In one of his essays The German philosopher/critic Walter Benjamin compared film with theater stating that the lens of the camera replaces the audience as the spectator, but because the camera is emotionless the actor is unable to feed off the audience's reaction. However, in some films theatrical aspects are not only used, but become part of the film itself. For anyone who has watched Ichikawa Kon's An Actor's Revenge or Shinoda Masahiro's Double suicide this is quite evident. While not taking theater into play, Im Kwon-taek's extraordinarily popular film Chunhyang incorporates the traditional storytelling elements of the pansori, a singer and a drummer, into play. Instead of just opening the film, the viewer is treated to listening to the pansori's storytelling throughout the entire film even having his voice overdubbed over the actors and actresses. While this aspect of the film might be a bit distracting at first, especially when the film's action is cut between the stage and the visualized world of Chunhyang, it eventually sinks in and one can enjoy being told a story while seeing it acted out by actors and actresses instead of just the realm inside one's head.
Chunhyang tells the story of the lovers Lee Mongryong and Sung Chunhyang, the former the sun of the governor of Namson and the latter the daughter of a courtesan. A budding scholar who is preparing for the exams that would open to him the world of officialdom, Mongryong one day becomes bored with his hours of constant study and asks his servant Pangja to show him some areas of local interest. At one spot he notices a beautiful young girl swinging high in a swing and he falls in love at first sight. He orders Pangja to fetch the girl for him, but the servant is reluctant because Chunhyang has a reputation of turning down every man who has shown interest in her. However, Pangja does go speak to her, but instead of returning with the girl he returns with a message that Mongryong interprets as that Chunhyang wants him to come visit her at her home. On the night he visits Chunhyang, the girl eventually agrees to marry him on the promise that he would not abandon her because of their differences in social status. He agrees to do so and so they marry and they seem quite blissful at first until Mongryong's father receives a promotion which requires him to return to Seoul. Because Mongryong has to return to Seoul with his father and because he cannot take Chunhyang with him, because being married to such a lowly girl would destroy his chances of taking the exams, the young couple must part, but Mongryong promises to return for Chunhyang after he finishes the exams. However, during the time that Mongryong is away, a new, corrupt governor takes over the old governor's position and he seems to have an interest in our heroine.
Directed by the man who is considered by many to be the father of Modern South Korean Cinema and the director of nearly one hundred films, Chunhyang might not at first seem no more than a simple love story, but with its elements of traditional storytelling, its intermingling of history, romance, and melodrama, it does stand out as a great film within the ever growing number of spectacular South Korean films.
Chunhyang tells the story of the lovers Lee Mongryong and Sung Chunhyang, the former the sun of the governor of Namson and the latter the daughter of a courtesan. A budding scholar who is preparing for the exams that would open to him the world of officialdom, Mongryong one day becomes bored with his hours of constant study and asks his servant Pangja to show him some areas of local interest. At one spot he notices a beautiful young girl swinging high in a swing and he falls in love at first sight. He orders Pangja to fetch the girl for him, but the servant is reluctant because Chunhyang has a reputation of turning down every man who has shown interest in her. However, Pangja does go speak to her, but instead of returning with the girl he returns with a message that Mongryong interprets as that Chunhyang wants him to come visit her at her home. On the night he visits Chunhyang, the girl eventually agrees to marry him on the promise that he would not abandon her because of their differences in social status. He agrees to do so and so they marry and they seem quite blissful at first until Mongryong's father receives a promotion which requires him to return to Seoul. Because Mongryong has to return to Seoul with his father and because he cannot take Chunhyang with him, because being married to such a lowly girl would destroy his chances of taking the exams, the young couple must part, but Mongryong promises to return for Chunhyang after he finishes the exams. However, during the time that Mongryong is away, a new, corrupt governor takes over the old governor's position and he seems to have an interest in our heroine.
Directed by the man who is considered by many to be the father of Modern South Korean Cinema and the director of nearly one hundred films, Chunhyang might not at first seem no more than a simple love story, but with its elements of traditional storytelling, its intermingling of history, romance, and melodrama, it does stand out as a great film within the ever growing number of spectacular South Korean films.