The film takes place in the X century, in the kingdom of Joseon, located on the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. At this time, the artist Zhang Seung Op lived there. He began to paint as a child, and in his youth was very popular among wealthy people who ordered paintings from him. Despite the external success, the artist understood that his paintings are secondary and filled with images borrowed from great predecessors and contemporaries. This caused constant mental discomfort. All his life he devoted to finding his way in art.
In the role of Zhang Seung Op starred the famous South Korean actor Min-Sik Choi, perfectly familiar from such films as “Oldboy”, “I saw the devil” and many other good films. Here he also managed to create a convincing image of the painter. His internal changes are taking place against the background of historical changes in the fate of his homeland. He did not like to work on orders, but it was necessary for physical survival. His best works he created on a surge of inspiration and gave to friends for free, with only one condition - not to sell. He was always interested in the fate of his paintings and once publicly refused the authorship of one of them, learning that it was used as a bribe to an official. He was not interested in money, only in the part that was necessary to buy paper, mascara and food with booze. His family life did not work out, but he needed women’s company, usually it was geisha and one of them he loved all his life. Alcohol and women gave him much-needed energy. Without them, he could not work even on royal orders and escaped from the palace, being deprived of access to the sources of his inspiration.
Im Kwon Taek (best director at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002) shot a picture on a topic close to each artist in the broad sense of the word - creative dissatisfaction, the search for his unique style. Something similar was in Takeshi Kitano’s film Achilles and the Turtle, but there the artist never achieved fame. This film shows that the same problems haunt people who seem to have long rested on their laurels. In Eastern painting, consisting entirely of symbols, it is especially difficult to find your handwriting. Each element of the picture carries its own semantic load and it can be read, like the text written in hieroglyphics. That is why it is so important at the first stage to learn to copy great masters, in order to comprehend literacy, and only then, having gained tools and experience, to create your own. These words Zhang Seung Op heard in the art Academy. These words are relevant today, Picasso repeatedly said this, and more recently, in one of the TV programs, I heard about the same idea from Alexander Gradsky, but it was already about music, which once again confirms its commonality for all creative people.
A strong part of the film is its artistic component, excellent authentic costumes, music that creates an atmosphere of the East, excellent camera work. The weak point I consider to be insufficient dynamics.
The picture should be seen by everyone who is interested in painting and history of South Korea.
9 out of 10