西便制影评：Kown Taek is very good at expressing his national culture in films
I like this film very much, and so are the others, I think. Associating it with Chwihwaseon, we can see that Im Kown Taek is very good at expressing his national culture in films.
Singing, I mean the Pansori—an ancient type of Korean music, can be heard all the time in the film. I was so impressed by a very very long scene of singing Pansori: Youbong, Songhwa and Dong-ho were walking and dancing from beyond while singing at the same time. It’s easy to shoot but very hard for the actors and actress. For if there was any mistake (and I am sure there must be some), they have to do it again from the very beginning. Im Kown Taek wants to use this long shoot to show how beautiful and attractive Pansori is.
The structure is clear and appealing too. Dong-ho wanted to find his sister, which bring the story back to about 20 years ago. And the story tells us why they chose not to recognize each other after they reunited. I feel a little depressed about the brother and sister. However, on the other hand, I feel happy, for both of them had reached a much higher level than before about their accomplishments of Pansori.
I can feel how strongly Youbong loved Pansori when he made Songhwa blind. Didn’t he know that Pansori was dying? Yes, he did. But he was still fighting for it. He wanted to do better even when he got old, so he went to his senior for consultation; he wanted Pansori a renascence, so he taught Songhwa and did everything to keep her with him. He maintained an Pansori artist’s dignity, so he got angry when Songhwa drink with guests… It makes me recall the film “Bian Lian” (变脸). The artist or master had the same characteristic as Youbong.
Thank God, Songhwa finally overcame grief. As a woman, she suffered a lot to reach the top. I think at this point, Im Kown Taek wants to show the status of women at Korean and praises them.
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