A Tale of Legendary Libido

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Total Count: N/A

59%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 109

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A Tale of Legendary Libido Photos

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Movie Info

South Korean funnyman Bong Tar-kyu stars in Art of Fighting director Shin Han-Sol's period comedy about a shy rice cake seller who restores the sexual harmony of a small village whose male population has mostly gone off to war. In the time of the Yi Dynasty, the yin and yang of a small village has been drastically offset due to the fact that the majority of men have gone off to war. Unassuming rice cake salesman Gangse is the only male for miles, and as a result the local ladies all begin to vie for his affections. But Gangse views himself as little more than a blundering fool, and resists their advances until the day he crosses paths with a wise and virile monk who teaches him the secrets of yin and yang. Before long, Gangse has mastered the art of lovemaking. The local ladies are lining up outside his door, and showering him with lavish gifts. As word of Gangse's insatiable sexual appetite begins to spread, it appears that good fortune has finally shined down upon him until the moment he is forced to confront an unbearable trial. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Art House & International, Comedy, Drama
In Theaters:

May 1, 2008 wide
Runtime:

120 minutes
Studio:

Asian Crush

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Cast

Bong Tae-gyu

Seo Yeong

Kim Sin-Ah

Oh Dal-su

Yeo-jeong Yoon

Songjae-Ho

Jeon Soo-Kyung

Kwon Byeong-gil

Lee Sung-jun

Bong Taekyu

Koh Seo-hee

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Critic Reviews for A Tale of Legendary Libido

All Critics (1)

Sin Han-sol directs a rather uneven movie, which starts as a crude sex comedy, only to transform into another melodrama in the last part, in a change that faults the film significantly

Apr 28, 2019 | Full Review…

Panos Kotzathanasis
HanCinema

View All Critic Reviews (1)

Audience Reviews for A Tale of Legendary Libido

Mar 23, 2013

I don't really know what was the point of this film. It really isn't a comedy, though there are some very silly scenes here and there that are very funny, but for the majority of the film it just isn't funny. There were a lot of jokes, or at least attempts at jokes, that didn't work and the film can go MINUTES at a time without a decent joke. Personally, I thought the story was absolutely horrible. Man with a tiny penis, by drinking a "potion", is blessed with the biggest penis in the village and is now lusted after every woman in the village. The only catch being that he can't have sex for 15 days after he drinks the potion or else he'll put the village in danger. He then proceeds to have sex with all the women in the village and that puts said village in danger. There's also, for some reason or another, a love story hidden here with Darling and Byun and to say this romance was terrible is an understatement. No chemistry between the leads whatsoever. The script completely fails at telling a coherent story. You're never sure where the film wants to go or what the point of it all is. I think the idea of this man, who lets lust get in his way, ends up destroying the village he loves and how he'll sacrifice himself for his "wife" in order to ensure her survival. Of course, this point is muddled because the script, as mentioned, has no idea where it wants to go or what it wants to do. The story is just horrible. It's not sure if it wants to be a comedy, a drama, a sex fantasy, a story about the importance of family and community. All these ideas juggled and none of them stands out in the least. Of course, there is the predictable melodrama that is always forced into a Korean comedy. It's no good here either and, unsurprisingly when looking at the rest of the film, serves no purpose whatsoever. So really, this film is a complete mess from top-to-bottom. There are still some really funny moments here, well funny considering the quality of the film, so that keeps it from being a disaster of epic proportions, but I still can't recommend this film to anybody at all.

Jesse O Super Reviewer