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Movie Review: Sopyonje

A long time ago, when I was a film student in college, we had a series of frequently changing classes that were considered “national cinema” classes and as aspiring film majors, each of us was required to take at least one such class. While there wasn’t a hard and fast definition for precisely what the study of national cinemas was, at a basic level, it entailed watching a country’s cinema and its television programming to gain an understanding of that country and its people.

And for good reason too. There are many films, both commercial and arthouse, that can tell you much about different aspects of a nation’s identity and its history. Sometimes a film can strike the collective consciousness of a nation so much that its people are driven to watch it, making it a surprise box office success. Sometimes such a film can reinvigorate interest in elements of national or cultural identity, resurrecting dying traditional art forms and stories. And sometimes these films can even act as a window into the collective heart of that nation’s people.

Sopyonje is one such film.

It’s an art film that defied trends by breaking box office records with over million viewers just in Seoul. It became one of the only Korean films of the early 1990s that stood with Hollywood blockbusters in terms of overall admissions. And unlike those blockbusters, it wasn’t even shown in that many theaters.

A film in part about a traditional Korean folk music genre called pansori, it revived interest in the fading art form during the explosive early years of modern k-pop. The film’s reception in Korea itself was a national phenomenon worthy of Korean history books and it, more than any other film he made, identifies the trajectory of director Im Kwon-taek’s career from then on forth, continuing to explore matters of Korean cultural and national identity through cinema.

I would go so far as to argue that Sopyonje is essential viewing for anyone with a genuine interest in Korea and Korean cinema for its depiction of a Korea in transition and grappling with modernity, for its captivating examination of pansori and its artists, and for its rare ability to capture most purely on celluloid a complex sentiment of the Korean psyche: han.

All this is done from the perspective of Dong-ho (Kim Kyu-chul), who in then present-day Korea (1993), is searching for his long-lost family and reminiscing about the past. Adopted as a child by wandering pansori performer Yu-bong (Kim Myung-gon), he and his also adopted sister, Song-hwa (Oh Jung-hae), are raised to be pansori performers with Song-hwa displaying a particular proficiency and love for the antiquated art form. Meanwhile, Dong-ho struggles with both playing the buk, a traditional Korean drum, as well as with the life of an itinerant artist in an art form that is quickly becoming irrelevant with the rising popularity of both Japanese enka-influenced trot as well as American rock.

Although the story itself is actually rather simple, the choice to tell much of it in flashback allows for great immediate contrast between the past and the present, clearly showing a dramatically changing and modernizing Korea, which helps set up the parallel tension in Dong-ho between connecting to the past his family through pansori and keeping up with modernity and pointing to a significant element of identity lost in the pursuit of the present.

Simultaneously, this becomes a story of Korea as the country rushes to embrace a modern future, shedding its poverty stricken post-war desolation for new and exciting advancements from the West. Meanwhile, as Korea hurriedly adopts the socioeconomic customs and materials of the Westernized first world, it risks losing its connection to the many traditional elements that have defined it for centuries, as well as possibly the voice of its heart, its “sori.”

If there’s anything that Sopyonje gains from its generous art-film pacing, it is plenty of time dedicated to the powerful art of pansori. Admittedly, it’s probably going to be an acquired taste, but the moment that the first pansori singer in the film began her recitation (pansori is often used as a vehicle for telling traditional Korean stories), I felt chills running down my spine.

Written by and starring a devotee to the art, Kim Myung-gon, both he and fellow pansori singer Oh Jung-hae pour such passionate performances into the film that it’s hard not to be awestruck. The film has several emotionally potent musical peaks, including a moment in the final act where Song-hwa, having lost so much, is desperately trying to drive her grief into mastery of the art so that she can at least have that much.

The film’s finale is cathartically resonant, presenting director Im and writer Kim’s own personal discovery of the value of this tradition in making the film as they give Dong-ho and Song-hwa’s story a kind of closure.

The dialog in the film’s final moments actually mentions “han,” which drives home the overarching sentiment of the film. Han roughly describes a sorrow coming from helplessness and loss, which is a sentiment that Yu-bong and his children carry towards the music and towards each other, given Yu-bong’s dedication to the craft and the sacrifices the family makes for the sake of it as well as the decision Dong-ho makes in light of the harshness of his life.

