Sword with No Name - Der Schatten der Königin

I've been watching more of the films out of South Korea lately, and have largely been impressed by the skill -- in acting, directing, and special effects -- that is apparent in many of the titles. This one is certainly no exception.

Having said that, I can't really speak to the historical accuracy of it. The central female character, the Queen, definitely existed and the film does seem to follow the rough details of how she influenced Korean history, but my impression is that some finer details may have been sacrificed in order to produce a more compelling film.

The filmography is beautiful, a blend of beautiful nature shots that make you feel like you're in the Korean countryside, quiet court scenes and almost Matrix-esque swordfight scenes that still flow together seamlessly.

The only difficulties I had with this movie were that, as with most subtitled films, sometimes it's difficult to follow exactly who the various characters are and the subtler nuances of what they are saying.

Overall a very well-done film that is well worth the 2 hours spent watching it.

This movie is so bad that I couldn't finish it. Believe me; I tried, suffering through an hour and 30 minutes of it. And even though there were only about 20 minutes of torture left, I just couldn't do that to myself. So this review isn't for the ending of the movie, which may have been the sweet ending to the very-sour beginning. I will never know.

As another reviewer mentioned, the editing of this film isn't very good. It terribly disrupts the flow of the story lines. Because of this, I simply couldn't "fall" into the plot and follow our protagonists along their journey.

When editing fails, the chemistry between the actors must pick up in order to make up for the audience investment. But don't expect that here. There was no chemistry between our star-crossed lovers, the Queen and the Bounty Hunter, making their romance unbelievable. And when that force of attraction isn't there to push the story along, the whole movie falls apart.

That isn't to discredit the acting. I thought the actress who played the Queen did a good job emoting depths of feelings, while the actor who played the Bounty Hunter was decent in his own right. Perhaps one should blame the casting director for putting two actors who didn't possess the magnetic pull towards each other into these roles.

As for the fight scenes? Less than mediocre. I always enjoy action, especially well-choreographed fight scenes. The ones in this film are far less than impressive. "Hit me here. Hit me there. I'll tumble here. And... we're done." I've been on a binge of South Korean movies lately, and I have been impressed by the acting, story lines, directing and editing for the most part. But The Sword with No Name is a stinker.

I first saw this film over a decade ago and loved it. I re-watch every few years or so. Yes it has flaws, but the relationship between the leads is warm and touching. I watched it for them and still love it to this day because they also are among the most talented Korean stars and made me love their characters. The film introduced me to Korean movies 13 years ago, and I've loved them since.

For me the beauty of the film, based on history but with a romantic overlay, is its story of the young queen's devotion to duty, as well as the swordsman's devotion to honor-and protecting her. He will not leave her side, and she is equally brave and stalwart. It is the story of a woman's love of country and a swordsman's love of her. And it's achingly beautiful.

It takes a bit of patience to get into this movie mainly because of the way it flowed and because the editing wasn't done very well. And sometimes seemed over the place a bit at times, but it's still a good movie and a well shown story. This isn't a mindless sword fighting movie but there is some actual meat in the story. This movie is based on a true story that has historical characters in it, but I am not sure how much is accurate. Especially because it has some fantasy like elements in it sometimes and comes off a bit fairy tale like...Well not entirely though. The plot mostly revolves around a man who is a bounty hunter, but falls deeply in love with a person that is soon to be the queen of Joseon Dynasty. She is a open minded queen that didn't mind building ties with other foreign nations, especially with Russia in order to stop Japanese influence. Since japan at the time tried to oppress and meddle in the affairs of Korea constantly. So there is some politics and rebellion going on inside and out. And while this is going on the man that fell for the queen doesn't give up his devotion to her and tries his best to protect her no matter what. This is a movie that probably won't grab the attention of the audience right off the bat, but as it progresses you will get more invested in it. If the development of the story and editing was a bit better this movie would have been great. If your looking for a bright and happy romance movie this won't be for you. But what is brings out is emotional and heart-wrenching story with great actresses and actors.

8/10

I watched this film because I fell in love recentle with Cho Seung.

Saw him in recent work, Stranger, life,Sisyphus.

He got my attention for his cool playing of stranger en though it was his caracter to do he made me curious. His he always his way, also with very scarse body language. I was delighted to discorver this wonderfull actor who coud express emotions and coud use his body so well.

Started lookin up his younger work and found Horse doctor with had me hooked also.

Now I found this early gem.

Especially I loved the use of the light in this film and the amazing fighting scenes, well performed by Cho Seung it was beautifully orchestrated.

The lead actress can express a lot withe her fine features and beautifull face. The chemistry between both was not that overwhelming but this is due tot the script.

This film I will not forget. End scene leaves you breathless.