In spite of these few moments of wonder, and even the dense, moving thematic content, the film ultimately doesn't leave a lasting taste.
Chi-hwa-seon (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 39
Fresh: 32
Rotten:7
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Theatrical Release:Feb 14, 2003 Limited
Synopsis:
IM Kwon-taek's ninety-fifth film tells the story of renowned nineteenth-century painter JANG Seung-up (Choi Min-Sik), an artist whose revolutionary work - and persona - has forever changed the face...
IM Kwon-taek's ninety-fifth film tells the story of renowned nineteenth-century painter JANG Seung-up (Choi Min-Sik), an artist whose revolutionary work - and persona - has forever changed the face of Korean art.
CHIHWASEON (PAINTED FIRE) begins in the 1850s, when KIM Byung-moon (AHN Sung-ki) saves the young JANG Seung-up from being beaten by a group of drifters. In return, JANG draws him a picture, and as Kim carefully examines the child's rough drawing, he notices the extraordinary potential of the young boy. Years later, KIM Byung-moon becomes JANG Seung-up's mentor and encourages him to pursue the life of an artist. KIM eventually gives JANG the pen name of Oh-won.
Later on his life, JANG Seung-up meets Mae-hyang, a daughter of a Yangban (social elite) who attracts him deeply. Although their passion is strong, they are eventually forced to separate when she runs away from catholic persecution.
JANG Seung-up eventually leaves his house and wanders about in pursuit of "true art," soon realizing that it is through pleasure that he can produce his greatest works. Oh-won's life is thus marked by the paradox of his inspiration derived by addiction to alcohol and convoluted love affairs with women.
As JANG continues to search for artistic transcendence, he stretches the limits of traditional Korean art, rapidly becoming a worldwide artistic reference - and one of Korea's national legends. -- © Kino International
Starring: Min-sik Choi, Sung-Kee Ahn, Ho-jeong Yu, Yeo-jin Kim
Starring: Min-sik Choi, Sung-Kee Ahn, Ho-jeong Yu, Yeo-jin Kim, Ye-jin Son
Director: Kwon-Taek Im
Director: Kwon-Taek Im
Producer: Tae-Won Lee
Composer: Young-dong Kim
Studio: Kino International
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Reviews for Chi-hwa-seon
The sturdy and goateed Choi Min-sik gives an extraordinary performance as the mercurial Ohwon whose moods fluctuate from sadness to rage, anguish, and depression.
For all its beauty and artistic ambition, the film remained stubbornly remote and soulless to me.
This Korean drama is a credible portrait of its main character, the revered 19th-century artist Oh Mon Jang Seung-up, and it looks beautiful enough to be a work of art itself.
Director Im Kwon-Taek steeps this film with reverence for Korean lore and history.
It is quietly observant, with a detached eye for the telling moment, and the visual compositions are often exquisite.
[Chihwaseon] rushes through the life of its subject in nimble leaps and bounds, concentrating on the livelier and more spectacular parts and avoiding the dull historical and biographical stretches.
The problem is, painting isn't a spectator sport, as the interminable scenes of Jang at work continually confirm.
Another masterpiece from one of the world's more neglected great directors, a master artist who here reveals the soul of another.
A fascinating, consummately crafted and ultimately moving study of a man who conforms surprisingly closely to western archetypes of the artist as rebel and hedonist.
The movie's attention to anthropological and historical detail means things are slow to come alive. But once they do, the nature of Jang's psychic torture is palpable and unmistakable.
The film's sexy romanticism and its tragic sense of Korean history will thrill even those who have never set foot in an art gallery.
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