This “han” is an undercurrent of much Korean storytelling, even today, and exhibits itself in the popularity of melodramas and well as stories of separation, loss, and sadness. What Sopyonje does remarkably is make this complex concept of han perfectly accessible through the story of the family in this film, the story of pansori, as well as in the parallel story of Korea that it tells through this family.

Im Kwon-taek has some of his strongest directorial moments in this film, including a remarkable long single-take scene as Yu-bong, Song-hwa and Dong-ho travel across a country road, having lost their singing jobs again due to Yu-bong’s pride, but find a moment of peace and even joy singing “Arirang” together. Im demonstrates a complete trust in his cinematographer, performers, as the genuineness of the moment, yet perfectly framing the shot as to capture the action through the whole performance while using the stillness of the shot to reveal some of the underlying han of the otherwise happy moment.

It’s this combination of strong direction from the veteran Im with immense musical and acting performances from the pansori performers that really light up this story. Given its artistic strengths, the nature of the story, and the particular moment in Korean history that Sopyonje was released, it’s not surprising in retrospect how the film struck a chord with the Korean people: it was telling their story through their roots and hitting a genuine underlying sentiment of the times through particularly empathetic storytelling.

Twenty years since its release, Korea has changed so much that it hardly resembles the world that even Sopyonje’s present depicts, but the film remains just as relevant now as it did when it was released in 1993. The film posits that even as Korea marches further into the future, sacrifices are inevitable and loss unstoppable. But the same Korea that has struggled through invasions, war, and even division, can continue on perhaps even because of its way of dealing with this loss, the han, represented in Sopyonje by the pansori.

Sopyonje is a masterwork of director Im Kwon-taek: an indelible contribution to the nation’s cinema that expresses the country’s past and present and provides a window into its soul though its story while putting on display its moving pansori. It is essential viewing for those with a sincere interest in Korea and Korean cinema and a powerful art film on its own. 10/10.

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I watched this movie a couple of weeks ago! I can honestly say it's a great watch, and super informative too. Thanks for the insight on the film!

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Thanks for the review....I like that refresh_daemon always brings reviews about films that I don't even know about as being a newbie to dramaland, I've only read about latest movies :-)

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Agreed - we are so dependent on the suggestions of others with more knowledge or exposure as we attempt to go deeper than the current trendy or melo. We find an actor or director or writer that we like and we explore that work, and it can lead us to others - but there are entire threads that we would never even see if it were not for reviews of older material, let alone the things we see but dismiss for lack of time or a pre-supposed lack of interest. I'm very thankful that DB is a place that is open to covering such a variety of work for us.

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Thanks!

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I'm so glad someone review this movie, first heard this drama in Strong Heart, and as you say, the pansore send chill to my body. Where can I watch this drama? I really want to watch it. Thank you :)

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It's a movie, not a drama. Just google it and you'll find a link on YT.

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Same here, I saw the pansori portion of this movie on Strong Heart and I was actually crying. The whole set was in silence and for a moment as refresh_daemon said everyone at that moment felt the sadness, separation (the han) of the character.

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The Korean Film Archive has made it officially available:

Korean Film Archive:
http://www.youtube.com/user/KoreanFilm/videos

Sopyonje:
http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=Z-MOMTUcVEc

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One of my favourite movies of all times. I agree with your review: anyone who wants to really grasp Korean psyche and the idea of 'han' must watch this movie. Actually, anyone who loves great films that are at the same time high art and as gripping as any melodrama, should watch it. Fabulous
!!!!!!

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definitelly adding this to my watchlist...the problem is where to find this film with sub.heu... nice review.thx ^^

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The Korean Film Archive has made Sopyonje, as well as a large number of other classic Korean films, available on YouTube, complete with English subtitles. They are presented unbroken and without commercials, except for the one that might show up at the top of the movie. The KFA's YouTube collection is a great way to see many classic Korean films.

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Thanks so much for this. Off to subscribe to the Korean Film Archive...and to watch this later.

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How come I'm finding this now!? It's a treasure trove! Thanks!

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I haven't watch this movie, but I heard about it sometime last year when I watched Arirang TV, I don't remember the title but I remember the pics and the outline story. Tthanks to you, now I know the title of the movie.. I can go hunting and watching right away... ^^

Thanks again~!

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i also watch this movie in arirang last year (another movie if i'm wrong was Ditto (Kim Haneul), Shin Hyun Joon's Buddhist movie, ChunHyang (Jo Seung Woo), etc. so sad they decided to not aired any classic movie anymore.

