By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Je-yong Lee
Starring: Do-yeon Jeon | Han-il Na | Hyeon-jae Jo | Mi-suk Lee | So-yeon Lee | Yang-ja Jeon | Yong-jun Bae
Original language title: Joseon namnyeo sangyeoljisa
Country: south_korea
Year: 2004
Running time: 124
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380689/combined
Diane says: “I read that this is the 10th iteration of Les liaisons dangereuses to hit the screen. In this very erotic Korean version, set in the 18th century with its sumptuous trappings, director Je-yong Lee uses a subplot of underground Catholics to add to the flavor of risk and repressed sensuality.
“Bae Yong-joon outdoes John Malkovich in the role of the seducer of young chaste women who takes so much pleasure in his art–it helps that Yong-joon actually has sex appeal. (His previous experience is as clean-cut characters on TV dramas; he was not expected to do well in this nasty and complex role.)
“Folks who share my physiognomy-recognition impairment will face a challenge here: everyone wears the same costume, has the same facial hair and hairstyles. So stay on your toes!
“I don’t want to lump all my two Korean movies of this year together, but there are a number of images reminiscent of SPRING,
SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING. There is even some martial artistry. Especially if you’ve seen other versions of Liaisons dangereuses, I encourage you to see this one. Oh, and stay to the end of the credits for a short epilogue. A beautiful overlay of Korean culture on a French story. Best actor nom coming. 4 cats.”