Hyeongsa (2005)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Myung-se Lee

Writers:

Hae-jyung Lee (writer)
Myung-se Lee (writer)

Release Date:

9 September 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action | Mystery

Plot:

Set years ago in the era of the Joseon Dynasty, the story follows a young police officer named Namsoon (Ha Ji-won) who...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts

Cast

Ji-won Ha	...	Namsoon
Sung-kee Ahn	...	Detective Ahn
Dong-won Kang	...	Sad Eyes
Young-chang Song	...	Minister of Defence
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bo-yeon Kim

Also Known As:

Duelist (International: English title)

Runtime:

UK:108 min | UK:108 min (uncut) | Canada:111 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:6 | Australia:M | UK:12A | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

South Korea

Company:

Production M

A visual feast

I saw this film at the opening night of the Hawaii International Film Festival, as an unannounced special screening. Outrageously colorful and stylized, it's a tale of a girl trained as a sword-fighter who works as a cop, and a mysterious masked swordsman who may or may not be in league with a gang who is flooding the country with counterfeit money. The plot is confusing enough, but it really doesn't matter: it's just an excuse for some amazing set- pieces involving crowds of sword-fighters, fighters chasing through markets and dye factories, barroom brawls, and over the top humor. And swordplay as foreplay. Not likely to get a US release, but a lot of fun. Modern Korean cinema, in my opinion, is leading the world in terms of set and scenic design, and innovative cinematography. Catch this film to see what I mean.