Singer (2020)

Music changes the world

I find this movie rather interesting as we were introduced to the Korean traditional singing pansori, which often story tell Korean folklore. Personally, I enjoy folklores of various cultures, so perhaps that is why I enjoy this movie much. The singing of pansori by Hak-kyu in the movie was indeed moving, providing comfort to the commoners in times of injustice due to those corrupted officials. I would recommend this movie to anyone interested in Korean traditional culture.

It is not just an ordinary story about the singing culture .. It is a dramatic, sensitive story that stirs feelings through watching the movie. My feelings were conflicting. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I cry and sometimes I cry because of my happiness .. I was really hesitant to watch the movie because I said, "Why am I watching a movie about music?" Not just a movie .. It is really a touching dramatic story. I got attached to the movie and I am very impressed with the cast and everything they have presented, especially the little girl ♡ ^^

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Intro to Korean pansori and folk tale.

Based on a Korean folktale about a young filial daughter with poor blind father, who sold herself to fishermen looking for sacrifice to the sea deity, to save her father from blindness & poverty. The deity takes pity on her when she jumps into the ocean, and returns her to the land in a giant lotus flower. Then she was taken in by the imperial couple because she resembled their dead daughter, and adopts her as their princess. The new princess throws a week of feast for the poor in hope to reunite with her father, who was still blind, poor and driven by the guilt of losing his daughter, wondered the country in despair. When they were reunited on the last day of the feast, the father hears the daughter's cry and miraculously regains his sight. Everybody lives happily after...

The musical took the basic concept from the folktale and made few interesting realistic tweaks. Seeing Lee YooRi in a movie for the first time was exciting, although her role was small the character was likeable. Surprising musical talent was discovered in Kim MinJoon and Park CheulMin. Overall, the movie had nice dip into the folk music, glimpse into the Joseon era, and kept everything simple and light with happy ending. The plot could've gone darker but aside from emotionally intense pansori, it was a story about loving couple with sweet optimistic younger daughter, loyal quirky friends, and villains where justice was served.

A sample of pansori THE STORY OF SHIMCHUNG is on YouTube. Cha JiHyun sings in the perspective of the blind father, reminiscing about his daughter, towards the end, https://youtu.be/kV2OjootdNA. Although it doesn't have subtitle, you can feel the intensity of the character's emotion. It's an amazing show.

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imaginary history but still tugs at yr heartstrings

I cried tears of happiness at the ending -- one through-line from pansori to kdrama! The drums, some poetry, flashbacks, magical events, a family reunites and right on cue, we weep!

A great watch, imaginary history of course with a nice back-and-forth between the "invention" of the second great pansori tale, the Simcheongga, which involves a dragon-king under the sea and a noble self-sacrificing maiden with a blind father, and the plot of this movie, involving a blind daughter, a mother kidnapped to be used as slave labor and a poet-singer father. Not to mention a gosu drummer, a very shabby monk, an aristocrat in disguise as a drunk and many good pansori village audiences. Eolsigu! (yippee!) Jalhanda! (well done!)

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Musical without the music

I fell in love with Lee Bong Geun's voice when watching Six Flying Dragons (which I recommend, BTW), and started researching him. When I found out that he was cast in a movie about a travelling singer, I HAD TO watch it!
How huge my disappointment was when this fascinating, unique traditional singing was covered up with generic "film music" of the type you can hear in cheap productions from around the world. Why would you do that? If I watch a movie about traditional music, I want to hear traditional music, not some stock musac.
The travelling singer is performing in front of the crowds? You can barely hear his voice from beneath a western style orchestra playing a romantic tune. A girl is about to sing a song for a granny? No way, you cannot listen to that song a'cappella, they need to play some cringy strings as an accompaniment.
You hate traditional music so you make a movie about traditional music? That's just plain stupid. Playing background music while the character is singing is in itself quite weird, if you ask me. In case of a movie that was supposed to showcase that very singing, it's absurd.
I was let down and irritated. As I wanted to watch this movie because of music, I dropped it in the middle.

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