MovieChat Forums > Muyeong geom (2005) Discussion > Mostly eye candy

Mostly eye candy

posted 18 years ago by williamli
12 replies | jump to latest

I saw an extended version of 116 minutes (that's almost two hours). In this version the pace was excruciatingly slow. The shots are pretty, but please editors, make it more snappy the next time!

I find the title weird. I keep expecting some magic of the sword, but no show. This film could better be named "Back to Balhae" or something, because that's what it's all about.

This movie is very beautifully shot, with excellent art direction and costumes. The stuff on screen really is exquisite and should satisfy costume-afficionados and the artists among us.
The actors do a good job too, no overacting or amateurish stuff, but at times over-directed it seems. The two main actresses are very pretty, so very nice to look at. Clearly intended to attract the mainly male target-audience, I guess. It always works dammit :P
The fighting scenes are okay and very enjoyable, but they miss the rawness and directness seen in HongKong martial arts movies.

So bottomline: a rather enjoyable movie, which you'll forget in a week or two.
Good shot by the Koreans at the Wuxia genre though. Keep 'em coming!

[–] Brigo 17 years ago

About the title I think you should think more of the symbolic significance of the sword - not magic.

As it is put in the movie the swords serves to preserve the things you love,it is also mentioned, as a belief, that every sword gathers the souls of those it killed. In greek mythology the soul is represented by a shadow - so a shadowless sword would mean a sword never used to kill, thus a sword used only in defence.

Of course this theory is flawed by the fact that we can see Soha kill a large number of people in the movie.

[–] t-a-hall 17 years ago

frenskiserviz, I agree that the theory is flawed, but I think you're working along the right lines. The conversation in the cave and during the final fights with Gun Hwa-pyung suggests that perhaps what matters most is the intentions of the sword's wielder. Hence one who respects their defeated foes as Soha does will still have a shadowless sword, unlike those who kill vengefully and take delight in it.

It would appear the prince may be saying something of the sort when he says to Gun Hwa-pyung, "That sword is not the secret sword you think it is … The true sword is the valuable spirit of Soha's" (Or so my subtitles tell me)

[–] nismohalos 17 years ago

The sword doesn't have any shadow because the the actors used it all up on their eyes.

[–] Brigo 17 years ago

there was plenty left for Jack Sparrow to make two more movies so stop complaining :)

[–] zoso8_thegreat 16 years ago

I just finished watching the film.

I mostly agree with your comments.

If it wasn't for the action which at least had some unique choreography, stunts, and tricks, I would have barely given this movie a 5/10. The story was on the weak side, obviously weighing in on the character development for flow and persuasion. The characters were not very strong either. I thought that everything was very basic with exception to the mise-en-scene elements.

No doubt that the visuals including costumes, art direction and action are superb. But that's all that stands out!

The ending scene was a HUGE Braveheart rip-off. The script was redundant many times, reiterating at least half a dozen times that the sword is actually meant for protecting something valuable rather than killing. Okay, I get it, after the 5th time a different character has to say that slightly different than the other.

It's also very insulting to watch a ton of action that's so unbelievable. All I gotta mention is the underwater scene: enough said. A complete moron would have to notice how farfetched that scene is.

Anyhow, I don't like ripping apart films, but I have to be honest. I like to acknowledge the positive elements as well.

If you are a fan of 'House of Flying Daggers', and 'Crouching Tiger', you'd probably like this film. If you are not a fan of these sub-genre films, STAY AWAY.

Then again, it's not like Hollywood makes much better action films, haha.

[–] jacowium 16 years ago

Zoso, you make some very good points, although I did enjoyed this movie fully. Sure, this is not a movie to stimulate any profound thought processes, but as a big-screen-&-surround-sound experience, I thought it passed the tests. The eye-candy factor helped, however 'shallow' that may be.

Where I definitely do differ from you, is where you'll use the word "farfetched", I'll use the description, "make-believe". Maybe the underwater scene probed the limits of make-believe, but sometimes that's the point (in my opinion).

Another problem is, people will always compare movies within a genre. That is bound to leave anyone dissatisfied with 50% or more of the movies viewed. It works better for me to just appraise every film on it's own merits. In this case, I did spot some screenwriting flaws and the overall plot was rather simple, but more importantly, I walked out of the cinema afterward thinking, "yeah, enjoyed that". And I'd love to see it again, simply to enjoy some of the impressive and somewhat original battle scenes once more, such as the cloth-fighting scene between the two female leads, and also the underwater scene - even if I do have to suspend belief to enjoy that.

Because some scenes are good enough for repeat viewing, I'd even say Shadowless Sword helps to justify the existence of movie-DVD's... if only it was available for sale in South Africa! *sigh*

[–] zoso8_thegreat 16 years ago

Hey Jaco,

You also make some good points.

I suppose everybody has their own manners of describing what they saw, or what they felt. I thought that the story had overall indicated these people as normal, as opposed to being supernatural. Then again, they do fly in the air and all that stuff, that might take away from the idea of having any normalcy to them. However, they are human, but they're not David Blaine(s) so it seemed kinda ridiculous for them to be invincible to bullets and hold their breath for as long as the editor decided was necessary.

