Bichunmoo (Dance With Sword)

Bichunmoo (Dance With Sword)
by Young-jun Kim

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Movie Reviews of Bichunmoo (Dance With Sword)

Movie Review: A Film That Achieves Its Full Potential
Summary: 5 Stars

At the heart of the story are Jinha Yu and Sullie, whose tragic, star-crossed relationship is the thread that holds the movie together. She is rich and Mongol royalty; he is an orphaned Koryo commoner (or so we are made to believe), and fate refuses to let the relationship take place. The pair elopes and are hunted down by Sullie's family and Jungkwang, a young lord her family favors. Despite Jinha's expertise in the legendary Bichin Secrets, rumored to be the most powerful of all martial arts, passed on to him by a dying uncle, he succumbs to the pursuers and falls from a cliff. Sullie reluctantly marries Jungkwang.

The years go by and while Jungkwang is away on business, his castle falls quite easily to another faction, thanks to a group of highly skilled assassins headed by a bitter, darker, cold-blooded Jinha. Trouble follows as both struggle to reconcile who they once were with what they have become.

Bichunmoo trumps Crouching Tiger in that the story is self-contained, not a mere snapshot. We see Jinha and Sullie develop not only relationship-wise, but as children meeting for the first time and growing to adulthood. In contrast Li Mubai and Shulien (of Crouching Tiger) are captured in mid-life, with plenty of history between them the we never get to know. The cinematic feel isn't as grand, and is more like the Once Upon A Time In China series--basically shot like early Jet Li and Jackie Chan films.

But there is grandeur to it--the beautiful shots of Sullie mourning and waiting for Jinha, or her deceiving dance in front of the emperor, or the flashbacks to their childhood--all utilize the soft, slow-motion, leaves floating, silk flying atmosphere. The swordfights are somewhere between Crouching Tiger and The Duel--more CG special effects than Crouching Tiger and more choreography and martial arts skill than The Duel.

Bichunmoo has no real weak spots. The back story is extensive enough to make you feel like you know the characters, but not so overwhelming that it creates questions. The battles and love scenes all have a purpose, with no chance encounters or accidental street brawls. The lack of star power is in name only; Shin Hyun-Jun's brooding, tormented Jinha is convincingly depressing, revengeful and regretful, as Kim Hae-Sun's Sullie is beautiful, determined and vulnerable. Your girl can shed tears and use up the Kleenex, while you watch with dropped jaw at the spectacular metalwork, slicing and dicing with superhuman effects.

Be sure to turn the DVD language setting to Korean; it usually defaults to the Chinese voice, which will create an unsettling voice-not-matching-mouth viewing. Don't worry, the Korean cast is extremely talented. No martial arts or Asian film collection would be complete without it; other film collectors won't just be diversifying but upgrading their DVD shelves. A well-deserved five stars for the biggest budget film in Korean history.

Summary of Bichunmoo (Dance With Sword)