Untold Scandal

I believe this is the best version of 'Dangerous Liaisons' yet filmed.

Going in, I expected nothing from this movie, as it had to compare with the other three versions of the story I have seen: The classic Dangerous Liaisons (Close/Malkovich/Pfeiffer), the more entertaining but less memorable Valmont (Bening/Firth/Tilly) and the worthy but inferior Cruel Intentions.

However, this Korean version was so stunningly well-produced in every way that it has to be pronounced the superior version of all. The cast was attractive and skillful, the sets and production values were so slick and artful that "perfection" is the only word that comes to mind. The story was thoroughly captivating from beginning to end, and I was moved to tears on several occasions, esp. of course towards the end.

I find that the story is becoming a classic and a favorite of mine (and I intend to move on to the original book very soon). It is about the wages of cynicism; a tragedy where the wicked are justly punished by experiencing on their own bodies and souls the effects of their ruthless actions. It shows how people's actions have consequences, and how those consequences will eventually come full circle, to slap the perpetrators in the face. It is a movie about human nature, saying that cynicism goes against our nature and can destroy us all if running unchecked. A morality tale. A good and true one. A Classic.

My rating: 9 out of 10.

(P.S. Yes, of course Jo-Won *let* that guy stab him in the back. He was killed by his own conscience.)

"Untold Scandal (Joseon namnyeo sangyeoljisa)" is the best all-around adaptation of "Les Liaisons dangereuses."

Others have struck the right note with singular elements, but went flat on others. This has terrific, believable, very attractive casting -- from the young love-struck innocents to the older central cynics; an appropriate mise en scene of a rigid society with strict, hypocritical rules about women's behavior, here 18th century Korea; the epistolary format of the original to drive the machinations, helped by beautiful calligraphy and even writing positions; a varying tone that ranges from Shakespearean romantic comic bashing of human foibles to the diabolical thrusts that playing with people's hearts can really hurt, particularly communicated through the changing tone of the music.

This very frank version is particularly good at closely examining the full ramifications of lust vs. love, chastity vs. celibacy, experience vs. naivete, foreplay vs. consummation, and of course, men vs. women. This is a battle of the sexes with a lot of sex.

While it is a bit slow, the lush costumes, production design and settings fill the eye.

Though the opening credits are translated into English, the closing ones aren't -- but you must stay past them as the plot concludes devilishly with closing images that demonstrate that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I wasn't sure about the accuracy of the English subtitles in describing the familial relationships among the characters as I was a bit confused about who was an in-law of whom how.

Moving this story from the French aristocracy to the Korean during Chosen dynasty when everyone held up a mask of decency in daytime and let it fall together with the hanbok at night was quite the trick to re-liven this story. Everything is done so well from the flow to the brilliant actresses/actors. Most notably is Lee Mi-suk as the sly older cousin/fox. The backdrop of Korean castles is quite fitting, and as they sneak around at night like teenagers we sit on the edge of the seat hoping they wouldn't get caught.

The charm of "Jeon-sama" is lost on me, but I know it wouldn't be for hordes of "women in their best age". So if you're one of those, catch it!! Must be a big hit in all of East-Asia now.

I've seen the previous films based on Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and I have to say that this one is surely the most subtle of the bunch, with wonderfully nuanced performances from all concerned. The story is familiar, of course, to anyone acquainted with the material, but it's the way it's told here, with such profound restraint, that separates it from being merely derivative. I haven't seen that many films from Korea, but based on this one, I would definitely like to see more, particularly from director Je-yong Lee.

Can't imagine why Elvis Mitchell (in his Times review) called this a comedy (and it's even listed here at IMDb as a drama/comedy) - perhaps if you're a first-class sadist, it would come across as amusing, this tragic story of disillusionment, heartbreak and ultimate death. I wasn't laughing.

(7 - the equivalent of a high *** - see my review of AI for my IMDb number/star equivalents, unique to this site)

I absolutely adore the version directed by Stephen Frears (starring Malkovich and Glose) so i was very interested what Koreans had made out of it. Korean films that I have seen that far are very interesting, they have quite a different approach then Western movie makers.

I think it was a good and intense film and the historical Korean scenery added a lot. Still, I think that Frears'is film is way stronger. The only acting work that stood out stronger then Frears'is characters, was the lady who played the virtous Madam Sook (Michelle Pfeiffer's character in Frears'is version). This was an incredibly strong performance and I liked it more then Pfeffer's approach.

As to the others they slightly lacked detail and depth. Overall, the Korean protagonists were no match to John Malkovich and Glenn Close. And the whole lot of other characters, both men and women, looked and acted in such a similar way that it took me some time to distinct them from each other.

However, the film was still very interesting to watch and all this historical Korean world was beautifully shot. The film got better at the end and when the bad guy changed it was really moving and believable. Specially the last scene with him on the beach. I also very much liked the scene between him and Madam Sook in the library.