78
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonAnother masterpiece from one of the world's more neglected great directors, a master artist who here reveals the soul of another.
- 90Village VoiceEd ParkVillage VoiceEd ParkSucceeds as the rehumanizing of a near mythical figure.
- 80VarietyDavid StrattonVarietyDavid StrattonGrounded by a vigorous, physical performance from Choi Min-Sik, who brings both earthiness and grandeur to the central role, the film vividly evokes the world of an obsessive natural talent.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannA handsome film, filled with lavish costumes and set designs and told in a series of exquisitely composed images. But even with its visual polish, it's a chilly, largely unaffecting film about an unsympathetic man.
- 75Miami HeraldMarta BarberMiami HeraldMarta BarberThe film is art in all its visual splendor, and no matter how confusing the historic story line may be to Westerners -- and it is -- the images on screen more than compensate for the faults.
- 75Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisThis is that rare art flick whose subject goes nuts because his work is not self-indulgent ENOUGH.
- 70The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensMr. Im's own aesthetic command is evident in the movie's wealth of beautiful, perfectly framed images of nature -- shots so full of passion and perception that they could almost be paintings themselves.
- 63New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoBeautiful to look at, with scrumptious period detail and a knowing performance by Choi Min-sik as the portly, goatéed painter. At the same time, Chihwaseon is slow and stilted.
- 50The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasIn the scope of things, Ohwon's story is a route into the larger story of an uncertain and tumultuous period in Korea, and it's here that Chi-hwa-seon loses its grip.