La princesse du désert

Based on actual events, Korean diplomats were sent into China with military escorts in 1375. Remember Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages at this time, but in Asia they were an advanced civilization. With the rise of the famous Ming Dynasty in China and the waning days of the Mongols, the Korean emperor was eager to formalize ties with the new Chinese government. This is the story of one of the those diplomatic missions.

This is an epic film, shoot over 9000 miles of China's northern region. Covering plains, prairies, forests, deserts and coastline. The cinematography is beautiful.

Though this is a Korean film, it utilizes the famous Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who portrays a kidnapped daughter of the Chinese Emperor.

Throughout most of the film the Korean warriors speak Korean. The Princess and the Chinese villagers speak Mandarin. Interestingly the Mongols also speak Mandarin to each other, historically inaccurate but Mongols don't go to movies these days. Some of the Koreans can also speak Mandarin. This is accurate since the educated Koreans of the time, could read, write and speak Chinese. This film is subtitled in English.

This is a grand story of honor, sacrifice and overcoming overwhelming odds. The Korean warriors must fight the larger forces of the Mongols. Using tactics and strategies not unlike that which you can find in Sun Tzu's the Art of War writings.

If you want some insight into the culture and attitudes of the people of this region, Musa is the movie for you.

I think it was nearly a year ago that I came across the website and first started anticipating the movie eagerly. The site contained lots of stills from the movie throughout, and every single one of them was utterly beautiful, like it had been painted to perfection rather than captured in motion. It seemed unreasonable to expect the whole movie to look that good, but I was pretty sure that it was going to be impressive. With so much anticipation and hope for a movie, it seems almost inevitable that you are going to be disappointed when you finally see it. All the more surprise then that MUSA meets and surpasses my expectations in every way!

First things first, yes... it really does look that good! All the way through . Like Zhang Yimou's SHANGHAI TRIAD, practically every frame is beautifully composed and rendered, and could easily hang on a gallery wall somewhere. There wasn't a single shot that I could imagine looking better than it did. The production design is incredible, the locations stunning, the special effects groundbreaking (the gore). I can't imagine how much time and money must have gone into its production, let alone talent and dedication.

MUSA is epic in the word's biggest sense - I couldn't help thinking of Homer's ILIAD and ODDYSEY in many parts, and those are basically the two stories that the word 'epic' was invented for. It makes Gladiator, Crouching Tiger etc look positively inconsequential. The movie is also made with an attention to detail that is remarkable. It is certainly the most convincing evocation of [relatively] ancient times that I have seen. You will really believe that you've been transported back to 400 something AD China, where Zhang Ziyi happens to be a princess and Yu Rong Guang a Mongol general. I really felt "Yes, this is what life was like back then. This is how things looked, this is how people behaved".

Despite the epic nature of the story, the central focus is always on a small-ish cast of characters, each of whom is very well conceived and developed throughout the movie's course. I'd guess there's about 15 major characters in the story, and a significant cast of minor characters. The performances are all superb - I'm pretty sure the actors themselves were quite convinced they really were their characters. The believability is enhanced by the costuming, makeup and I guess just good casting - all the different factions involved in the story totally look the part.

No epic would be complete without battle scenes, and MUSA has quite a few. These are all stunningly choreographed and filmed, not in a HK style like Bichunmoo, but in a completely real style. Beautifully shot of course, but the men fight like skilled soldiers really would (I'm sure), and get wounded/killed equally convincingly. The special effects of arrows and blades penetrating flesh are sometimes shockingly convincing. This might be disturbing to some, but it isn't played for titillation - it just adds to the gravity of the experience. It may be a little conspicuous that the heroes all manage to dispatch many times their own body weight in enemies, but you've got to give them *some* leeway for narrative convention .

There is a lot of planning involved in the battles, of a military nature, and this is also very convincing and fascinating. Almost as large a part of the process as the actual getting down to it with the weapons. A very believable insight into how battles were waged in the days when a bow & arrow was as hi-tech as weaponry got.

