Musa (film)
Encyclopedia
Musa released as both The Warrior and The Ultimate Warrior in English-speaking countries, is a 2001 South Korean epic film directed by Kim Seong-soo
, starring Jung Woo-sung
, Ahn Sung-ki
, Ju Jin-mo
and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi
. The semi-historical story follows the adventures of a Korean peace delegation as they try to get back to Korea through the inhospitable deserts of northern China.
The film is regarded as being one of the biggest motion pictures in the history of South Korean cinema. At the time of its production its budget was the largest ever for a Korean film. It features a high degree of historical accuracy in period costumery, props, settings, and most unusually, language; that is, everyone speaks in their native tongues or through an interpreter conversant in a lingua franca
.
The Koreans flee with the princess, determined to return her safely to the Ming emperor to atone for their diplomatic failure. The Mongols pursue, hoping to recover the princess and marry her to their khan
so that he may legitimize his claim over all China. Koreans head for a seaside fortress that the princess tells them about, where they expect to find safe haven. Along the way, the Koreans pick up a group of Chinese peasants who are also fleeing from the Mongols.
Fighting their way through Mongol search parties, the group experiences many internal conflicts stemming from social class, love, and honor. The lower-class soldiers chafe under their poor treatment in comparison to the soldiers of the upper-class. They have little confidence in their young general, and prefer taking orders from their veteran sergeant, Dae-Jung. The princess has difficulty adjusting to the rough necessities of her position on the run. Choi-Jung and Yeo-sol become nemeses, competing for the affections of the princess and exchanging blows on several occasions.
The group reaches the fortress, only to find it an abandoned ruin. As the group prepare to mount a last stand, the princess attempts to give herself up to the Mongols. Yeo-sol and Choi-Jung recover her but Yeo-sol is captured. Rambulwha offers a place in his army for Yeo-sol, but as the Mongols mount an offensive, Yeo-sol returns to the Koreans. In the final battle, the Koreans' gunpowder defenses backfire. Yeo-sol sacrifices his life to save the princess, while Choi-Jung dies fighting Rambulwha, who is also killed. All the Mongols perish, while all the Koreans are killed except Dae-Jung. The princess stays with the peasants at the fortress and promises to tell her father of the Koreans' sacrifice. Dae-Jung builds a boat and sails back to Korea.
- the first Ming emperor (as of 1368) - but he and his party were reported to have been exiled and there was no record of their return to Korea. At the time, the Ming government was unhappy with Korea as the Korean government continued to acknowledge the Mongols as the legitimate rulers of China (this was true until 1378). Eventually the Koreans managed to gain favor with the Ming government and the relationship became very cordial.
The film also portrays the political conflicts in China at the time, between the fading Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty
and the new Ming Dynasty
that returned China to Han Chinese
rule.
Kim Seong-soo
Kim Seong-soo is a South Korean film director, known mainly for Musa and the comedy Please Teach Me English.- As director :* Beat * Musa * Please Teach Me English * Running Wild...
, starring Jung Woo-sung
Jung Woo-sung
- Career :Jung Woo-sung was born in Seoul on March 20, 1973. After first finding work as a model, he made his film debut in the 1994 movie The Fox with Nine Tails, together with Ko So-young...
, Ahn Sung-ki
Ahn Sung-ki
Ahn Sung-ki is known to the public as the "National Best Actor of Korea".-Biography:A Roman Catholic, he was born in Daegu and grew up as a child actor - graduating Kyundong junior high school, from which Cho Yong-pil also graduated - appearing in director Kim Ki-young's celebrated film The...
, Ju Jin-mo
Ju Jin-mo
Joo Jin Mo , is a South Korean actor.-Career:Joo Jin Mo began his acting career in TV dramas and some minor roles in film. He was first cast as a lead in Dance Dance , for which he underwent extensive dance training...
and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
. The semi-historical story follows the adventures of a Korean peace delegation as they try to get back to Korea through the inhospitable deserts of northern China.
The film is regarded as being one of the biggest motion pictures in the history of South Korean cinema. At the time of its production its budget was the largest ever for a Korean film. It features a high degree of historical accuracy in period costumery, props, settings, and most unusually, language; that is, everyone speaks in their native tongues or through an interpreter conversant in a lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
.
