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Audio Format: DD 5.1, DD 2.0 Video Format: Widescreen 2.35:1 (Anamorphic) Languages: Korean Subtitles: English Region Code: 1 Year Made: 2001 Running Time: 133
As the most costly domestic production to date, one wonders if the movie Musa, loosely based on an incident in Korean history, is really worth it.
The epic scale of this Korean-language drama is undeniably impressive, but efforts to lend authenticity to the story drag it out too long. The film is set 600 years ago in China, where Korean soldiers, dispatched as diplomats to the Ming dynasty, are regarded as spies and are not given the diplomatic immunity that is their due. Their lives threatened, they have no recourse but to return to their beloved homeland. They are ambushed during their flight by Yuan dynasty soldiers, and only a handful survive.
The leader of the diplomatic corps, General Choi Jong (Ju Jin-Mo), decides to lead the small band on their homeward journey. After a long march, they are ambushed by Yuan dynasty soldiers, who have with them a Ming dynasty princess, Puyong (Ziyi Zhang) that they've kidnapped. Entranced by her beauty, Choi falls in love with her, maintaining a vigil day and night outside her carriage.
Meanwhile, the valiant Yesol (Jeong Wu-Seong) is carrying his master's (Lee Ji-hon) body to a site for proper burial. When one of the Chinese troops defiles the corpse by spitting on it, Yesol is mortally offended. Beheading the offending party in a surprising and unceremonious attack, we, the audience, are left dazed by the suddenness of this act of revenge. The leader of the Won dynasty troops, General Lambuluha, now watches the heroic warrior carefully. Nor does the brave warrior escape the notice of the princess, who is entranced by his valor and esteem.
 Choi meanwhile finds a note from the princess appealing for help. He determines to place his men at her disposal, but guarding the princess proves to be a costly endeavor. Despite their valiant resistance, they are outnumbered by the Won dynasty forces, which relentlessly launch wave after wave of attack. Superior to the Won dynasty soldiers both in terms of strategy and skill, they somehow manage to fend off the attacks, but their numbers steadily dwindle.
While the battle scenes excite and enthrall, the dramatic dialogue and plot development hold it back. After two hours, the audience has had its fill. We were ready to go, but director Kim Seong-Su(e) insists on holding us hostage for an additional hour. The film should have ended after a single protracted battle scene at the fortress, but the filmmakers are intent on taking us through the entire saga.
The end product is so overly long that it felt as if we were truly reliving history. In one scene, a peasant actually gives birth while the fortress is under siege. While the incident lends authenticity to the tale, it seems incongruous and unnecessary in the face of the escalating battle.
The most impressive aspect of ``Musa'' is, unquestionably, the cinematography. During the early battle scenes, the camera work and lighting were both novel and effective. The strobe-light effect used seems to accelerate the action, even though it was filmed in slow motion. What makes the effect so impressive is that it transforms slow-motion sequences that capture every move into fast-paced action that has the audience on the edge of its seats.
Another interesting feature was the use of lighting to create an effect of vivid luminosity. The costumes appeared to be glowing in the early battle scenes, lit up by intense lighting that gives the warriors a ghostlike appearance, phantoms doing battle on a haunted battlefield.
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