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[movie 2006] The Restless / Midair 중천, 中天

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rubie Fan Level: 30

rubie

Posted
Posted

2006/12/17

Fantasy 'The Restless' delivers, but characters are weak

20061217003lcf6.jpg

By Kim Hyun

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- A new martial arts fantasy film, "The Restless," has drawn attention ahead of its release with a big-budget cross-border production and splashy publicity campaign. The movie's staff included Chinese and Japanese artists, and shooting was done entirely in China.

There were also big promotion events -- a banquet at the Pusan International Film Festival in October and an exhibition on its stars and costumes.

Unveiled amid the buzz, the epic by first-time director Cho Dong-oh raises many eyebrows with surreal beauty and well-done computer graphics, but it leaves questions about the characters. The character development is thin due to heavy editing that resulted in a compact 105-minute film.

The Restless, called "Jungcheon" (halfway to heaven) in Korean, unfolds in a mythical dimension between heaven and earth where the dead reside before reincarnation. It takes place in the latter days of Korea's Unified Silla kingdom, the early 10th century, when officials were corrupt and panic-stricken people sought rebellion.

Jung Woo-sung plays a warrior who can't forget his love Sohwa (Kim Tae-hee), who was killed by villagers on behalf of him. The warrior accidentally gets into the semi-heaven where the dead spend 49 days repenting for their sins and erasing their memories before reincarnation. There, he encounters his lost love, but she has no memories of him.

Sohwa, as the gatekeeper of the place, becomes the target of spirits who refuse reincarnation and try to return to earth for vengeance against the corrupt world. The warrior faces a difficult decision between his lover and the spirits, who were his boss and colleagues on earth.

It's evident in the story that love conquers all. In the battle, Kim's character appears angelic with a snow-white robe with feather embroidery around its waist, while her enemies look miserable with drab black and glaring red outfits (even though they have sincere intentions to reform the corrupt world).

While ending with a simple conclusion, however, the story demonstrates a poetic aspect of human life -- the distance between the innocent and the experienced, represented by the young warrior and his embittered boss (Huh Joon-ho).

As the warrior risks everything for the cause of love, the boss says, "You will learn that the memories fail you. I went through the same. You will learn that love ends and then you will see the world that is giving you pain."

But the character development is too thin to deliver. Each character identifies himself or herself through terse statements, such as Sohwa who explains herself as "a heavenly person who was delivered from the anguish of the world" during her first encounter with the warrior. Many scenes that helped develop the characters were removed during the editing process.

In visual terms, the film is an enjoyable fantasy. The Chinese rivers and mountains are picturesque, and the computer graphics in battle scenes are convincing. Forty percent of the film's content is computer graphics from a consortium of about a dozen South Korean firms.

Established artists from Japan and China also took part in the production. They included China's prop designer Li Mingshan, whose work includes "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; Japan's costume designer Emi Wada ("House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero"); and music producer Shiro Sagisu ("Neon Genesis Evangelion"). The film cost 10 billion won (US$10 million).

Rated 12, "The Restless" faces an uphill box-office battle against big-name Hollywood movies such as the new James Bond sequel "Casino Royale," "Happy Feet" and "Night at the Museum" that will all be released on Dec. 21.

hkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

Source: Yonhap News, KOREA.net

http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20061217/...17100024E3.html

'Restless' Creates Visually Superb Epic

By Kim Tae-jong

Staff Reporter

The fantasy action epic "The Restless’" (Chungchon) is one of the most anticipated films slated for the Christmas season. Its main actors said that they were overwhelmed by the film’s superb computer graphics when they first saw it.

"I was so surprised. The scenes I filmed in front of a blue screen turned into great ones in the movie," the actress Kim Tae-hee said Friday during a news conference after a preview screening of the film at Yongsan CGV in Seoul.

In her first big screen role, Kim plays So-hwa, a leading female character in "The Restless."

"I decided to challenge myself when I read the film’s script last summer because the character and I have so many things in common. I tried to do my best to create a pure and innocent character using my immature side," Kim said.

Released nationwide on Dec. 21, the film is considered a comparatively big project, which has drawn huge expectations.

The blockbuster film's production budget is about 10 billion won, and its filming took six months, mostly in China. About half of the scenes were generated by computer graphics.

Directed by Cho Dong-oh, the film tells a story of a couple, who reunites in "chungchon," a mysterious place between earth and heaven where souls of the dead stay for 49 days preparing for reincarnation.

In the film, So-hwa dies and becomes a goddess in chungchon, forgetting her past life. Her lover I-gwak, played by Jung Woo-sung, accidentally enters the mysterious place and meets So-hwa, but she doesn't remember him. As a ghost hunter, I-gwak fights against evil spirits, which threaten So-hwa's life.

