CHUNHYANG [DVD]

Director Im Kwon Taek's 97th film, CHUNHYANG, is an adaptation of a popular Korean folk tale. The movie takes place in 18th century Korea, where Mongryong, the son of the Governor of Namwon, is studying before he goes to school in Seoul, where he will study to become a royal official. During the summer before he leaves, he meets and falls in love with Chunhyang, the beautiful daughter of a local courtesan. Mongryong proposes to her and weds her in secret, but is soon called to Seoul for his schooling. While he is away, a new governor is appointed to the province, and he demands that Chunhyang become his courtesan. When she refuses, he sentences her to death. Visually stunning and formally daring, CHUNHYANG uses the ancient operatic tradition of pansori, a narrative art that uses dance and song, to heighten the film's drama and to provide an additional layer of depth to the already powerful folk tale. Using overlapping sound and intercutting scenes of a pansori artist performing the film's narrative and the film itself, Mr. Taek fuses song and image as he melds Korea's past with the modern art of film.