Directed by: Lee Myung-se (이면세) Starring: Ha Ji-won (하지원), Gang Dong-won (강동원), Ahn Sung-ki (안성기), Song Young-chang (송영창) Release Date: September 8th, 2005
Films made by director Lee Myung-se like Nowhere to Hide (1999) and M (2007) tend to leave me with a sense of confusion when over, and I find myself perplexed as to how to interpret what I just saw. On one hand, I’m head over heals for the visual style and unconventional editing techniques employed. But on the other hand, I find his scripts to drag in parts or even feel unnecessary or repetitive. His 2005 historical martial arts and drama film, Duelist, is yet another of his works that I wholeheartedly embrace both stylistically and visually, but there remains aspects of the director’s unorthodox flair that I struggle to digest.
Duelist takes everything one might expect out of a period piece or swordplay drama movie and flips it on its head. Duelist also fittingly seems to be a dualistic film about dualism. With so many dualities present within, it may be tempting to brush Duelist aside as being pretentious or contrived. But after some careful thought, I believe one can find an appreciable level of storytelling genius at work. There’s not only a good and evil, or a visual light and dark aspect to the film, but the characters and their very nature are also represented as being dual natured like flip sides of a coin.
Veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki (Sector 7, Musa: The Warrior) finds himself playing a sort of buffoon detective who spends more time drinking at the pub or peeing his pants when startled instead following clues and catching criminals. Yet he still manages to bumble through a pressing investigation surrounding a counterfeit coin operation that has rocked the kingdom with the inflationary prices of goods and services. The assistance of his adopted daughter and protégé, Namsoon (Ha Ji Won), whose determination to reveal the identity of a mysterious swordsman she’s fallen for, allows the lead detective to able to make inroads in the counterfeit money investigation.
The character of Namsoon played by Ha Ji-won (Pawn, Sector 7), is another beast in of itself. I can almost guarantee that you haven’t seen a character quite like this before. Many of these old style swordplay fantasies feature female warriors disguised as men, but the character Namsoon takes it few steps further and flips all gender expectations on its head. Her love for the mysterious swordsman begins with a mixture of love and curiosity at first sight, but soon after, and almost as if she was juiced with testosterone, she begins to rampage uncontrollably after the alluring and elusive swordsman with no name. She’s nearly driven out of her mind on several occasions as she gets lost in her dagger wielding bouts of affection.
Gang Dong-won (Peninsula, Illang: The Wolf Brigade) plays the mysterious swordsman, only referred to as “Sad Eyes” in the credits, and is never able to give his name to Namsoon or the audience, despite coming close on several occasions. Sad Eyes plays the complete reversal of Ha Ji Won’s character, Namsoon. Sad Eyes is not your typical hardened or black-hearted assassin. Instead, he’s a refined and graceful swordsman whose elegant movements and effeminate cat-like features have an alluring effect on Namsoon. He plays hard to get and teases Namsoon through her rigorous attempts at subduing him. They engage in a swordplay, that might better be described as foreplay, and in various dances of seduction led by “Sad Eyes” that lures Namsoon into his dark and forbidden world.
These high-flying and acrobatic duels of lovemaking are the most visually appealing sequences of the film. Sublimely shot and choreographed down to the finest of movements where intricate foot-work and penetrative thrusts of the sword are timed perfectly to a tango number on the soundtrack. If nothing else, these scenes alone give Duelist a one-of-a-kind visual aesthetic that more than make for worthwhile watch.
But courtship between Sad Eyes and Namsoon is to be short lived, since Sad Eyes is being used as a tool by his adoptive father, the Minister of Defense (Son Young-chang), to create a stink with the counterfeit money operation in the hopes of displacing the current young king with a more favorable relative. In this way, the contrasts between the two parent-child relationships become increasingly stark and almost Shakespearian in nature like House Montague vs. House Capulet.
With the Defense Minister and Sad Eyes’ noble household being more refined and of upper class, they remain blanketed in darkness with their corrupt motives and shady dealings that have put the land in turmoil. They speak in formalities and are robed in the finest cloth. But their affection for each other resembles that of a master and his show dog. Sad Eyes has been groomed from birth to obey the orders of the Minister. The rival house, being that of Detective Nam and Namsoon, are both blue collar townsfolk who cherish a hot meal when possible. Namsoon never uses formal speech when speaking to her father-figure who, unlike the Defense Minister, is unrefined and shameless. Detective Nam sees Namsoon as his only family, and wants nothing but the best for her.
Both families struggle with occasional infighting and loyalty tests in their own ways that intensify as both the son and daughter’s love dilemma heats up. Namsoon is unable to lock up Sad Eyes as the wanted man he is, and Sad Eyes can not eliminate the police threat to his father’s treasonous plans. On opposing sides of the law, the young star-crossed lovers face unbearable odds in seeing their love through, and their only hope of survival is to somehow find a way to work together. With all the political power of the kingdom in one corner and the strong arm of law enforcement in another, the two sides will meet to reach a boiling as their love spills over.
Unfortunately, Namsoon never gets to learn the true name of the character Sad Eyes since the couple’s short-lived love is cut short. It’s also quite possible that Sad Eyes himself doesn’t remember his own name after being lost down a path so dark and hollow for so long. Instead, their time together becomes something like a faded dream, and the hope for a love so true will live on to be realized another day.
Often described as an impressionist filmmaker, the works of Lee Myung-se defy many of the rules defined by the film industry in terms of camera movement and editing. Like a free-form poet or a painter, he takes full liberty in his use of the film medium and all its corresponding tools and components such as lighting, editing, camera movement, costume design, sound, and performance from his actors as instruments to construct his cinematic mural. In this way, Lee’s films come across as rather pure, almost like a child playing with their toys and without rules. And for the avid film viewer, there’s something very liberating about his work in these regards. But don’t get me wrong, his films like Duelist still feel to be in the hands of a careful craftsman, and the potentially jarring nature of the finished product may be intended.
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