Jung also expressed his satisfaction with the film. He joked about his digitally generated counterpart, whom he nicknamed "Jung Woo-sang." The computer-generated character was a substitute for him in dangerous scenes that even a stuntman could not do.

"I watched the film with complex emotions, both of worry and expectation," Jung said. "But I'm so happy now. I think no one can tell which parts were done by me or Woo-sang. He was so good."

Jung picked the scene where he fights against 30,000 ghost soldiers as the most impressive in the film.

Despite the spectacular computer graphics, the film’s director admitted that the most challenging part is to attract the audience to theaters as most local epic action films have not been commercially successful.

"It's been said that the genre of fantasy epic is not successful. And many directors work under a lot of pressure when they make one. But I think and hope this movie will pave the way for the genre as a steppingstone," Cho said.

e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr

Source: The Korea Times

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/20...17354211710.htm

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rubie Fan Level: 30

rubie

Posted
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Monday, December 18, 2006

[movie REVIEW]

'The Restless' offers unprecedented graphic works

"Jungcheon (The Restless)" has four strengths: star casting, it was shot in China, superb computer graphics and renowned international staff. The question is whether these advantages can make up for its single weakness; flimsy storytelling.

The film's most visible marketing gimmick is that Jung Woo-sung and Kim Tae-hee take lead roles. Jung is certainly a major Korean heartthrob, with some solid performances under his belt. Kim Tae-hee's performance makes a compelling argument that she is equally as good as Jung, attracting a mostly-male audience with her trademark 'big eyes.'

Without these two actors investors would not have poured 10.9 billion won ($11.7 million) in the project, which is led by first-time director Jo Dong-ho.

200612180018ku9.gif

The big-budget film, to be released nationwide on Thursday, takes on a truly Asian theme about death and life. When people die, it is believed that their soul hovers in the intermediate stage between the physical world and heaven. Lee Kwak, played by Jung, makes it to the intermediate stage where souls wait for 49 days before they climb into heaven - and here he meets his loved one, So-hwa, played by Kim. The focus in the film is how the two resolve a conflict in the surreal world.

To amplify its fantasy appeal, the production team opted to shoot the film entirely in China and it seems their investment has paid off. Unlike other Korean fantasy films, "The Restless" shows off grandiose visuals.

Moreover, international staff helped the film achieve greater cinematic effects. Shiro Sagisu, a renowned Japanese film music artist, upgraded the overall level of music, while equally respectable award-winning Emi Wada infused vitality to the traditional Asian costumes featured in the film.

Computer graphics - the most important element of the film - demonstrate a higher level than widely expected. Digital Tetra Inc., affiliated with Korea's state-run research center ETRI, worked with 11 other companies to create better computer graphics, and their efforts are fully reflected in as many 750 high-quality computer-generated cuts.

Thanks to sophisticated computer graphics, battle scenes shine throughout the film. When main characters get entangled in a fight, no blood is shed. Instead, computer-generated images literally shatter away the victims into ashes - a stunning visual that deserves all due credits.

Director Jo and the computer graphics team spent almost a year generating computer scenes that bolster the film's fantasy aspect and add intricate cinematic layers.

This fantasy flic may be a good alternative for those who want to avoid typical Christmas comedies and romances.

But a problem may arise for some viewers who think storytelling is more important than computer graphics. "The Restless" starts with a promising premise as a fantasy film: a handsome evil-chasing man falls into a stage where life and death are intertwined, and again falls into a conflict to protect a woman he loves.

Lee Kwak's accidental entry into the Jungcheon world has many surprises. The most important revelation is that his former love, So-hwa, seems alive in a soul-only land, and she has no memory about her past - including her relationships with Lee Kwak.

So far, so good. But when So-hwa finally speaks and Kim Tae-hee strives to act up the character, fantasy begins to disappear. Kim's delivery of key sentences is neither convincing nor realistic. The character is supposed to be a powerful semi-deity in this fantasy world, but Kim's So-hwa is simply clueless. She often has no grasp about what's going on, and Kim's efforts to open her already "big eyes" in a big way accentuates the puzzlement that constantly plagues the disoriented character.

Flashbacks are also overused but rarely utilized to their full potential. When the main characters interact with supporting actors, a gaping hole in the storyline is embarrassingly visible. Some characters intrude into the main story without enough explanations, undercutting the strength of the already shaky storytelling.

Although the film hovers between computer graphics and flimsy storytelling, movie-goers should be relieved: they don't have to wait for 49 days to re-enter the mundane world since the movie's running time is a relatively short 105 minutes.

