Nationalism in the Arts

Jeon Woo Chi:The Taoist Wizard, briefly put, was my least favourite movie of the semester. In my opinion, the story line was confusing, the characterization was weak and there was too much dialogue. But most of all it is the “time traveling” motif, which makes me cringe, that made me dislike this movie most. With that said, I can still imagine this movie being immensely popular with teens who have grown up with these types of myths and who enjoy these types of movies for their CGI effects.

Putting my dislike for the movie aside, I found the representation and importance given to traditional Korean art to be very interesting, especially in comparison to its representation of Western art. In the movie the shots of traditional Korean art, scroll paintings in particular, are beautifully crafted and affectively give the art mysterious and magical qualities which leave the viewers enchanted by it. I was stunned at how beautifully the special effects made the paintings move and brought the scrolls to life.

Traditional art is an important element to the movie's plot, so it was interesting to compare the treatment of traditional Korean art to the treatment of non-Korean art in the movie. In the scene where Woochi and Chorangyi are searching for the bronze dagger in the warehouse they come across some famous European paintings. The paintings depicted in this scene are Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres's “Grande Odalisque,” Francois Millet's “The Gleaners” and Paul Cezanne's “Apples and Oranges,” which the duo then proceed to toss around and step on in search of the highly important Korean artifact. Although these paintings may not be what first come to mind when one thinks of European art they are none the less representations of the western art in the movie. 

 The final battle between Woochi and Hwadam takes place on a movie set which greatly resembles a historical Japanese colonial town or city. This setting, similarly to the European paintings is violently treated and practically destroyed. Could the careful treatment and importance given to traditional Korean art, in the movie, compared to the disrespect inflicted upon both colonial Japanese and European art be the director's criticism of colonial powers? Or a statement against Westernization?

Good Setting, Cliché Characters.

     I found this movie to be greatly entertaining, the use of the past and present Korea is very well done and well incorporated within the plot. It’s a good film with a good story, I thought the setting is what made this movie great though the characters were somewhat cliché. The formula used for assembling these characters is one I’ve seen before so many times, there is the protagonist, young and full of potential with a touch of comedy, clumsiness and recklessness but overall very likeable. His faithful companion who can be quite weird but also adds an element of comedy, accentuates every facet of the protagonist’s character and is fun to have around. The love interest, “princess” stuck in a world of chores who aspires to be something more, something different, depicted as an innocent girl with a strong personality who is also later shown as a fiery & sexy woman not to be trifled with. The evil two-faced bad guy who never smiles, never laughs, is always serious and mean, the audience can sense his shadiness a mile away but the other characters can’t. The other secondary character, god-wizards, who never make the right decisions but it’s always “okay” in the end. I have seen this type of cast in so many movies before that I find it lacks authenticity, I mean Disney movies often have similar characters, other Korean movies do the same thing just as much as Hollywood movies. So yes, I guess I clearly did not like the film for its characters but really for its setting, which I thought was used in a spectacular way. The character “formula” I am willing to forgive because the film itself acknowledges that the plot is based on a folktale and if there is a type of story that have very cliché characters, it is definitely in folktale, & I think this goes for any country. I would also be lying if I did not say I enjoyed the movie for its comedic value, it was very simple and “stupid” humor, but still funny. Funny will always be funny.

Jeon Woo Chi - The Taoist Wizard

This story about Jeon Woo Chi reminded me of the Sun WuKong cartoons I used to watch when I was a little kid. Sun WuKong is a character from a Chinese novel called Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en. In China, this book is one of the four great classical novels. I do not remember all the stories of Sun WuKong because I was so young and there were so many episodes but Sun WuKong is also a Taoist Wizard who goes around the world with his companions to retrieve artifacts needed. (If I remember correctly) Nonetheless, I thought the character Jeon WooChi was very similar to Sun WuKong. Jeon WooChi used his paper talisman to use spells and Sun WuKong used pieces of his hair to cast spells.

I personally did not feel any seriousness with this film. Everything was comical because of the three dimwitted wizards? (Peacekeepers from Heaven?) and the dog-human, Chorangyi. Yoo Hae Jin is such a silly person; it’s hard for me to take him seriously as an actor. (This could be because he is part of popular variety show, One night and Two days). The plot itself was also very childish. I felt so disoriented and confused because everything seemed to happen so quickly. I did not know what was going on, the editing was so rapid and I felt like I did not get any time to process what was happening until I was halfway in the movie. Even during the action scenes, the computer graphics were so noticeable; I couldn’t help but feel disappointed at watching the movie. I know this movie is from 7 years ago, but…I forgot how much technology advanced.  

