Movies - Duelist

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	Movies - Duelist

The South Korean movie Duelist was released in 2005.

It is a feature film, running 111 minutes, shot in Cinemascope. (The original title translates as "the detective," though posters include the English title.)

Story line

In a town in Joseon-era Korea, a female detective tries to figure out how/where/who/why someone is counterfeiting A LOT of money. She meets the duelist, and becomes obsessed with him.

In southwest central Korea sometime during the Choseon dynasty, perhaps a couple of centuries ago, an elegant young masked master of the sword fascinates the people of the market-place. In order to steal a gold Buddha, he sends a horse-drawn cart plunging through the narrow passage-ways, finally crashing and disgoring a mass of coins. The distraction is a success, and the duelist (Kang Dong-won) escapes; though not without a chase by the rough-hewn young woman detective Nam-sun (Ha Ji-won), herself a master of armed conflict in the form of paired long-knives. After it is discovered that the coins are counterfeit, the police do their best to catch the duelist and his gang, but the duelist eliminates most of those after him. The young woman and her boss, a middle-aged man (Ahn Seong-gi), are assigned the job of tracking him down, an assignment she eagerly takes on. During her efforts, she battles the duelist more than once, proving to just about his match in combat. But not in love. The duelist is always cool and calm, whereas her love for him, abetted by her raucus character, makes her a mouse that his cat-like character and moves can toy with. Thus, even the police's plan for her to go undercover in a high-class house of pleasure go humorously awry, as she literally tumbles for him. The movie draws towards a close as the police first throw her off the case and then discover the hide-out where the counterfeit coins are minted. Scores of police surround the duelist, the superb elder swordsman (the only person who had been able to even nick the duelist in combat and who had told the duelist that he loved him like a son) who runs the cat-house, and their colleagues in crime and lust. Soon only the duelist and the brothel's owner stand against the mass of law enforcers. ... After their deaths, the movie continues, and the duelist appears once more in front of the young woman. In a sort of denouement, the two of them float in a three-dimensional combat and dance.

Characterization

The movie is quite impressionistic, with extensive use of slow motion, freeze frames, multiple images, and varying perspectives. The film is shot in brilliant, saturated hues, with strong reds perhaps predominating. Black, white, blue and a smaller amount of yellow are all present in concentrated form. Although the movie is about a duelist, its sword-fight scenes are highly stylized and choreographed more as dance than conflict. Little blood is shown in spite of the obvious killings in some scenes. There are long stretches in the movie where there is no talking -- only action, suspense, dance, or humor. Much of the movie involves the duelist and the female protagonist in stylized individual combat against each other, combat that is clearly evocative of violent mating rituals of some animals. At times, they come within inches of a kiss, but as long as he lives, it seems their lips never touch. While the movie is a love story involving an outlaw and a woman on the side of the police, humor is continually brought in. Although the film is rich in historic details, it is not intended to be a strictly accurate period piece. Thus, certain details, e.g., of clothing and color as well as accompanying music, are not strictly accurate.

Credits

Cast

하지원 (Ha Ji-won
)
강동원 (Kang Dong-won
)
안성기 (Ahn Seong-gi)

Staff

Director: 이명세 (Lee Myeong-se)
Screenplay by: 이명세 (Lee Myeong-se)
Photography by:
Music: 조성우 (Jo Seong-woo)

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