Chi-hwa-seon

Chi-hwa-seon or Chwi-hwa-seon (also known as Painted Fire, Strokes of Fire or Drunk on Women and Poetry) is a 2002 South Korean drama film directed by Im Kwon-taek about Jang Seung-eop (commonly known by his pen name, Owon), a nineteenth-century Korean painter who changed the direction of Korean art.

Chi-hwa-seon
Promotional poster
Hangul	취화선
Hanja	醉畫仙
Revised Romanization	Chwihwaseon
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'wihwasŏn
Directed by	Im Kwon-taek
Written by	Kwon-taek Im Do-ol Byung-sam Min
Produced by	Lee Tae-won
Starring	Choi Min-sik Ahn Sung-ki Yoo Ho-jeong
Cinematography	Jeong Il-seong
Edited by	Park Sun-deok
Music by	Kim Young-dong
Distributed by	Cinema Service
Release date	May 10, 2002 (2002-05-10)
Running time	117 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	$6.9 million[1]

Synopsis

It begins with the Korean artist being suspicious of a Japanese art-lover who values his work. The story then goes back to his man's early years. Beginning as a vagabond with a talent for drawing, he has a talent for imitating other people's art, but is urged to go on and develop a style of his own. This process is painful and he often behaves very badly, getting drunk and being hostile to those who care about him and try to help him.

These events are set against the struggle for reform within Korea, caught between China and Japan (annexed by Japan in 1910, outside the film's time-frame).

Cast

• Choi Min-sik as Jang Seung-up
• Ahn Sung-ki as Kim Byung-Moon
• Yoo Ho-jeong as Mae-hyang
• Kim Yeo-jin as Jin-jong
• Son Ye-jin as So-woon

Awards

Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Film	Chi-hwa-seon	Won	[2]
	Best Director	Im Kwon-taek	Won
	Best Leading Actor	Choi Min-sik	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Yeo-jin	Nominated
	Best Cinematography	Jung Il-sung	Won
55th Cannes Film Festival	Palme d'Or	Im Kwon-taek	Nominated
	Best Director		Won	[3]
Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics	Grand Prix		Won	[4]
Camerimage	Golden Frog	Jung Il-sung	Nominated
28th César Awards	Best Foreign Film	Chi-hwa-seon	Nominated
3rd Busan Film Critics Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Kim Yeo-jin	Won
	Best Cinematography	Jung Il-sung	Won
Chicago International Film Festival	Gold Hugo	Im Kwon-taek	Nominated
22nd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards	Best Cinematography	Jung Il-sung	Won

• In 2020, the film was ranked by The Guardian number 13 among the classics of modern South Korean cinema.^[5]

References

1. "Chihwaseon (2003) - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 2018-03-17. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
2. Awards based on "Awards for Chihwaseon (2002)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
3. "Festival de Cannes: Chi-hwa-seon". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
4. "Kim Ki-duk, Grand Prix de l'UCC". La Libre Belgique (in French). January 9, 2006. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
5. Bradshaw, Peter (13 February 2020). "Classics of modern South Korean cinema – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2020.

Sources

• Distributor's page
• "Im Kwon-taek's Retrospective". Koreafilmfes. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
• James, David (March 2003). "Chihwaseon: Review". Film Comment. Vol. 39, no. 2. pp. 75–76.
• Johnston, Sheila (2002-06-14). "Master's art of observation". Screen International. No. 1359. p. 24.
• Kim, So-young. "Korean Film History and 'Chihwaseon'" (PDF). Korean Film Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
• LeMarie, Yannick; Michel Ciment; Hubert Niogret (December 2002). "Im Kwon-taek (Review of Chihwaseon and Interview)". Positif (in French). No. 502. pp. 4–5, 9–14.
• MacNab, Geoffrey (June 2003). "Chihwaseon Drunk on Women and Poetry". Sight & Sound. 13 (6): 40–41. Archived from the original on January 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
• Morrison, Alan (July 2003). "The reviews". Empire. p. 52.
• Ralske, Josh. "Chihwaseon". Allmovie. Retrieved 2007-11-01. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• "Rushes: the bigger picture: portrait of the artist". Sight and Sound. Vol. 13, no. 6. June 2003. pp. 4–5.
• Stratton, David (2002-06-03). "Film Reviews". Variety. p. 22.

External links

• Chihwaseon at IMDb
• Review at koreanfilm.org