I didn’t realize that I have seen this movie a while back until I saw the trailer. I guess it was not a very memorable movie for me… Well, it definitely made me pay attention to the film again though. Additionally, Jeon WooChi also became a drama series, lead actor being Cha Tae Hyun! Our lovely Kyun Woo from My Sassy Girl. I am definitely going to check it out during this winter break. I wonder if the storyline is similar to the movie, or even the actual book.

Jeon Woo-Chi - Never-ending story

When asked what would happen when Pyohoon-daeduk gets the flute back, one of the Taoist hermits respond that the world would be a better place. The monsters/spirits will be thrown into the dungeons and the hermits will be allowed once more into heaven.

Why aren’t we granted this happy ending? How come Pyohoon-daeduk does not get to play the flute, and thereby granting us a happy ending with the monsters back in the dungeons and the hermits back in heaven? Why is the flute shattered to pieces instead? Why does Hwadam walk into the painting himself?

I think this suggests that the story is not finished but (most likely) will be repeating once again. Hwadam, or the spirit of Ram, is not dead, but simply locked in a painting for an undefined amount of time.  The possibility of his return is hinted by his half turned body, posed as if to turn around and look out of the painting. The other monster spirits are also simply contained in a gourd, not completely destroyed or sent to the dungeons, where they came from. One day (albeit centuries later) the monsters may once again roam the earth, resetting the endless cycle of history.

This repetition of history is hinted by the usage of various déjà vu in the film. Concept of time is all jumbled up for these eternal spiritual beings. The beach that Jeonwoochi draws up with his charm for the widow in the past is the same beach that Jeonwoochi and Inkyung go to later with the same Italian(?) music playing in the background. The scene of Jeonwoochi being chastised by his master is another déjà vu, reconstructed in this case by Hwadam. Through these two scenes specifically, Jeonwoochi travels forward in time, then backwards in time (respectively), showing the interconnectedness in time.

The mirrors present throughout the film represents a window into spiritual world and reflection of true self, but can also be thought of as a symbol for the ever-reflecting nature of history. Present reflects the past and the future. Mirror shows Inkyung her true identity as Pyohoon-Daeduk from the beginning of times.

How are water, paintings, TV screens related to mirrors? Why does Jeonwoochi emerge from them?

Message to the Murderer

Throughout the entire movie, I could not take my eyes off the screen. Although this was my second time watching Memories of Murder, it was just as good as the first time I saw it, or perhaps even better. However, one thing that was different was my attitude. Before when I watched this movie, I was focused more on my emotions. From what I remember, I was somewhat excited, scared, disgusted, and by the end of the movie, I had developed an extreme anger towards murderers and especially rapists. The director definitely did a great job of evoking emotions within me. This time as I watched the film, I tried to catch the intentions of the director and what he wanted to deliver. I was amazed by how detailed the director was and understood why his nickname is “Bong-tail” (he is very famous for being meticulous and embedding multiple layers within his plotline). There were so many underlying motifs and symbols, such as faces, grasshoppers, mirrors, tunnels, train tracks, meat, vomit, shoes, civil defense drills and stairs, just to name a few. These motifs gave way for a variety of interpretations, however I felt like sometimes they led me astray. The more I focused on analyzing specific details, the more I lost the big picture. 

          After seeing the last scene and meeting Song Kang-ho’s intense gaze I thought, “What was the director trying to say?” I thought that the director was deliberately trying not to pinpoint the murderer because that would defeat the whole purpose of recreating a movie based on an unsolved murder case. Although it is frustrating for the viewers, I think it was a right call to leave the movie without the culprit caught. After doing some research, I found out that the movie is a remake of the play Come and See Me, and the title of the play literally targets the murderer to come and see. In an interview director Bong said that he debated on whether the title of the movie should be Come and See Me or Turn Yourself In Or May You Rot and Die, which is what was written on the scarecrow in the first crime scene. After reading this interview, it made a whole lot more sense to me. When Doo-man looks straight into the camera and says “밥은 먹고다니냐” (translated as “Do you get up each morning too?”) I feel like he is directly saying to the murderer “How can you even be alive after doing what you’ve done?” I believe that this, along with Song Kang-ho’s eye contact in the last scene, is enough to speculate that Bong is sending a message to the murderer amongst the audience. The murders must not be forgotten and must not be conceived as mere memories.

