[HanCinema's Film Review] "The Way of Hwarang" + Full Movie

Hwarang, also known as Hwarang Corps and Flowering Knights, were an elite warrior group of male youth in Silla (B.C. 57-935). The protagonist of the story, Eojin-rang is one of those Hwarang, who, as the film begins, finds out that the fortress the rest of his Silla family was defending was stormed by the Baekje forces of King Uija, with most of his relatives being held captive. Along with another Hwarang, Moo Dal-rang, they decide to exact revenge by posing as clowns, in order to infiltrate Uija's palace. However, when, after some time spent in prison, they manage to get close to their goal, Eojin finds himself in love with Princess Ban-dal, the only member of the ruling family that is truly disgusted by the king's treatment of his subjects.

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Jang Il-ho directs a costume drama that functions much like a Hollywood title of the time, particularly through the general grandiosity of the production and a number of scenes that look like they came straight from a Western. This approach works quite well for the narrative in terms of entertainment, especially due to the evident big budget of the production, that allowed for shooting in a series of impressive exterior locations, with the same prowess applying to the costumes and essentially, every aspect of the production values. Furthermore, DP Lee Seong-chun has done a great job in capturing all the aforementioned aspects in an approach that aims at impressing, thus resulting in a movie that can easily be described as eye-candy, even if the quality of the film material is rather faulty. The occasionally quite lengthy and violent action sequences also move in the same paths, as much as the subtle but quite evident effort at sensualizing a number of women appearing in the movie.

In terms of narrative, however, there are a number of issues, since Jang's evident goal of including as many crowd-pleasing elements has resulted in a story that frequently makes very little sense. Starting with the abrupt flash forward with the two "heroes" finding themselves in prison, the way Eojin's father disappears from the story, and the whole concept of them clowning their way into the palace, not to mention the final decision the protagonist makes about his future, do not make much sense, even more so when one considers the many plot holes appearing in the story. In that regard, Jang Hyeon-su's editing also emerges as faulted, despite the fact that the relatively fast pace works quite well for the overall approach Jang takes.

The acting follows the usual "rules" of the Korean costume drama of the 50s and 60s, with a theatricality that frequently becomes over the top. Shin Young-kyun as Eojin manages to retain a sense of measure on occasion, but the same does not apply to Yang Hun as King Uija, who gives a rather hyperbolic performance in an effort to highlight his character's despicability, with the same applying to the majority of the cast. Probably the best performance comes from Moon Jung-suk as Princess Ban-dal, with her showcasing the righteousness and feelings of love from a member of the court towards a seemingly common man, with gusto. Even she, however, falls under the spell of intense melodrama on a number of occasions. 

"The Way of Hwarang" exhibits both the pros and the cons of mainstream cinema, in a production, though, that is quite easy to watch, even today.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"The Way of Hwarang" is directed by Jang Il-ho, and features Shin Young-kyun, Moon Jung-suk, Ju Seon-tae, Kim Jung-ok-I, Hwang Jung-soon, Yang Hun. Release date in Korea: 1962/09/13.