The Song of the Faithful Chunhyang

Movie
German title	The Song of the Faithful Chunhyang
Original title	Chunhyangdyeon ( 춘향뎐 )
Country of production	South Korea
original language	Korean
Publishing year	2000
length	120 minutes
Rod
Director	In the Kwon-taek
script	Kang Hye-yun ; Kim Myung-gon ; Cho Sang-hyun
production	Kim Dong-ju ; Seok Dong-jun
music	Kim Jung-gil
camera	Jung Il-Sung
cut	Park Seon-deok
occupation
	Lee Hyo-jeong: Chunhyang ; Cho Seung-woo : Lee Mongryong; Kim Sung-nyeo: Wolmae, mother of Chunhyang; Lee Jung-hun: Governor Byun Hakdo; Kim Hak-yong: Pangja; Choi Jin-young: Governor Lee, father of Mongryong; Cho Sang-hyun: pansori singer; Kim Myung-hwan: pansori drummers;

The Song of the Faithful Chunhyang (Original title: Chunhyangdyeon , international title: Chunhyang ) is a South Korean film by Im Kwon-taek from 2000. It is the first South Korean film to be invited to the Cannes International Film Festival .

action

At first you see a pansori singer presenting the story to an audience on a stage in the traditional form of Korean storytelling. The film shows alternately scenes from the stage and the main plot of the story.

In Namwon , the son of a governor falls in love with the beauty Chunhyang , the daughter of a Gisaeng and an aristocrat. Mongryong and Chunhyang decide to get married, but keep the marriage a secret from Mongryong's father. One day his father is called to the King's Ministry in Hanseong . Mongryong cannot take his wife to the capital because if the marriage between him and a woman from the lower class were discovered, he would not be able to take the civil servant examination. However, he promises to get her as soon as he has passed the exam.

The new governor rules very strictly. He also asked Chunhyang to have sex. However, she defends herself because she is married and has sworn allegiance to her husband. The governor sees it as a violation of the law, has them tortured and sentenced to death. The execution is to take place on the governor's birthday.

Meanwhile, Mongryong passes the Hanseong exam as the best of his year. He returns to Namwon, dressed like a beggar, and learns of the new governor's misdeeds, while Chunhyang is admired by the population for her resistance. Mongryong visits Chunhyang's mother, who immediately loses hope that a beggar cannot help her daughter. However, they enter Chunhyang's prison that night. She only wants her to be buried in her husband's family grave in Hanseong. The governor's birthday takes place the next day. Mongryong, however, exposes Governor Byun's misconduct and has him arrested. So he also frees Chunhyang and leaves the city with her in the direction of Hanseong.

background

The film is based on the famous pansori -Stück Chunhyangga . It is a Korean legend from the 17th century.

reception

Stephen Locke described the film in Der Spiegel as "entertaining and stimulating" due to its "beauty of images, exotic shape and haunting story". Lee Hyo-jeong's acting as Chunhyang is "gorgeous" and the film confirms "the current strength of Asian cinema". The film was also rated very positively in the cinema . The editors gave the film the best possible rating and described the film as "unusual, strange and fascinating".

“Opulent film adaptation of the most famous Korean fairy tale, which blurs the lines between film and theater. It starts with the Korean one-man opera Pansori, whose singer recites the poignant story, then action and song mix to form a fascinating aesthetic unit, the pull of which one can hardly escape. A pleasure that brings its own stylized universe. "

- Lexicon of international film