Hyeomnyeo: Kar-ui gi-eok

An epic movie about an epic story. First of all I have to say that the cinematography is amazing. Maybe one of the best I've seen yet. And the battles were fierce. The atmosphere, the lighting, the clothes, the mood, the colours, everything worked so good with the vibes of the story, so credits to the director and his team. However, story wise, the movie was a mess. Following the steps of those sword battle movies that focus more on the battle, and less on the story, even though the tragedy premisses are set early on, the plot of the movie was not something unordinary, it followed a messed up pace, the conclusion was weak and the information provided about the characters little and just enough to keep you watching. So, 8.5 out of 10.

A cheerful happy girl named Seol-hee, whom is living in the Goryeo era of Korea, has what seems to be a beautiful adventurous morning. But at the end of the day, after participating in a sword match in the town square, and an odd encounter with a powerful military leader named Yoo-baek, she discovers a tragic, heartbreaking destiny has befallen her: she's been training herself in sword combat to eventually hunt down the murderers of her father, but she discovers her own caretaker, Wallso, is one of the villains who was there when it happened. Long ago, Wallso (then called Seol-rang), and Yoo-baek (then called Deok-gi), were leading an uprising, with Seol's father, Poong-cheon accompanying them. However, when it seems the desire for freedom and justice is about to come true, Deok-gi betrayed his partners, killing Poong-cheon, and Wallso escaping with the infant Seol. In the aftermath, Deok prophesies that Seol will kill him and Wallso when she comes of age. Without a shred of emotion or pity for Seol, Wallso reveals she and Yoo-baek are the enemies she must slay, before kicking her out of the house. Distraught, betrayed, shocked, and heartbroken, Seol tries to deny and drown her future out, but after losing a couple other people, whom were close to her, Seol transforms herself inside, accepts her destiny, and prepares to make her targets pay...with blood!

Kim Go-eun has become one of my favorite Korean actresses! Also having seen her in a thriller film called "Monster", and a TV show called "Cheese in the Trap", she amazes me once more as Seol-hee, first cheerful and free spirited, then heartbroken and betrayed, then born again, battle hard, and out for blood!

This is actually my second time watching this movie. First time, I don't think I payed attention too much, but this time, my focus was better, and I absorbed the story, emotion, and action much better. I enjoyed the other performances, action sequences, and some of the effects very much.

Although a few parts of the movie were still a bit hard to follow, I still enjoyed Memories of the Sword! I'd certainly recommend it for explorers of international movies!

This was okay. It was nice looking. It could have stood to have more fighting and less long sequences of sorrow. All the sorrow, which I guess is what the plot revolves around, could have been avoided if everyone involved had made less inexplicably poor decisions.

"Memories" seems to be a key word with this film, as memories are not always complete. Just as memories, so too poetry. A poem doesn't need complete sentences to be understood, it's more about the feelings that are conveyed. When I came to this realization, I enjoyed this film much more.

I guess the advertising for this film made comparisons to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? I don't know because I just borrowed this from the library & it wasn't until a couple reviews mentioned it that I heard the comparison. There are similarities, but that is all they are..

Don't focus on that for this film, enjoy it for what it is: a poem in cinematic form.

I love all the actors and enjoy historical dramas. Cinematography and martial arts/sword play/fantasy in this one are excellent. For me, the weakness and lowered score are because of murky writing leading to uneven plotting and unclear storyline. It's a shame because the actors deserved better.