Chunhyang (film)

Chunhyang (Korean: 춘향뎐; RR: Chunhyangjeon) is a Korean Pansori film directed by Im Kwon-taek, with a screenplay by Kang Hye-yeon and Kim Myung-gon. Distributed by CJ Entertainment, the film was released on January 29, 2000 in South Korea. Lee Hyo-jeong plays Chunhyang and Cho Seung-woo plays Mongryong.

Chunhyang
Directed byIm Kwon-taek
Written byKim Myung-gon
Produced byLee Tae-won
StarringLee Hyo-jeong
Cho Seung-woo
CinematographyJung Il-sung
Edited byPark Soon-deok
Music byKim Jung-gil
Distributed byCJ Entertainment
Release date
  • January 29, 2000 (2000-01-29)
Running time
133 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$2.5 million
Box officeUS$798,977 (USA)[1]

It is a film adaptation of the pansori Chunhyangga, one of the most notable works in the pansori tradition. To date, there have been more than sixteen works based on this narrative, including three North Korean films. Im Kwon-taek's Chunhyang presents a new interpretation of this oral tradition with a focus towards a more global audience.[2] It is the first Chunhyang adaptation that uses lyrics of pansori as a major part of the screenplay. The film uses the framing device of a present-day pansori narrator who, accompanied by a drummer, sings the story of Chunhyang in front of a responsive audience. The film flashes back and forth between the singer's presentation and scenes of Mongryong.

It was entered into the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.[3] The film is the first Korean film which was presented at the 2000 Telluride Film Festival.[4] At the 2000 Asia Pacific Film Festival, it won a Special Jury Award.[5] It also won an award for Best Narrative at the Hawaii International Film Festival in 2000.[6]

Plot

The film is told through pansori, a traditional Korean form of storytelling that seeks to narrate through song. It is based on Chunhyangga, a traditional Korean folktale and is set in 18th century Korea.

Lee Mongryong, a governor's son, falls in love and marries a beautiful girl Chunhyang Sung, the daughter of a courtesan. Their marriage is kept a secret from the governor who would immediately disown Lee if he found that his son married beneath him. The governor gets posted to Seoul and Mongryong is forced to leave his young wife behind, promising to come back for her when he passes the official exam.

After Mongryong leaves Namwon where Mongryong and Chunhyang first meets, new governor, Byun Hakdo, comes and wants Chunhyang for himself. When she refuses, stating that she already has a husband and will forever remain faithful to her beloved, the governor punishes her by flogging. Meanwhile, back in Seoul, Lee passes the test with the highest score and becomes an officer. Three years have passed and Lee Mongryong returns to the town on the King's mission. There, he finds out that his wife is to be beaten to death on the governor's birthday as a punishment for disobeying his lust. The governor, very corrupted and greedy, is arrested by Mongryong. The two lovers are finally united.[7]

Cast
  • Lee Hyo-jeong - Chunhyang
  • Cho Seung-woo - Mongryong
  • Kim Sung-nyeo - Wolmae
  • Lee Jung-hun - Governor Byun
  • Kim Hak-yong - Bangja
  • Choi Jin-young - Governor Lee
  • Hong Kyung-yeun - kisaeng leader
  • Cho Sang-hyun - pansori singer
  • Kim Myung-hwan - pansori drummer
  • Lee Hae-ryong - Lord of Soonchun
  • Gok Jun-hwam - Lord of Okgwa
  • Yoon Keun-mo - Lord of Goksung
  • Lee Hye-eun - Hyangdan

Production

The bed scene between Chunhyang and Mongryong took two days to film because Cho Seung-woo and Hyo-jeong Lee, who had no experience at all, were shy. The two of them didn't know there was a love scene until they started filming, and they were scared, and director Im Kwon-taek gave them homework to come after seeing 'Yellow Hair'.[8]

Critical reception

According to Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times, "Instead the story is freshened through the use of a Korean singing storyteller, a pansori singer, to provide a narration, belting out the song from a stage in front of an audience. The pansori, or song, is performed under a proscenium arch to highlight the ritual elements of folk tales. Even though much of what the pansori tells us unfolds before the cameras at the same moment, the forcefulness of the performance lends another layer of feeling to the picture."[9]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipients Result Ref.
2000 53rd Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Im Kwon-taek Nominated [3]
21st Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Film Chunhyang Nominated
Best Director Im Kwon-taek Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Kim Sung-nyeo Nominated
Best New Actor Cho Seung-woo Nominated
37th Grand Bell Awards Best Film Chunhyang Nominated
Special Jury Award Im Kwon-taek Won
Best Director Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Kim Sung-nyeo Nominated
Best New Actor Cho Seung-woo Nominated
Best New Actress Lee Hyo-jeong Nominated
Best Cinematography Jung II-sung Nominated
Best Art Direction Min Eon-ok Won
36th Baeksang Arts Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Chunhyang Won
Best Director Im Kwon-taek Won
8th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Supporting Actress Kim Sung-nyeo Won
Best Cinematography Jung II-sung Won
Best Lighting Lee Min-bu Won
Best Planning/Producer Lee Tae-won Won
Telluride Film Festival Film Presented Chunhyang Won [4]
Asia Pacific Film Festival Special Jury Award Won [5]
Hawaii International Film Festival Narrative Feature Chunhyang Won [6]
5th Busan International Film Festival Netpac Award Im Kwon-taek Won
13th Singapore International Film Festival Best Director Won
20th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best Cinematography Jung Il-sung Won
2001 Fribourg International Film Festival Grand Prix Im Kwon-taek Nominated

References
  1. "Chunhyang". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  2. Lee, Hyangjin (September 1, 2005). CHUNHYANG: Marketing an Old Korean Tradition in New Korean Cinema. NYU Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0814740309.
  3. "Festival de Cannes: Chunhyang". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  4. "Chunhyang (2000)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  5. "Chunhyang". 2013 New York Korean Film Festival 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  6. "Hawaii International Film Festival". Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  7. "Chunhyang (2000) plot summary". ruinedendings. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  8. "[영화'춘향뎐'] 베드신 무삭제 상영". chosun.com. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  9. MITCHELL, ELVIS (23 September 2000). "FILM REVIEW; How a Korean Folk Form Freshens a Fairy Tale Love". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
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