Look at Me in the Eyes

Detective Park in Memories of Murder has a unique way of trying to uncover truths in his small town. His ways of trying to solve the murder are so unprofessional and because of that he is not successful in finding the murderer. Because of his lack of success a detective from Seoul is sent to help with the investigation. Detective Park’s ways of trying to solve the murder include tampering with evidence and beating false confessions out of people who are not actually involved. The weirdest ‘method’ of investigation was the way he always said, ‘Look at me in the eyes and tell me that you didn’t kill them’. This is absolutely the worst way to try and find a murderer or any person who is suspected of any wrongdoing, however he keeps asking it from every suspect. I knew right from the beginning there was something special about that line, but I couldn’t exactly pin anything on it except for the fact that it was unprofessional. After doing some research into the film (typing ‘Memories of Murder killer’ into Google) I came across many interpretations but the one that I believe to be the most accurate is the idea that when Detective Park looked into the eyes of Park Hyun-Gyu, he did not see a murderer, which is why Hyun-Gyu was let go. But when the detective returned to the scene of the second murder years later, a girl tells him that a boring and ordinary person was here some time back. When the detective breaks the fourth wall and looks into the audience, he is looking into our eyes, but he is also realizing that he was right in the beginning: Hyun-Gyu is the murderer, and the look in his eyes, the look of a normal person, was what the detective saw that night. It gives me chills to think about it. No other interpretation of the film involved those words, but they were so key to the story it’s almost impossible that they are not involved.

The June Uprising and Seo Tae-yoon

First and foremost this was a great film that I really enjoyed. Wish I watched it on a bigger screen because the mise-en-scene and the cinematography were amazing!

Back to the blog post – this is going to be an experimental one, so bear with me and bring your ideas on it to class!

One of the things that struck me when I watched the film was the reference to what is happening in Seoul, and the discussion of rural versus urban, and the battle of ideas, and the United States versus South Korea. What I am going to focus on here is how this all relates to the June Democracy movement of 1987.

When detective Seo Tae-yoon is introduced, he steps in as an intellectual savior who is coming in with new and rational ideas to help this superstitious, backwashed, rural, police station where the officers seems righteous, but misguided, by failed common practices. Where it is more important to do “something” than take the time, sit back, and analyze. The stupidity of the police officers is mirrored by their responses to the mentally challenged Kwang-ho Baek who unjustly is imprisoned and tortured until he comes up with the answers the officers want. In the background Seo Tae-yoon is analyzing the situation, taking his time, and coming up with conservative approaches to fight the murderer on the murderers on terms, by slowly and covertly trying to decipher who he is by analyzing the situation. To the other police officers great annoyance, that we see manifest itself in the fights between inspector Park and Seo.

In the background of the film we hear about the uprisings around the country. One of the times the murderer is allowed to kill is when the police force does not get extra troops on the streets because there is an uprising in Suwon. The other protest is also reported on (I think as it is in Korean) in the BBQ fight scene where Yong-Gu hurts his foot. What we are here talking about is the 1987 demonstrations against the regime and the initial June Uprising that led to the first democratic election.

If we mirror the film to the events before and after the June Uprising we can analyze the rural detectives as a metaphor for the long-term protest movement who has been fighting against the government for some time. Their methods are outdated and they are not able to come up with a long-term solution to the hidden violator (the murderer or the violent state). The character of Seo Tae-yoon is a representation of the white collar workers who are educated and do not see the methods of the officers (the early protestors) as worthwhile, but hopes that with new technology and a new methodology that they will be able to beat the violator(s)at their own game. And in a sense, yes they do break new grounds, they do get very close to catching the killer (overthrowing the old regime), but they are dependent on support from the United States. They do get the support, but in the end the help is not enough to get anyone convicted and, in terms of Korean government: Roh Tae-woo is elected regardless of the efforts by the June Uprising and the murderer walks away despite the efforts of Seo Tae-yoon.

The reaction of Seo Tae-yoon when he realizes that his effort has been in vain and that the murderer can walk away free causes him to act violently and try the old violent means that the others have been doing. The twist of the story is, then, that the rural officer, inspector Park, comes in and intervenes. Realizing that the murderer will walk away freely but that there will be other ways of catching him later, in time, with the right means. In terms of the June Uprising and the democratic election, the reaction of Tae-yoon can be seen as how the new white collar workers, who had been protesting in the hopes that Korea would change, also came to the realization that it did not work out the way they planned. They could have answered with going back to violence against the state, but chose differently.

This begs the question in the end of the film. Did the murderer get away? Is Korea still haunted by this violent state?