Poong-chun, Deok-ki, and their lady
comrade-in-arms Seol-rung were once dreaded warriors leading a rebellion
against Goryeo Era tyranny. Unfortunately, betrayal cut short their uprising,
along with the principled Poong-chun’s life. However, it was not jealousy that
tore the trio asunder. It was more of a case of miscommunication. Of course,
the tragedy compounds mightily when Poong-chun’s daughter seeks to avenge her
murdered parents in Park Heung-sik’s Memories
of the Sword (trailer here),
which opens this Friday in New York.
For years, Seol-hee has been rigorously
trained by Wol-so, a blind tea house proprietor to wreak vengeance on her
enemies. Wol-so has kept many secrets, including her real identity: Seol-rung.
She is not the only one living under a new name. Deok-ki is now Yoo-baek, a
general so competent, he is naturally despised by his colleagues in court. The
feeling is mutual.
When Yoo-baek observes the masked Seol-hee
crash his martial arts contest, he immediately recognizes Seol-rung’s style. When
news of her escapade reaches Seol-rung, it forces her hand. Revealing herself and
Yoo-baek as Seol-hee’s familial enemies, Seol-rung casts out the girl with only
her father’s sword. It is sort of a case of tough love, but it confuses
Seol-hee no end. Nevertheless, it is suddenly healthy for her to be far away
from Seol-rung.
At a youthful twenty-four (looking more like
twelve), Kim Go-eun (who exploded onto the scene a mere three years ago in Eungyo (a Muse)) notches her first
action lead here as Seol-hee. In fact, she is rather perfect for the role,
looking young and vulnerable, but flashing some convincing moves. Yet, Jeon
De-yeon truly delivers the romantic angst and a fair number of beatdowns as the
very complicated Seol-rung. In contrast, international superstar Lee Byung-hun
seems to be somewhat distracted as Deok-ki/Yoo-baek, as if he were waiting for
his next G.I. Joe script to arrive,
but Lee Kyoung-young makes an unusually hardnosed Yoda as the trio’s powerful
and reclusive teacher.
