this is quite evident. While not taking theater into play, Im Kwon-taek's extraordinarily popular film Chunhyang incorporates the traditional storytelling elements of the pansori, a singer and a drummer, into play. Instead of just opening the film, the viewer is treated to listening to the pansori's storytelling throughout the entire film even having his voice overdubbed over the actors and actresses. While this aspect of the film might be a bit distracting at first, especially when the film's action is cut between the stage and the visualized world of Chunhyang, it eventually sinks in and one can enjoy being told a story while seeing it acted out by actors and actresses instead of just the realm inside one's head.Chunhyang tells the story of the lovers Lee Mongryong and Sung Chunhyang, the former the sun of the governor of Namson and the latter the daughter of a courtesan. A budding scholar who is preparing for the exams that would open to him the world of officialdom, Mongryong one day becomes bored with his hours of constant study and asks his servant Pangja to show him some areas of local interest. At one spot he notices a beautiful young girl swinging high in a swing and he falls in love at first sight. He orders Pangja to fetch the girl for him, but the servant is reluctant because Chunhyang has a reputation of turning down every man who has shown interest in her. However, Pangja does go speak to her, but instead of returning with the girl he returns with a message that Mongryong interprets as that Chunhyang wants him to come visit her at her home. On the night he visits Chunhyang, the girl eventually agrees to marry him on the promise that he would not abandon her because of their differences in social status. He agrees to do so and so they marry and they seem quite blissful at first until Mongryong's father receives a promotion which requires him to return to Seoul. Because Mongryong has to return to Seoul with his father and because he cannot take Chunhyang with him, because being married to such a lowly girl would destroy his chances of taking the exams, the young couple must part, but Mongryong promises to return for Chunhyang after he finishes the exams. However, during the time that Mongryong is away, a new, corrupt governor takes over the old governor's position and he seems to have an interest in our heroine.Directed by the man who is considered by many to be the father of Modern South Korean Cinema and the director of nearly one hundred films, Chunhyang might not at first seem no more than a simple love story, but with its elements of traditional storytelling, its intermingling of history, romance, and melodrama, it does stand out as a great film within the ever growing number of spectacular South Korean films.

lingmeister With the Korean story telling tradition performed on stage, it was a interesting and novel way to tell the story. The story was beautiful and the moving. I figure it to be a Korean fairy tale given its happy ending and having a moral to the story.I didn't find the story telling method completely successful. The music and drumming added tension to the film, but the Pansori seemed to intrude in the film too frequently, describing everything that is going on when it could be done visually, rendering many scenes as some sort of announcement, not letting the ambiance set in. The scene of the whipping seemed to be a little forced, having the camera show us various audience members crying, as if we don't know this is a dramatic situation. It might have worked better if they let the dialogue be spoken by the character Chunghyang instead of the Pansori, since the Pansori does not have much dynamic range in his voicing, being always loud. The character saying it while being whipped gives a different impression than the Pansori screaming it.But all in all, still a good film.

Ms. Lennon This is a wonderful and beautifully done film.Critics of this film, at least on this website, exaggerate any negative aspects of this picture.A little patience and willingness to accept that which does not involve Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone are a must for this film. Persons too narrow minded to appreciate a non-western culture will not be able to enjoy it.However, if you have patience and are wanting to watch a movie that is actually worth watching, Chunhyang is a must. The picture is beautiful, and the narration is a wonderful way of including ancient Korean poetry into the picture without spoiling it. Soemtimes there are so many subtitles that it distracts from the films, but dubbing would completely ruin it, so that is the biggest negative.The direction is good, acting good, which is to say that you don't think about the quality of acting as you watch it, which is good. Costumes, lighting, and all technical aspects are good.The plot is very folk tale, but for those who do not know it, it is far, far, far better than what Hollywood puts out these days. By far the worst part of the experience was watching the previews.I hope you'll take the time to go see this film and see a beautiful movie with great landscape shots. A cultural treat for those not wanting to see Not Another Teen Movie.

freakus This is a lush and beautiful Korean fairy tale with "Romeo and Juliet" like qualities. As I understand it, it is traditionally told in "Pansori" style with a rhythmic singer/storyteller accompanied by a drummer. The film uses a pansori concert as the framework to tell the tale and interweaves the action with the singer's narration to good effect. The story is classic, star-crossed lovers separated by societies rules. A governor's son falls in love with a concubine's daughter and their love must endure long separation and an evil lord's lust. Classic story and an interesting story-telling method make for a truly entertaining film.