Plot summary
In 1375, a small political envoy travels to Ming China to meet the emperor. Mistaken for spies, the envoy is arrested. Their prisoner transport is attacked by Mongol marauders, who kill the Chinese guards and allow the Koreans to live. All the Korean ambassadors have died, leaving the inexperienced general Choi-Jung to take charge. The soldiers arm themselves and quickly discover that the Mongols have kidnapped the Ming emperor's daughter. They ambush the Mongols and rescue the princess. Yeo-sol, the former slave of an ambassador, defeats the injured Mongol general Rambulwha in single combat, but allows him to live and escape.The Koreans flee with the princess, determined to return her safely to the Ming emperor to atone for their diplomatic failure. The Mongols pursue, hoping to recover the princess and marry her to their khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
so that he may legitimize his claim over all China. Koreans head for a seaside fortress that the princess tells them about, where they expect to find safe haven. Along the way, the Koreans pick up a group of Chinese peasants who are also fleeing from the Mongols.
Fighting their way through Mongol search parties, the group experiences many internal conflicts stemming from social class, love, and honor. The lower-class soldiers chafe under their poor treatment in comparison to the soldiers of the upper-class. They have little confidence in their young general, and prefer taking orders from their veteran sergeant, Dae-Jung. The princess has difficulty adjusting to the rough necessities of her position on the run. Choi-Jung and Yeo-sol become nemeses, competing for the affections of the princess and exchanging blows on several occasions.
The group reaches the fortress, only to find it an abandoned ruin. As the group prepare to mount a last stand, the princess attempts to give herself up to the Mongols. Yeo-sol and Choi-Jung recover her but Yeo-sol is captured. Rambulwha offers a place in his army for Yeo-sol, but as the Mongols mount an offensive, Yeo-sol returns to the Koreans. In the final battle, the Koreans' gunpowder defenses backfire. Yeo-sol sacrifices his life to save the princess, while Choi-Jung dies fighting Rambulwha, who is also killed. All the Mongols perish, while all the Koreans are killed except Dae-Jung. The princess stays with the peasants at the fortress and promises to tell her father of the Koreans' sacrifice. Dae-Jung builds a boat and sails back to Korea.
Main cast
- Jung Woo-sungJung Woo-sung- Career :Jung Woo-sung was born in Seoul on March 20, 1973. After first finding work as a model, he made his film debut in the 1994 movie The Fox with Nine Tails, together with Ko So-young...
as Yeo-sol, a hot-headed but loyal slave who is skilled with a polearmPole weaponA pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is placed on the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the user's effective range. Spears, glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and bardiches are all varieties of polearms...
- Ju Jin-moJu Jin-moJoo Jin Mo , is a South Korean actor.-Career:Joo Jin Mo began his acting career in TV dramas and some minor roles in film. He was first cast as a lead in Dance Dance , for which he underwent extensive dance training...
as Choi-Jung, the inexperienced general of the envoy
- Ahn Sung-kiAhn Sung-kiAhn Sung-ki is known to the public as the "National Best Actor of Korea".-Biography:A Roman Catholic, he was born in Daegu and grew up as a child actor - graduating Kyundong junior high school, from which Cho Yong-pil also graduated - appearing in director Kim Ki-young's celebrated film The...
as Dae-Jung, a veteran archer and sergeant of the lower-class soldiers
- Zhang ZiyiZhang ZiyiZhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
as Princess Bu-yong, a kidnapped princess of the Ming Dynasty (called Fu-rong in Chinese)
- Yu RongguangYu RongguangYu Rongguang is a Chinese actor and martial artist who started his career in Hong Kong. He is best known for the title role in Iron Monkey along with Donnie Yen as well as being featured in films such as The East Is Red, My Father Is a Hero, Musa.Yu is also known for appearing in roles for films...
as Rambulwha, the honorable but cruel Mongol general
- Park Jung-hak as Ga-nam, the experienced lieutenant of the upper-class soldiers
- Park Yong-wu as Ju-myeong, a cowardly interpreter
- Lee Doo-il as Ji-san, a burly Buddhist monk
- Yoo Hai-jin as Du-chung, an axe-wielding soldier who loses an eye
- Han Young-mok as Dan-saeng, a very young soldier
- Jung Suk-yong as Ha-il
Historical context
The film presents a fictionalized account of a real Korean diplomatic mission sent to China in 1375. Chun-Yong Son was to present a gift of horses to the Hongwu EmperorHongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming , was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
- the first Ming emperor (as of 1368) - but he and his party were reported to have been exiled and there was no record of their return to Korea. At the time, the Ming government was unhappy with Korea as the Korean government continued to acknowledge the Mongols as the legitimate rulers of China (this was true until 1378). Eventually the Koreans managed to gain favor with the Ming government and the relationship became very cordial.
The film also portrays the political conflicts in China at the time, between the fading Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
and the new Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
that returned China to Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
rule.
External links
- Musa (the warrior) - fansite
- Zhang Ziyi CSC: Musa Synopsis, picture gallery, reviews, news, discussions