(insight@heraldm.com)

By Yang Sung-jin

Source: The Korea Herald

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/htm...00612190010.asp

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syah4brit Fan Level: 30

syah4brit

Posted
Posted

Memos from Purgatory - 'Restless' Review

Saturday, December 16, 2006

therestlessqc6.jpg

It is the biggest movie of the season, a martial-arts fantasy set in Purgatory called THE RESTLESS (or "Jungcheon" in Korean, a Purgatory-like world between heaven and hell). It is the story of a warrior (Jung Woo-sung, of DAISY, MUSA, and lots of stuff) who travels to Jungcheon to look for his lost love (Kim Tae-hee, mostly from TV, like LOVE STORY IN HARVARD). He finds her, but she is now an angel and does not remember him. But when an evil force threatens, Jung must save his love and the rest of Jungcheon.

THE RESTLESS is 10 billion won ($11 million) and looks like it. (note: i read frm the Korean papers tht it's 13 billion won) Heck, it looks like 20 billion or so. This is a gorgeous spectacle of a movie, with (mostly) first-rate special effects, lavish costumes and huge sets.

Unfortunately, the story does not measure up to to amazing production values. The story feels like a cross between A CHINESE GHOST STORY and LORD OF THE RINGS. Ghost Story because of the fantasy and cheesiness. Lord of the Rings because of the epic scope and general spectacle.

The action in THE RESTLESS is pretty good. Full of special effects, the characters fly around with a lot of flair and weight (so often, f/x people look way too light and fake, but when the bad guys land in this film, they really crunch the ground... a detail I quite liked). A couple of baddies have this cool Doc Octopus thing going on which looked great.

Unfortunately, when the action ends, the film comes screeching to a halt. The contrast was really stunning. One moment, you are rocketing around at 100mph, then next moment you are in park. Considering how BICHEONMU, SHADOWLESS SWORD and MUSA also had the same problem, it seems to me to be a structural problem of some sort. (If you want to see the exact opposite, watch the DVD of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and check out the screenwriters' commentary... lots of interesting stuff about how to embed information without turning a movie into boring exposition).

Also like Musa, Bicheonmu and Shadowless Sword, THE RESTLESS is unrelentingly humorless. Not a smile to be found. Especially in a film so over-the-top. We are in purgatory, after all... Nothing wrong with having a cheesy story, but you might as well have some fun with it.

Not a whole lot of subtlety going on either. Good is good, bad is really bad, motivations are cliched.

As for the acting... it is about what you would expect. Jung is solid, as usual. Kim Tae-hee, however, seems to have gotten acting lessons from Kim Hee-sun.

Another complaint is one I have with almost all superpower films, and that is watching the characters' super powers expand and contract from scene to scene. We know that these characters can fly, so why are we watching them running along the ground in a chase scene? But I had the same problem with the Superman and Spider-Man movies.

So, to sum up... If you are looking for some great eye candy and a bunch of action (and don't mind a few dull stretches), THE RESTLESS could make you pretty happy. Just don't expect much more than that.

UPDATE: Well, looks like there was a good reason that the costumes looked so good in THE RESTLESS. The costume designer was none other than Emi WADA, a woman who has designed outfits for some first-rate films, including Zhang Yimou's HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, Peter Greenaway's PROSPERO'S BOOKS (great film) and 8 1/2 WOMEN, and for Akira Kurosawa's DREAM and RAN (for which she won an Academy Award).

Posted by Mark Russell

at 9:03 AM

source http://koreapopwars.blogspot.com/2006/12/m...ess-review.html

credit also aki_diwata / www.kim-taehee.com

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rubie Fan Level: 30

rubie

Posted
Posted

12-21-2006

'Restless' Satisfies Eyes, Not Heart

By Kim Tae-jong

Staff Reporter

200612211756230eyeslq8.jpg

Jung Woo-sung, left, and Kim Tae-hee play

a couple in new fantasy action epic "The Restless."

The new action fantasy epic "Restless" (Chungchon) is visually enjoyable. State-of-the-art computer technology allows good-looking actors to live in a fantasy world, and there are spectacular action scenes.

But these elements fall flat because of the inadequate development of the story. Viewers will soon realize that the film satisfies their eyes but not their heart.

Directed by Cho Dong-oh, the film tells the story of a couple who are separated by death but meet again in "chungchon," a place between earth and heaven where the souls of the dead stay for 49 days to erase their memories and prepare for reincarnation.

In the film, So-hwa (played by Kim Tae-hee) and her lover I-gwak (Jung Woo-sung) face a tragic fate. So-hwa is killed by villagers after being falsely accused of being a witch.

I-gwak believes her death is the result of his power to see ghosts, and his talent eventually leads him to join the royal guard of ghost hunters in the late Silla Kingdom.

The guards' rebellion against a corrupt monarch fails, and all the members are killed except for I-gwak. While on the run, I-gwak is wounded, and he hides in a shabby temple, where he accidentally enters chungchon.

In the semi-heaven, he encounters So-hwa, who has become a goddess, but she doesn’t remember him. He finds out that the dead members of the royal guard are plotting to return to earth to change the rule of the world.

