An early take on the classic Corean tale, Seong Chunhyang is a notable one as an early color film in Corean film history. The story, however, remains the same and director Shin Sang OK presents a far more straightforward film than director Im Kwon Taek, whose version I previously reviewed.
The story is about a noble son of a governor who meets the beautiful daughter of a courtesan, marries her in secret and then has to return to Seoul to study for a government entrance exam. Due to the secret nature of their relationship, Chunhyang is left waiting for his return, but encounters trouble as the new governor tries to take her for himself.
Perhaps I should have seen Shin's version first, as watching the story again, I found that Shin's version didn't leave that strong of an impression on me. Told fairly straightforwardly, it doesn't appear to catch the emotion of the latter version. However, the use of color is quite fantastic. The color is used to show off the wonderful costumes and art, but Shin and his cinematographer appear to use a number of filters to create somewhat more surreal moods for night scenes. One particularly interesting scene is a dream sequence that Chunhyang has; it has a very particular aesthetic, unstaged, that's quite striking. It almost makes me wish that director Shin had tried more fantastic films.
While the acting is capable, many of Shin's collaborating players coming out again, the leads do appear a little old for their roles as teenagers. It must've been a treat for audiences of this generation to watch one of their own films in color though, especially such a nationally treasured tale. Shin plays up the drama in the plot a little more cinematically, which some might find enjoyable and others, like myself, might find a little predictable.
Still, I can't help but be disappointed that such a capable director presents such a simple version of the tale. Not to say it's unwatchable at all and it certainly remains of historical importance. However, if you are to watch just one version of the tale, this one is not it. 6/10.
The print that comes on the DVD released by the Korean Film Archive appears to have been compiled of many prints and is a newer edit of the film, by the director himself, that is longer than most previously released versions. You might see some differences in quality between the reels and one section of the film appears to have subtitles burned into the remaining print, but it's still fantastic to see such an older Corean color film intact.
