Bichunmoo (2000)
6/10
Wonderful Art Direction but too Long, Confused and Melodramatic
6 September 2009
In the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian Empire with the descendants of Genghis Kan rules China. In this environment, the poor Jinha (Shin Hyun-June) is raised by his uncle that teaches him the secret martial art of the Bichun. The daughter of a concubine of the powerful General Taruga (Hak-cheol Kim), Sullie (Hee-seon Kim), is raised with him and they have a crush on each other. When her mother dies, Sullie's father brings her to the Taruga House and she tells Jinha that she would wait for him. But the general promises her to the powerful Chinese lord Namgung Junkwang (Jin-yeong Jeong) to increase his power with the alliance. When Jinha's uncle is lethally wounded by warriors that want to know the secrets of Bichun, he discloses the Korean royal origins of Jinha. While traveling to meet Sullie, Jimha befriends Junkwang without knowing that he is the man that will marry Sullie. Sooner Jinha is betrayed and almost dies; along the years, he fights against the Mongolian Empire. When he meets Sullie again years later, she discloses a family secret to him.

"Bichunmoo" is a movie with a promising beginning and wonderful art direction, costumes and soundtrack; unfortunately it is also too long, with a confused screenplay, and melodramatic like a soap opera. In a certain moment, the story becomes messy with many betrayals and confused situations and it is hard to the viewer to know who is who. In 2000, "Bichunmoo" was the most expensive Korean movie ever made. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Bichunmoo, A Saga de um Guerreiro" ("Bichunmoo, the Saga of a Warrior")
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