Epic, bloody, and thrilling are three adjectives that best describe this romantic, historical feature from Korea. With exquisite cinematography, rich characters, and fierce action, Musa is a feast for the eyes.
To appreciate the scope of the film, a little background information is necessary. The year is 1375 and a time of historical significance for Asia as three kingdoms vie for dominance. The Yuan Empire, made up of the Mongol people are losing ground after the successes made by Genghis Khan nearly 300 years prior. Meanwhile the Ming Dynasty, made up of the Han people have come to power and a new ruler now reigns over the Koryu, who are the ancestors of present day Koreans.
An envoy of Koryu diplomats and escorting soldiers fail in their mission to meet with the Ming Emperor and are sent into exile. An attack on their Ming captors by a Mongol raiding party leaves the Koryu minus their diplomats and hundreds of miles from home. As they begin their journey back, they seize an opportunity to rescue a Ming Princess (Zhang Ziyi) from the clutches of a Mongol general (Yu Rong Guang) in hopes that they will be able to resume their efforts to meet with the Emperor. But, their troubles have only begun as the general vows to reclaim the princess or lose his life. After picking up a group of refugees, the Koryu make for a Ming fortress that turns out to be abandoned. There, the remaining handful of Koryu make their last stand against the Mongol attackers.
Despite all of this historical backdrop and gorgeous production standards to rival any David Lean epic, this film should not be mistaken for anything more than a rousing action film that gleefully depicts disembodied limbs and arrow shafts penetrating just about every part of the body. Director Kim Sung-Su had already established his finely polished, Hong Kong inspired action in contemporary films Beat (1997) and City of the Rising Sun (1998). In Musa, he’s taken a large scale martial arts film that usually trades depth for excitement and given it a dose of dramatic realism that should make any Ridley Scott or Mel Gibson jealous. Why? It is because the film lacks nothing as a historical epic and yet has better action sequences than most Hollywood productions of a similar scale and scope without resorting to the use of CGI characters.
In Musa, the chaotic nature of battle is filmed with a combination of jerky camera movements, slow motion, and lots of gadgets such as trick arrows and pedals that vault actors into the air. (I only know about the gadgets after watching the excellent behind-the-scenes footage on the 2-disc DVD). CGI is in place for a few minor effects such as long building shots and arrows impacting with bodies, but its hardly noticeable. On the surface the gritty way in which the action is filmed could lead you to believe that what you’re seeing is possible. But, this veneer cleverly masks highly romanticized action that genre fans relish. Case in point is Jung Woo-Sung’s character who appears to be a warrior of unmatched skill capable of tossing a massive spear into the skull of a Mongol while missing Zhang Ziyi who is being used as a shield.
While the combat definitely dominates the film, Musa is made so much better by the characters and performances of the actors who play them. In addition to the physical conflict between Koryu and Mongol, the film depicts a number of other interpersonal struggles between allies that enriches the characters and endears them to the viewer. The Koryu themselves are divided by a rigid class system as evidenced by a clear distinction between a dominate and more educated caste led by an inexperienced general (Joo Jin-Mo) and the lesser led by a seasoned fighter (Ahn Sung-Ki). At the bottom of the rung is a slave turned free (Jung Woo-Sung) who happens to be the group’s best fighter. He develops a subtle rivalry with Jin-Mo for the very subtle attention of Zhang Ziyi. On a side note, its always refreshing to see suppressed sexual tension, an aspect of Asian cinema that generally reflects their society at that time in history. Then you have the snobby princess at odds with the soldiers and her own people, even while she learns first hand what sacrifices they will have to make on behalf of her. Another mildly comical rivalry between a Buddhist monk and the group’s translator, a student of Confucius leads to one of the film’s more poignant relationships. The film does go overboard a bit by over-dramatizing some of the relationships. The worst is the unstated love affair between Ziyi and Woo-Sung. Their desperate efforts to sacrifice or help one another for this love constantly lead the group to disaster and are a source of constant frustration for this reviewer.
The linchpin in the cast is the star, Ahn Sung-Ki, a longtime actor playing the wiser veteran among the Koryu, who is constantly at odds with Jin-Mo over how to proceed. Not only does he look extremely convincing as a hardened warrior with killer bowman skills, but his subdued charisma is undeniable. While the flashier Woo-Sung is running about at his own whim with his mighty spear and mighty flowing hair, Sung-Ki becomes the film’s real hero as he keeps the group together and pulls them out of one jam after another with his tactical experience and deadly accurate archery. I couldn’t help but compare his action scenes to the archery of Legolas in The Two Towers. They could have made a film just about Sung_ki’s character and I would have loved it. In fact, the film probably spreads itself too thin with the focus on so many characters, including one of Yu Rong Guang’s best dramatic roles to date. Thankfully, they are all well developed and appropriately cast. I think for this reason Musa is one of those films that is even more fun to watch the second time to soak up all of the sub-text.
All said, Musa is a great period film with incredible action, splendid visuals, and excellent performances. It would have been nice if the musical score had used orchestration in place of synthesizers and pop music or if the last twenty minutes contained less melodrama mixed in with the action. But these are minor gripes for a film that delivers such an entertaining experience.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Musa (2001)
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