Dorihwaga

Saw this film a while back, and was floored by the stunning visuals, emotionally engaging plot and masterfully executed acting.

Imagine my surprise when i checked imdb to find out it had a 6.4 average rating.

I. I've not been a Pansori fan prior to seeing this film so I can't critic it's accurate depiction in the movie, nevertheless the Pansori scenes where the films highlights and actually enhanced my experience.

2. The lead Actress did a phenomenal Job and I can't understand why most people didn't appreciate her performance.

If you're a Kdrama fan going into this film excepting similar tropes, Pls just skip.

Suzy Bae is watchable as always and tries hard. There have been criticisms about her voice. I don't know what a female pansori voice should sound like but her voice is her voice. Sweet not wailing and strident. Still who would watch a movie about pansori without an appealing star in it? The punishment seemed extreme. Why didn't she just give up? The story is quite interesting and is based on real people. Her love for the teacher seemed a bit icky given the age difference.

Frankly the pansori music does not sound that great and has to be enhanced with orchestral soundtrack. Still the story is interesting to see the historical events.

I'm a huge Suzy fan but she's not fit to play as lead in this movie. Her vocal aint that good enough to be 1st female master singer whatever the title is. And she's too pretty or modern looking.

Had they pick/choose cast that look ordinary & fit for Joseon classic timeline actress with powerful/good vocal for sing/poet-ish then the movie would be better!

Cinematography is good, the color, costume are great but..Suzy..her face is too modern for old classic tale movie So yeah 5/10 is the best I can give, not sure how it got 100% on tomatometer probably some Suzy fans vote 100% on it.

A nice adaptation of the true story of Jin Chae-seon. Perhaps not quite a 10/10, few if any are in honesty, but far from a 1, so why not give it 10 to balance the ridiculously low scores.

An enjoyable film from the perspective of anyone that can appreciate Pansori and the history of what Koreans had to endure under the class disparities of Confucianism of the Joseon era. That Pansori developed as a music for the people rather than the Yangban, which it satirised, it was nice to see this woven subtlety into the narrative.

Like a lot of Korean film it was beautifully shot. And of course heart strings are tugged. Maybe romanticised and stylised, but people want that I guess if you're going to go for a mainstream audience.

My only gripe was the addition of orchestral music that I feel clashes with the essence of the Pansori... but that's a minor thing overall.

And was that an Ahn Yi Ho cameo in the first scene with Jin Chae-seon as a child? His voice is unmistakable!

Obviously many Suzy fans did the reviews here LOL Anyway, here's my unbiased take on the movie. The male lead's known for being a great Korean drama actor. Unfortunately, even he couldn't carry the full burden of this awful movie. The female lead, though I'm not a fan should've considered the role carefully before taking on the challenge. Pansori is not your basic singing hence, not everyone's cut out for it or could it effectively. I'm a big Song SoHee fan & if you've heard her sing you'd know what I'm talking abt. Suzy's so-so voice & below average acting isn't fit for the role. No offense to her fans. Maybe if Suzy played the role of a karaoke try-hard wannabe singer it may have suited her better. Some people complain the storyline is boring, I don't think so. Historical movies or dramas in my opinion, are some of the best ones out there since it depicts & shares important events in a nation's culture & history.