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Love, love, love this film. I've seen it many times. Anyone with an interest in Korean culture needs to see this film. If you're living in the L.A. area you should be able to find it at a dvd store, with subtitles. You might also check with the Korean Cultural Center. Not sure if they rent films or not, but I know they have a copy in their library. I think Criterion might have released a version. Also, Amoeba in Hollywood might have a used copy.

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I have access to Criterion Collection through HuluPlus, I think - thanks for the suggestion!

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You can watch this and other classic Korean films in the Korean Film Archive channel on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-MOMTUcVEc&wide=1

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There are no English Subs on it tho, right?

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Click on the captions button and choose English or Korean.

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Thank you.

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Watched "Sopyonje" about five years ago at one of the NorCal Asian-American film festivals. The entire screening audience was sobbing like babies as the credits rolled... and I am not ashamed to say I was one of them. As a musician, I studied pansori as part of a comparative genre class in college and although harsh to the ears upon first listening, the musicality eventually breaks through. Even without knowing the language that well, one can feel the pain, grief and joy being transmitted through the works. It's not known as the 'Korean Blues' for nothing...

I've seen several DVD rental outlets here in the Bay Area that carry the movie with subs. A little digging around on Yelp should point you in that direction.

Thanks for the awesome review and the 'walk down memory lane' -- and for reminding me I should really watch this again. Keep the posts coming!

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Thanks refresh_daemon for writing this piece on a great classic film. I watched it more than 20 years ago and till now I can still remember certain touching scenes like the reunion of the siblings, how she lost her sight... I cried buckets too.

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Oh god, just thinking about the movie makes me teary eyed. A beautiful film.

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I will definitely check this one out. My first pansori film was Cho Seung-woo's debut Chunhyang. It will be interesting to watch another one as I was fascinated by this art form.

Here's the YT link to Sopyonje:
https://www.youtube.com/movie?v=Z-MOMTUcVEc

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This brings me back. I cried so much watching this.

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I totally watched this in my Korean film class :] it was so goood. and sad. I remember when our teacher turned the light on at the end pretty much everyone was in tears.

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This film is really good! I watched it in my korean language class.

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Thank you for a review from a film-ie's viewpoint. As an adoptive parent of a now 25 yr old Korean born child, I watched this in 1993 and was overwhelmed. By the 'han', the music, the rich story telling, the unfamiliar emotional landscape and the need to dive more deeply into Korean culture and history and language. It was my gateway and I'm thankful I watched it with friends, both KA and not, who offered context as you have done. The internet was not so rich as it is now and this film began me on the journey that led to many Korean VHS rentals w/ subs when I could find them, and eventually to dramabeans, dramafever and Drama Crazy (the last of which has many Korean movies with subtitles free online but with ads). I've also gained a love of pansori from this film...now I need to go play the soundtrack..awesome music.
Thanks DB for being here.

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Saw the movie after the reading this review. Awesome movie.

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a seminal film for an adoptee trying to figure herself out. to this day, this film comes to my mind when i think of traditional korean music. it changed my life. and i have loved pansori ever since. it is impossible not to be moved to the core when the actress sings. thanks for posting about this!

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thank you for the review :)

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Thank you so much :). I've never heard of this movie before now I'm going to put it on my must watch list.

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Wow... I never thought this film review would appear... Twas a classic

I had to study this in korean literature class, and we analyzed the use of music, use of montage, and toned down acting in order to emphasize the story as a whole.

Good stuff (Y)

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This a very soulful and deep movie. Maybe it's time again to immerse myself in into this wonderful film portraying the heart of koreans and their culture.

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I watched this film months ago but I didn't watch it from the beginning bcs I tuned in late. However, the part where they finally met and play music together without exchanging much dialogues in a shabby room is the one I remember the most, simply sorrowful yet beautiful.

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I think there is a sequel to this called "Beyond the Years" made in 2007, which I have yet to watch but I will check it out now after reading this review.

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If there's anything I've learned about Korea, it's that they're in love with Korea and that they aren't afraid to completely and utterly rip off another culture in order to further their own.

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i watched this movie last year on arirang but didn't know about the title.
the girl who do pansori really awesome.

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thanks for doing these thoughtful, well-written reviews. i think that it helps other readers and me discover new Korean movies that are less mainstream and current, and it's a nice change sometimes to this site's usual yet still just as good posts.

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