Hmmm... is there any aspect of the movie I haven't gushed praise over yet? A nod to the soundtrack I guess - good, very fitting. Sound effects in the battles are excellent. Ummm... and the lighting is really good too .

A cursory nod must be made to the films flaws as well though, lest I leave the reader with expectations of *total* perfection. The main flaw is that the movie wanders rather too far into melodrama & a little cliche towards the end. It would probably be kind of cheesy, except that it's all so well done you can't get too upset with it .

Musa the Warrior, This Korean epic it's about an brave tale in era of the strongest ... All the elements of this film should be an great entrance's creativeness from the biggest & the greatest gate of the seventh art's , also that gate must be opens & specially for Korean-Cinema only! to given another arts a dose of dramatic realism through this film! actually , the historical exquisite cinematography characteristic has been found in Korea after this film "of course"!!

(( MUSA )) is a great film that combined the same appealing attributes of war and bravery in historical films.

10/10

HOT & GREAT congratulations of us to Korean-Cinema :-)

______(( must see and must own ))______

There is a nothing like a good epic film. Here is a fine entry to the genre from South Korea, a nation that doesn't normally make these sort of films. Film in China and staring the beautiful Zhang Ziyi it had potential.

Set in 1374 relations between Korea and the Ming Dynasty in China are at a low. The Koreans send a diplomatic mission to resort their relationship, led by General Choi-Jung (Joo Jin-mo). However when arriving in a city he team are captured and exiled from China. Left for dead in the desert their run into a Mongol army party which have captured Princess Bu-yong (Zhang Ziyi). The Korean party save her and hope to return her to Emperor, saving their mission. Within the party is Yeosol (Jung Woo-sung), a recently freed slave who was loyal to his master and excellent fighter with a spear. He and the Princess have an attraction to each other. After freeing the Princess, the Mongols are upset. There were hoping to use her as a bargaining chip against the Ming's China. They chase the Koreans and destroy countryside villages to get her back.

The story and plot are simply and believable within the context of the film; always good signs. Within the group many of characters and relationships are developed, especially Yeosol, the General, the Princess and Jinlip, the veteran of the group. Even the main bad guy has some nobility about him. The costumes and weaponry are excellently done. The warfare was brutal and shows woman and children getting killed, something that rarely happens in Hollywood films. The film is deliciously violence. My only real problem with the film, which lets it down is the action. It is good that the action is violence, but it is so overly edited and the shaky-cam make it difficult to follow. If the action was better then the would have been even better.

If you enjoy films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Conan the Barbarian and Red Cliff, you will like this film.

Someone insulted the Korean movie industry by stating this is one of Korea's best films. I must be honest, I couldn't get myself to see the entire movie, which is a rarity for me. By the time I decided to stop torturing myself the following had occurred in the movie.

1)The tempermental and rebellious "hero" who has a serious self control problem gets the entire ancient Korean Caravan in trouble with his psychotic propensity towards violence. The Caravan saves themselves and the hero with cunning and wit. 2)The "hero" puts the entire Caravan in jeopardy again by cutting off the head of one of the merchants. This time many Caravan members die but they still escape relatively intact. 3)The Caravan finds a way to escape from their dire situation but the "hero" puts an end to their salvation by doing something totally stupid and irrational. Again, the great leadership, solidarity, and fighting ability of the Caravan saves them from disaster.

By this time, I began to beg someone to have the senses to kill the "hero" who was getting everyone else killed with his irresponsible actions. Instead of languishing in frustration, I decided to use my remote control.

The "hero" is played by Jung Woo Sung, one of the worst, and yet one of the most popular, actors in Korea. The only characters he usually plays are the silent rebellious types who act angry all the time, probably to hide his lack of acting ability.

This was the most expensive movie made in Korea (few films have surpassed it since). Yet it was a box office bomb, and with a good reason.