One of Korea’s highly anticipated attempts at the swordplay flick, The Duelist sets out to please the eyes, touch the heart, and intrigue the mind with a mishmash of genres at its disposal. Part cop mystery, tragic romance, swordplay and light comedy, the film initially goes in every direction, leaving in its wake odd tonal shifts and an audience unsure of what to expect. Yet, the schizoid genre isn’t the only problem once the film gets on its way, distracting the viewer with its dazzling visuals and fight choreography. It’s the faltering narrative.
The film begins in a busy marketplace during the Chosun period, where a mysterious masked man catches the attention of undercover cops, Namsoon and her older parter Ahn. The man shows off his impressive swordsmanship and then proceeds to dump a carriage load of nearly indistinguishable counterfeit coins right in the middle of a greedy, frenzied crowd. Detective work ensues as the cops begin to investigate the suspects behind the release of the counterfeit coins, which quickly devestate the economy. The trail leads Namsoon and the cops up higher on the political ladder, and back to the mysterious man, who is aptly given the name Sad Eyes. Namsoon falls for him, but the tragic circumstances of the investigation put them on opposite sides of the battle.
The Duelist plays out like a cross between Hero and The Twins Effect 2 with its combination of gorgeous sights and sound and an amateur narrative construction. Although the true power of the visuals does not fully emerge until at least the twenty-minute point, it makes its mark as director Lee Myung-se puts the film aesthetic goals at the top of his to-do list, and works meticulously on the settings, color schemes and lighting techniques.
The film is most ambitious in its light and shadow work—especially during fights when characters disappear right before our eyes as they step into the darkness and we only catch the faintest gleam of their blade. The action fails to compare to Zhang Yimou’s latest outings, but this is because Lee opts to push the fights even closer to dance, complete with exotic poses, graceful, over-exaggerated movements and hints of eroticism in our lovers’ bouts.
The film achieves its first goal, but forgets about the story in the process. It is simply baffling how a film can feel far longer than two hours, and yet say so little about its characters. When The Duelist winds down to its supposedly tragic climax, audiences won’t feel any different about the characters than they did in the first frame. They are barely one dimensional, inexplicably moody and just so distant that a dramatic romance is the last thing viewers will want.
There is little entertaining about the cops’ barebones investigation plot, the constantly mishandled tension and the film’s sheer aimlessness. The only elements of note are the neat shots and Ha Ji-won’s amusing bursts of energy. The Duelist is an interesting experience, but ultimately it’s like a family road trip from hell— full of nice sights, a miscalculated rock soundtrack and poorly planned points.
Reviewed by Tarun
