I wanted to comment on the state of Namwon before the governor left for Seoul. The storyteller did a fantastic job of eliciting color from his words and through cinematography we could see this color and the connection it had to the land. The pavilion was a thing of beauty to be absorbed by the people of Namwon. The leaves were falling, a bird warbled in the distance and the happiness of young girls gleamed around the forrest swing. This is all important to look at because things begin to change when the new governor comes into town and immediately makes his presence felt by condemning the man who interrupted his entrance to a flogging.
The most significant change I saw was the view of the pavilion. At first, it is as if it is a shrine of some sort and carried some mystical qualities. After the new governer comes, he has his birthday celebration there and completely defaces the mysticism of the structure, almost mocking it. It was fitting that the kings men stormed the pavilion to reclaim it for spirituality and the good of Namwon.
Another thing I noticed was that it was a governor (her father) who brought Chunhyang to life, a governor's son who taught her to live and love, and a governor who tried to take all that away from her. Just something to think about.
Also, anyone who has interest in cinematography and color use of a storyteller should go see the movie HERO with Jet Li. It was made two years ago and was just introduced to the States. The whole movie is in Chinese.
-- Bob
Posted by robert at September 30, 2004 05:51 PM