Love and Loyalty Are Put to the Test in Stunning ‘Chunhyang’

Im Kwon Taek’s exquisite “Chunhyang” brings to the screen one of Korea’s most cherished folk tales, a timeless romance in which the lovers are challenged by differences in class.

For Im, long his country’s most renowned filmmaker, telling the story of Chunhyang, daughter of a courtesan, and Mongryong, son of a provincial governor, was an opportunity to celebrate the ancient operatic form of pansori, for the entire film is narrated by the recordings of Cho Sang Hyun, the art’s foremost exponent. Cho is first seen briefly at the beginning of the film in performance before an audience enraptured by his recitation in song of what they clearly know by heart. Cho tells of Chunhyang’s fate in impassioned, keening tones that recall the plaintive staccato of flamenco.

“Chunhyang” is a landmark film in that it is the first Korean picture to receive regular theatrical release in the U.S., calling attention not only to the world-class talent of Im, but also serving as an introduction to the rich, complex Korean cinema, heretofore shown only in Korean American community theaters or in cultural or academic institutions. It’s an excellent choice, for the film is easily accessible and stunningly beautiful in its rich color; in those qualities it recalls Teinosuke Kinugasa’s dazzling 1953 “Gate of Hell,” which did much to make Japanese films art-theater staples.

At 15, Mongryong (Cho Seung Woo) is as studious as he is handsome, but of sufficient independence in spirit to want to see the sights outside the ancient and magnificent palace and grounds of the vast estate of the governor of Namwon. Accompanied on his journey by his servant Pangja (Kim Hak Yong), Mongryong comes upon the beautiful, young Chunhyang (Lee Hyo Jung) as she is swaying back and forth on a park swing. They are soon lovers, marrying in secret.

But soon they must part, for Mongryong must go to Seoul to complete his education and pass his exams. Should he try to take his bride along, he would be both disinherited and disowned. Yet he is confident that once his all-important exams are behind him, he will be able to send for his wife, in nothing less than a royal palanquin. Such is the depth of their love that there seems little question that both will have the patience to endure a considerable period of time apart, although Chunhyang fears she may be an “old hag” before that palanquin arrives at her mother’s picturesque rural cottage.

What the couple did not count on is that the king would summon Mongryong’s father to Seoul to serve in his cabinet. Namwon’s new governor (Lee Jung Hun) is, lamentably, a hard-drinking despot prepared to tax his people into dire poverty--and prepared to take extreme measures to ensure that Chunhyang becomes one of his concubines. That she has never been a courtesan herself and that she is, in fact, a married woman cuts no ice with the tyrant, who insists that the daughter of a courtesan is automatically a courtesan herself. He does not count on Chunhyang’s determined resolve not to submit to him.

One of the persistent themes of Asian cinema and literature is women’s capacity to endure, and it’s no wonder that Chunhyang is so symbolic a heroine. Koreans could surely see in her an inspiration for their resistance to their long occupation by the Japanese. Lee Hyo Jung embodies Chunhyang’s mythological strength of character most effectively, for she suggests that Chunhyang’s fragile doll-like appearance belies a will of iron. Cho similarly is able to show us that Mongryong is by no means all looks, although there’s no way of knowing for those of us unfamiliar with the legend--set in the 18th century and apparently rooted in an actual occurrence--that he will, in fact, be able to save his beloved.

Made for an incredibly modest $2 million, “Chunhyang” is nevertheless Korea’s most ambitious production ever, involving a four-month shooting schedule, 8,000 extras and some 12,000 period costumes. You could wish that Im, so adept at transporting us to a distant time and place, did not cut back and forth between his story and Cho in his stage performance quite so often, thus threatening to break the film’s spell, but this is not a serious reservation alongside all that he and his gifted cast and crew accomplish with the triumphant “Chunhyang.”

* Unrated. Times guidelines: brutality and some violence, adult themes and situations.

‘Chunhyang’

Lee Hyo Jung: Chunhyang

Cho Seung Woo: Mongryong

Lee Jung Hun: Governor Byun

Kim Hak Yong: Pangja

A Lot 47 Films release of a Taehung Pictures production. Director Im Kwon Taek. Producer Lee Tae Won. Executive producers Kim Dong Joo, Seok Dong Jun, Park Do Jun. Screenplay by Kim Myoung Kon. Cinematographer Jung Il Sung. Editor Park Soon Duk. Music Kim Jung Gil. Costumes Huh Young, Pong Hyun Sook. Production designer Min Un Ok. In Korean, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours..

Exclusively at the Nuart Theater through Thursday, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 478-6379.; opens Jan. 19 at the Edwards South Coast Village, 1561 Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana, (714) 540-0594.