I love this movie so much

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Introductory lines extracted from its trailer: "It will take you to a place you've never been and wrap you in a life time you've never lived. It is a story of a governor's son favored by birth-right, and a courtesan's daughter, Chunhyang, marked from birth. beautiful, sensual, innocent, brought together by love, bound by loyalty, but torn apart by law. their life became their legacy until their names became legend." A film of epic beauty and eternal devotion of a broken heart that cannot be divided and a heart that cannot be taken where"There are a number of lines I found particularly worth meditating and deep thoughts. I didn't think this film would be a great film especially judging from its opening introduction where chants with singing were all I heard. Of course then I must remove the mentality of what a movie should be like set by Hollywood. Having done that, Chunhyang as well as the movie, has taught me a great lot of moral values, and wisdom, and not to mention loyalty. The number of people devoted to marriage and love these days are on the declining slope and it is in my opinion that modern thinking is to be blamed. However, these are two very different contexts. Truly, Chunhyang, is a very 2 hour inspiring film, in a different way from Hollywood.Its musics are as though playing with the strings of my heart. oh my god, so good! Enjoy!

After China and Vietnam, it is now Korea's turn to export its film industry globally. Chunhyang is a refreshing poetic film, with fantastic scenery. Im Kwon-taek, Korea's leading director, conveys a message of love and hope by adapting a popular pansori to the screen. The pansori is performed by Cho Sang-hyun and Kim Myung-hwan: the voice and drum blend into the beautiful scenery.At first, the uninitiated (e.g. myself) may be shocked by the continuous singing and beats; some may even be put off by it. However, once you get used to this most peculiar type of performance, you can start concentrating on the film itself. The film itself is more of a complement to the pansori. By diverging at times from the lyrics, the scenes add a further dimension to the story by providing the environment in which the story takes place. The direction is fantastic, the scenery even more. Every frame could be a masterpiece of photography. The plot delves into the traditional issues of love, faithfulness, hatred, desire, etc... without becoming too stereotypical.See it to discover Korean art and music. See it with an open mind, as a cultural event. The rhythm and singing may put you off at first, but it is the combination of the pictures and the poetic singing that makes the beauty of this beautiful film.

This is not just a movie, in the way that Americans, like myself, usually conceptualize contemporary film. Perhaps, it might be interesting, as a learning experience, to view "Chunghyang" with "Gladiator" to understand that these are two distinct art forms, devised by two distinct cultural traditions to tell important stories. I was thrilled to find this film so 'other', so un-American, so un-MTV. A Korean storytelling/operatic tradition is fused with beautiful filming. Dialogue, as the actors play out the story, is interlaced very comfortably with a storyteller's narrative in a sutra-chanting, poetic style, accompanied by one drummer. The storyteller's voice is a remarkable asset of the film. It has to be experienced to understand its power. I thought the film used very sophisticated editing to blend the highly operatic story line with the teller's narrative on stage and with a wonderful middle-Korean, as in middle-American, audience. This omniscient viewing perspective, affording views of several different levels of concurrent existence, was really wonderful. Then, I remembered in the middle of the film that I was reading subtitles without a trace of annoyance or distraction from the visuals. Very nicely done all around. I felt enriched, educated and entertained.

Im Kwon-taek was already known for being korean best director. His former film "Sopyonje" ("The Pansori's singer", 1993), amongst others, was probably the best proof of his talent. He confirms here with his new film, a pure gem ! Of course, some people (let's hope that they won't be too many !) will never be seized by the film, reluctant to Pansori melodies and tunes. They probably even won't try, their ears "offended" by this rough singing, often panting, sometimes slow-speeded or on the contrary very fast and like breathless. How wrong they will be ! Because Pansori, this traditional korean narrative song sung by only one singer who plays all the different characters of the story, with one drum (the "puk") playing, this song tears hearts and souls of those who accept to give themselves to it...And when the tale is as a beautiful and romantic one as Chunhyang's, the singer's throaty sounds and the incredibly beautiful pictures fill us with happiness. Im Kwon-taek, great director, moves us not only through the story told by also through his direction. His numerous sequence shots, the natural way he alternates close-up and wonderful purefaces shots on one way and splendid landscapes all drowned in gold and light on the other, spreads poetry in perfect harmony with the story told.Maybe the plot (social classes differences getting in the way of a love story which is threatened then saved by marital fidelity) doesn't bright by its originality. Asian operas, novels, films are full of that kind of stories. But that's not the important point, after all haven't all stories been already told ? The way to treat those stories makes the real difference and the one Im Kwon-taek gives to Chunhyang's legend shines bright all around ! The korean director leads two young beginners in the lovers' roles. Yi Hyo-jeong, who is the exemplary Chunhyang, is only 17 years old and it was for her, as for her partner Cho Seung-woo, her first film. She brights with sweetness and he shows real nobility.