Now his former colleagues appear to be the biggest threat to So-hwa, and I-gwak decides to fight for her.

The storyline alone is enough to attract fantasy fans, and the visually superb rendition of the semi-heaven and action scenes have few technical flaws.

Rivers, mountains and temples are beautifully rendered. The scene in which I-gwak fights against some 30,000 ghost soldiers to save his lover is especially impressive.

But the story is not properly developed.

The long story, which probably needs more than three hours of running time, is cut down to one hour and 40 minutes. The result is that many important parts are missing or summarized in dry dialogue.

It's hard to sympathize with the couple's tragic love. It's not easy to know how desperate the couple are to be with each other or why I-gwak wants to save So-hwa so badly. Or why the men in the guard can't easily kill I-gwak.

All the explanation the film provides are the characters brief recollections and statements such as "I love her so badly" and "He was like my brother."

"Restless" was promoted as a film for the Christmas season, but watching it is like receiving brilliantly decorated gift box that is disappointingly empty.

Two and a half stars.

e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr

Source: The Korea Times

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/20...17315910970.htm

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Guest Rositas

Guest Rositas

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Hello i want to ask or know if someone know where i can find or download the restless the new film i think of kim tae hee please help! and where i can download the ost of this film the song that maybee sing for this film please help me!!

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Guest puppylove

Guest puppylove

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The DVD released date is April 30, 2007

bump...

does any of the clubboxes have this title yet?

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Guest alcyone

Guest alcyone

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does anyone watched this movie yet? i need a major spoiler for the ending. is it a sad one or a happy one? does one of the main characters died? hahahahaha please tell me

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amareally Fan Level: 21-3

amareally

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does anyone watched this movie yet? i need a major spoiler for the ending. is it a sad one or a happy one? does one of the main characters died? hahahahaha please tell me

I've watched this movie about 2 weeks ago... seriously i went like :blink: when the movie finished. the graphics was good, but the story and the acting was a little...... <_< . i had high hopes for Jung Woo Sung....hiks !

oh as for the ending Don't understand it at all... they didn't explain how Jung Wo Sung character got in the purgotary in the first place (well the spirits agreed that he wasn't dead he was a living human thrown in to the dead world) and at the end Kim Tae Hee (who's a warrior who protected the dead spirits so they can be reincarnated in 49 days went with the reincarnated spirits to be reincarnated....confuse ?? me too. But she left Jung Woo Sung in the purgatory (don't know if he finally died or not, she just left him and went to be reincarnated. My advise, not really worth seeing....(don't get me wrong I'm a Jung Woo Sung fan, and i like Kim Tae Hee too) but this film is not their best work

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Guest alcyone

Guest alcyone

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amareally, thanks for the reply ^^ yeah..i love Jung Woo Sung too, so i was kinda expecting this movie, but since i hate tragic love story, i reckoned i'd ask before watching it . thanks a lot

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Guest asillysaint

Guest asillysaint

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I've watched this movie about 2 weeks ago... seriously i went like :blink: when the movie finished. the graphics was good, but the story and the acting was a little...... <_< . i had high hopes for Jung Woo Sung....hiks !

oh as for the ending Don't understand it at all... they didn't explain how Jung Wo Sung character got in the purgotary in the first place (well the spirits agreed that he wasn't dead he was a living human thrown in to the dead world) and at the end Kim Tae Hee (who's a warrior who protected the dead spirits so they can be reincarnated in 49 days went with the reincarnated spirits to be reincarnated....confuse ?? me too. But she left Jung Woo Sung in the purgatory (don't know if he finally died or not, she just left him and went to be reincarnated. My advise, not really worth seeing....(don't get me wrong I'm a Jung Woo Sung fan, and i like Kim Tae Hee too) but this film is not their best work

*Warning Spoilers*

.

.

.

.

To answer your question about the ending, it wasn't confusing. Okay, remember how Yi Gwak was badly injured from the hooks of the two brothers, the other guy's sword, and Hyo's wound? In addition to those wounds, the Yin source, which supposedly purifies spirits but kills humans from my understanding, had spreaded all throughout Yi Gwak's body. Yi Gwak was supposed to vanish that night but realizing her love for him, Yon Hwa used the holy powers to resurrect him. Because Yon Hwa saved Yi Gwak's life by using the sacred holy powers, Yon Hwa broke Heaven's laws and thus accepted the punishment of millions of years of suffering and thrown back down to earth as a human, which explains why Yon Hwa was reincarnated with the spirits at the end. As for Yi Gwak, there's two possible endings. One, he's not dead but since Midair has been saved, the doors have re-opened for him to return to earth. Two, he finally dies but has to wait for 49 days before reincarnating after Yon Hwa. As for the beginning, it was fate for Yi Gwak to enter Midair, to meet up with Yon Hwa again and save Midair from destruction. Anyway, that's all. :sweatingbullets:

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