"Saulabi" starts off at the demise of the Paekje Kingdom in Korea around 600 AD. Warriors and rulers are committing ritual suicide similar to Japanese seppuku. One main family or offshoot of this Kingdom had emigrated and settled in Japan. Several hundred years later some Paekje descendants travel to the settlement in Japan, seeking to re-forge the "Heaven" sword in order to bring back the "essence" of the Paekje people.
It's a little confusing at the start and I only fully understood the above premise after reading about Saulabi on the Internet later. It only got interesting for me when one of these Paekje warriors, Woo-Do, falls in love with Osame, who is betrothed to a local Japanese lord. I liked the idea that Woo-Do's Korean stringed instrument can only make notes when played by his family - when Osame learns to make it play, it solidifies their love.
When the Japanese lord finds out about their relationship, of course his men set out to kill Woo-Do and the plan to reforge the sword is in jeopardy. The fight scenes will not "wow" you, but I found the swordplay to be realistic. I think one of the highlight fights was when Woo-Do takes on one of the Lord's men, armed with only a bamboo staff. (Realism ends in one scene near the end where Woo-Do takes on about 30 opponents with no sword!)
The often strained Japanese-Korean relationship is a central theme.
I didn't think this movie was great, but it deserves more than the "3.9" currently scored on IMDb. I think when it gets several hundred votes the score will settle out at slightly above 6.
