The Warrior

There are several kinds of War movies. Some most interested in the romance (I do not know why but there are a lot of them) using the war as a background and others only in the facts and history.

MUSA or THE PRINCESS WARRIOR is probably in between. Because this war and almost everything that happens here is related to an unfinished love story between three characters (if you think is stupid, remember Homer's ILIADA and the reason of the Trojan War).

About seven centuries ago, Chinese got divided and a diplomatic mission from the Koryo kingdom (protected by small group of soldiers), try to make peace with the Ming dynasty. The Ming's army refuses to accept the ambassadors and escort the whole group out of the country. In the dessert, Mongolian's forces attack and kill the Ming's soldiers releasing the Koryo people in the dessert.

An ambitious, very tough (and young) Koryo general, tries to lead his people back to his country, until they found a Mongolian group carrying a Ming's princess prisoner. Engaged by the woman's beauty, he decides to rescue her, justifying his actions as a political opportunity.

Meanwhile, an ex-slave (released by the noble Ambassador before dying in the dessert), itself a great but silent warrior, gets involved in the rescue and after showing his courage and ability in combat, is forced to protect the Princess, creating obvious jealousy on the young general.

Mongolian's of course, will not accept being defeated, so they run after the small group, to recover the princess.

What happens after (the movie is more than two and a half hours long but never boring) is somehow predictably; however this is a Korean movie, so do not expect the silly and forced happy ending. What make the movie worth (a 10 / 10) is the way things are told, the beauty of the images and the poetry surrounding the story.

This movie war movie, but is not glorifying war, but the honor of people fighting for their countries. This is a love story, but a real one, were words are unnecessary and everything that happens is inside every character, but just looking at their eyes, we know what exactly are their feelings.

Halfway through the film, we realize that the line between bad and good guys is not really clear. That the real enemy is sometimes on the same side.

There are a lot of small characters, and everyone gets enough screen time, to make us care about them; sometimes even more than the main characters.

A special mention deserves the numerous war scenes. Using a slow motion, first person shots, quick editing and almost every camera trick you could imagine, you will feel in the middle of the battlefield (and a very scary one ). The blood and violence are much more realistic, than BLACK HAWK DOWN or WHEN WE WERE SOLDIERS, and the impression created is more than those two plus any other recent war related.

In brief; as far as I know this movie did not get a cinema release, but you can find it in EBAY or in some special video stores. DO NOT MISS IT; is probably the best movie of the year.

Someone insulted the Korean movie industry by stating this is one of Korea's best films. I must be honest, I couldn't get myself to see the entire movie, which is a rarity for me. By the time I decided to stop torturing myself the following had occurred in the movie.

1)The tempermental and rebellious "hero" who has a serious self control problem gets the entire ancient Korean Caravan in trouble with his psychotic propensity towards violence. The Caravan saves themselves and the hero with cunning and wit. 2)The "hero" puts the entire Caravan in jeopardy again by cutting off the head of one of the merchants. This time many Caravan members die but they still escape relatively intact. 3)The Caravan finds a way to escape from their dire situation but the "hero" puts an end to their salvation by doing something totally stupid and irrational. Again, the great leadership, solidarity, and fighting ability of the Caravan saves them from disaster.

By this time, I began to beg someone to have the senses to kill the "hero" who was getting everyone else killed with his irresponsible actions. Instead of languishing in frustration, I decided to use my remote control.

The "hero" is played by Jung Woo Sung, one of the worst, and yet one of the most popular, actors in Korea. The only characters he usually plays are the silent rebellious types who act angry all the time, probably to hide his lack of acting ability.

This was the most expensive movie made in Korea (few films have surpassed it since). Yet it was a box office bomb, and with a good reason.

Those who settle down to enjoy the excellent 150-odd minute Musa will be surprised at how much it suggests a Western. There's sweeping landcapes, a cross-desert ordeal; competition between villains and heros, 'stagecoach' chases, abandoned and defended forts, and 'cavalry' charges. These, as well as a strong sense of a man-having-to-do what-a-Man-has-to-do, combine to create familiarity to those who know such films as (for instance) The Alamo and Commanche Station. That's not to say that Musa has no originality, or is not strongly rooted within Korean national cinema. It contains a number of striking set pieces - notably the several pitched battle scenes, multiple characterisation, as well as some insight into the various power struggles which make up mid-fourteenth century Asian history. But at the heart of this package remain a well-tried fairy story, that of a cold Princess who must learn to swallow her pride, and of a brave servant's unrequited love.

Sung-Su Kim, who directs from his own screen play, does a very good job in drawing together his disparate group of travelling companions on a dangerous journey: a Princess, a General, a monk, soldiers, wives, a cowardly translator, a whore, etc. To provide suitable contrast between the moments of combat, he relates them in short, effective, dialogue scenes. Its good to see a film too in which the ubiquitous wire work and over the top gymnastics, beloved by some Eastern action directors, is conspicuous by its absence. Its also one where the director relies less on extreme camera angles and special effects to create visual drama than on the regular ebb and flow of dramatic editing. Perhaps because of this 'naturalness', the battle scenes are consistently exciting and involving. They are also staged in enough different locales to make them varied viewing each time. A standout is a desperate confrontation amongst trees, where the director takes full advantage of foliage cover, confusion, and events within the frame to create some real martial suspense.

The HK disc I saw was generally excellent, with occasional errors in subtitle grammar, as well as the odd compression problem (on-screen blur), usually during horizontal tracking movements. All told, though, the cheap price of this disk makes it an excellent buy and I strongly recommend it - and the film.

It's Ancient China circa 1375, the Koryo king sent a diplomatic delegation of diplomats, soldiers, and a mute slave to the Ming emperor to make peace between the Yuan and Ming dynasties, but they are regarded as spies, and thus are dispatched to a remote desert. So they begin a journey to get back home, but after learning that a Ming princess has been kidnapped by Yuan troops, the same troops that they had met and fought with earlier, they see that if they rescue her it's possible that they can get a ship needed to sail home. Cinematic ally this is a beautiful film, the action suitably epic and the film even poetic at times. I can safely say that this film is a wonder to behold even in it's edited Iternational incarnation.

My Grade: A

Region 0 DVD Extras: nothing and it's the 132 minute international cut. I love this film, but try your best to seek out the R2 Scandinavia 3-Disc SE, as it has the longer 155 minute version AND the international cut AND a great deal of extras

Based on actual events, Korean diplomats were sent into China with military escorts in 1375. Remember Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages at this time, but in Asia they were an advanced civilization. With the rise of the famous Ming Dynasty in China and the waning days of the Mongols, the Korean emperor was eager to formalize ties with the new Chinese government. This is the story of one of the those diplomatic missions.

This is an epic film, shoot over 9000 miles of China's northern region. Covering plains, prairies, forests, deserts and coastline. The cinematography is beautiful.

Though this is a Korean film, it utilizes the famous Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who portrays a kidnapped daughter of the Chinese Emperor.

Throughout most of the film the Korean warriors speak Korean. The Princess and the Chinese villagers speak Mandarin. Interestingly the Mongols also speak Mandarin to each other, historically inaccurate but Mongols don't go to movies these days. Some of the Koreans can also speak Mandarin. This is accurate since the educated Koreans of the time, could read, write and speak Chinese. This film is subtitled in English.

This is a grand story of honor, sacrifice and overcoming overwhelming odds. The Korean warriors must fight the larger forces of the Mongols. Using tactics and strategies not unlike that which you can find in Sun Tzu's the Art of War writings.

If you want some insight into the culture and attitudes of the people of this region, Musa is the movie for you.