What I did like about what you said is the notion of suspending one's belief at certain times for certain films. I agree that at the end of the day, fiction is fiction for a reason. If a film is enjoyable to someone for the most part, and it happens to have a flaw here and there, it is not only natural but obligatory to disregard such flaws. And I appreciate that you enjoyed the film more than I did, which led you to become less bothered with this underwater scene.

At the end of the day, everybody's going to react to every movie somewhat differently. I want to emphasize that I do not think this movie is crap, nor does it not deserve any merit. And I hope that I didn't come across as too rash. I guess that my reaction at the time was very emotional, having just finished watching it.

Lastly, I should mention that I watched it on my computer with my headphones on (not nearly the same experience in quality as watching it at the theater). So, I would admit that I may have enjoyed slightly more had I had your experience.

BTW, here in Canada it has been officially released so if you like it enough, I'm sure it could be available to South Africa now or soon.

To yourself and anyone who liked "The Legend of the Shadowless Sword", I recommened a film called "Joong-Cheon" in Korean (romanized)--in English "The Restless".

Keep supporting films and especially Korean films. South Korea is the hidden gem of the world's filmmaking, in my opinion.

[–] jacowium 16 years ago

Cheers zoso8, I enjoyed your reply, and I enjoy discussions on this level, thanks.

The length of time the characters stayed underwater is the most questionable aspect of that whole sequence, as after all they are human - you are quite right there. Perhaps it would have been better if it had been condensed to some extent. They could have dropped the scene where she exhales air into him, for example - he turned out to be quite the martial arts expert himself. Although we were still meant to believe he needs her to survive.

The scene did remind me of a battle scene in "Hero", where the Maggie Cheung character also "deflected" hundreds of spears using her robes - which is pretty far-fetched too, but as a visual spectacle, it pressed the right buttons for me. That's partly why I appreciated the underwater scene in Shadowless Sword too... it just looked good on the big screen. But I can well understand that it may seem somewhat silly on the smaller screens. Anyway, I'm probably a sucker for the eye-candy effect!

Thank you for the Joong-Cheon tip, I'll keep my eyes peeled for it in local dvd-rental shops. And will look out for other Korean films available in South Africa - though there will not be many. We're being culturally starved here, not only by the governments but also a mass preference for mainstream releases (not unique to SA, I know!) Some rental outlets near my home do cater for a wider variety of tastes, but it's pretty difficult to pick good Asian movies up for sale, sadly.

Enjoy your future cinema joys!
Jaco

[–] greenwolf777 15 years ago

the women in the movie are the true "eye candy"!

Hot Hot Hot!

Admire those that are seeking the truth, and run from those that claim they have found it!

[–] zoso8_thegreat 15 years ago

Hey Jaco,

It's been months since I've made a reply, but nevertheless I feel I should give you a tip.

If you're still unable to access a lot of south-east asian films, I simply recommend that you download them (via torrents). I don't usually like to encourage piracy, but when it is an option, and certain films are not accessible within your country, it is the only option.

After all, piracy does create exponentially higher exposure for artists. That is the double-edged sword of piracy.

I would also recommend an American film (a co-production with South Africa, I believe) called 'Catch a Fire'. It's about the partide during the early 80's, starring Tim Robbins. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, so I digress. I could talk about films for hours.

Best of luck. If you need any other tips, feel free to reply.

Cheers,
David

[–] jacowium 15 years ago

Thanks David,

I'll keep my eyes peeled for 'Catch A Fire', shouldn't be too difficult to get hold of a copy here. And I agree with your take on piracy... methinks if it's possible to get a legitimate copy of anything, then there is no excuse to 'steal' the work of others. However, when it is not possible, then there is no real harm done.

I'm rather fortunate enough to be on familiar terms with some of South Africa's fine musicians, whose works are unfortunately not obtainable beyond our own shores. I have sent many copies of their recorded output to friends and other associates overseas (for free), but will never make a copy for anyone within South Africa. I've discussed this with a few musician friends, and they're all very happy that I send their music overseas the way I do. They don't expect any returns for it, as the idea that their music will now reach others who'd probably never hear it via legal channels, is reward enough for them. And who knows, it may open a door or two for them in the process. As you said, it's a double-edged sword.

I've thought about downloading via torrents, but I can only feasibly do that at work - but it would be tricky to do and get away with it. Proper broadband for home use is expensive when large downloads are required, unfortunately. (Courtesy of SA's woefully corrupt and incompetent Dept. Of Communications.) But it is an option, I just have to try hard enough.

Re "The Restless", which I never thought I'd see on a shelf here... well, I did find a copy of it in a specialist store in town a while back, but didn't have any means to pay for it. A week later I returned, only to find it'd been snapped up by someone else. Disappointment. Ordering another copy through the shop would be another costly process, but I do hope to find it somewhere else still. Or I'll get it downloaded one day.

Thanks for all the useful tips, it's good to know my enthusiasm for films and quality entertainment is shared by others!

Cheers,
Jaco

[–] Neo_v7 15 years ago

i dont think you understood the reason why they called it 'Shadowless Sword.'