Duelist (2005)

This is one of the most visually stunning films you will ever see - don't miss it!The director creates a sense of continuous movement that provides an arpeggio to the growing romance between the two lead characters - or is it a romance? Only you can decide

I don't know how many of the reviewers of this movie realize just how difficult some of the visual effects the director managed to pull off really are. I'm currently an art student and I've helped in the filming of more than a few movies in my life and I've seen more movies than most people have even heard of and yet this movie has stood near the top of the list of my favorite films since I saw it. Now maybe I'm biased because this movie has more emotion depicted in one scene of swordplay than movies like the Notebook. If you missed it the first time through you were obviously reading a book by its cover because its story is told through expressions and movements of the characters not through the traditional blunt, in your face talking which can sometimes neglect the need for visuals in a movie. Half the movies that have come out in the past five years wouldn't be worth a damn except for their dialog. They would be better as books on tape. This movie is all about the visuals and how they blend with an amazing score. Very few directors can pull off emotions through pure visual splendor and music. How this has a barely above a five rating is disgusting. I recommend this movie to anyone. They say the plot is thin but if your just basing that off the dialog you've missed three quarters of the story. Watch the actors body language and how the music builds upon it.

Set during the Lee dynasty, The Duelist tells the tale of detectives Namsoon and Ahn. The former a hot-headed young woman who is just as willing to stick a knife in the gut of an adversary as look at him and the latter a calm, pleasant man who tries, often in vain, to keep his protégé's temper in check. One day, while working undercover, Namsoon notices a skilled swordsman sporting a white wig and a mask amazing onlookers with his impeccable skill. However, things soon become chaotic when a struggle between two groups breaks out and a wagon containing a huge amount of money is spilt. In order to keep the peace, Namsoon and Ahn pursue a couple of thieves: one a bald man with an eye patch and the other the masked man who swiped a gold statue. Namsoon is able to catch up with the masked man and they cross weapons. Although she is able to split his mask, the man is able to get away.After this incident, trouble begins the spread because the money was counterfeit. The huge amounts of counterfeit money make prices inflate and cause distress throughout the kingdom. Wanting to get to the bottom of the problem, Namsoon and Ahn search out the only engraver, who just happens to have been released from prison recently after a mysterious person bailed him out, who is capable of making molds that could press near perfect coins. The artist sketches a picture for the detectives of the man who bailed him out: a young man with shoulder length hair and sad eyes. Namsoon recognizes him as the swordsman she pursued earlier.Namsoon and Ahn soon learn that Sad Eyes works for the minister of defense and Namsoon dolls herself up as a simpering court woman in order to get close to the man. The two battle a couple of times and through the clashing metal and enhanced sensations, Namsoon begins to fall in love with the beautiful swordsman.The most common criticism that I have heard and read about The Duelist is that the plot is paper-thin. Honestly, this is the case. The plot can easily be summed up in one sentence and it is a plot that has been done numerous times before with better execution. However, The Duelist is a beautiful film. The costumes are magnificent, especially those of Namsoon and Sad Eyes, and architecture is extraordinary. The fight scenes, especially those between the heroine and her enemy/beloved are gorgeous and they give off equal sensations of danger and beauty. Also the soundtrack is quite wonderful with equal parts rock and traditional music. At one point there was a thunderous rock track being played with a soft piano. The trio of bass, drums, and guitar did not drown out the piano, and it gave the supple movements of Sad Eyes, Kang Dong-won, even more beauty and grace. A decent film; just don't go looking for an intricate plot.

2005 Toronto Film Festival report: One more film for today, new one from South Korea, directed by Lee Myung-Es: "Duelist"."A tale of political intrigue The Duelist is told from the perspective of a group of undercover police officers in historical Korea. Ahn Sung-Ki - one of Korea's most dependable actors who many on these shores will recognize from his part in the stellar Musa: The Warrior - is the wise senior leader of the group, Ha Jiwan the headstrong and fiery tempered Detective Namsoo. When a mysterious masked man scatters bags of counterfeit coins into a crowd at a town fair - nearly triggering a riot - the young female detective sets off in pursuit, engages him in combat and catches a brief glimpse of his true face." Style… Style and more style. The Director Lee Myung-Es was there (Must be a big deal back in South Korea as he was swarmed with folks after the screening) and he explained the story original came from a Comic Book. Wish I had known that going in. It is a period piece, with a modern flare. Characters do things not because it makes sense, but to strike a pose. The director did not want to tag this as an action film, but as a 'Melodrama'. Full of color, especially in the early market scenes, I am sure the fans of comic at happy as hell. Does that make it a good movie? Not really. Lee Myung-Es said the film just opened in Korea, with the critics loving it… and the audience 50/50 on it. The film took ninety three days to shoot, and I am sure most of that time was spent getting the color scheme right. It's looks wonderful, and he uses Dark shadows to make some beautiful images. All this just doesn't work for me. The attempts at comedy are so over the top and goofy it is hard to take the characters seriously. The "Namsoon" character is just so goofy during the first half of the film I never really bought the romance between her and the "Sad Eyes" character. There are many action scenes, oh sorry, dance scenes, but they never had any real sense of danger for me. If you do not care who is fighting, or why they are fighting, then it comes across as really cold to me. Some will like it, others like me will not. Can not see this playing at all with a North American Audience, so the chances you will see this on the big screen are slim. A better reviewer than I has said on the internet "I think, that director Lee's films are poetry, not prose." Guess this fearless reviewer is not really a poetry kind of guy.