Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait

Mười: The Legend of a Portrait is a 2007 horror film starring Jo An, Cha Ye-ryun and Anh Thu. It became the first horror film in Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon[3] as well as the first rated film in Vietnam.

Mười: The Legend of a Portrait
Hangul
므이
Revised RomanizationMeu-i
McCune–ReischauerMui
Directed byKim Tae-kyeong
Written byZizak
StarringJo An
Cha Ye-ryun
Anh Thư
CinematographyPark Jae-hong
Edited byKo Im-pyo
Music byRyu Hyeong-wook
Distributed byCinema Service
CJ Entertainment (South Korea)
Phuoc Sang Films (Vietnam)
Release dates
  • July 25, 2007 (2007-07-25) (South Korea)[1]
  • December 24, 2007 (2007-12-24) (Vietnam)
Running time
93 minutes
CountriesSouth Korea
Vietnam
LanguagesKorean
Vietnamese
Box officeUS$1,245,621[2]

Plot

edit

Yun-hee, a South Korean writer, is under pressure by her editor to produce something of interest for her next book. She hasn’t had a book published in three years and is all too cognizant of this fact. Things look up when her old friend Seo-yeon calls from Vietnam. Seo-Yeon informs Yun-hee about a local Vietnamese folklore centered around a girl named “Mười” and her haunted portrait. It just so happens that in Yun-hee’s prior novel, she wrote a semi-autobiographical tale concerning her friends titled “Secrets & Lies”. In the book Seo-Yeon was portrayed in the most horrible manner, but Yun-hee is sure that Seo-Yeon hasn’t read the book as she has been living in Vietnam for years. Yun-hee eagerly flies to Vietnam to learn more about Muoi.

Vietnamese reaction

edit

Muoi is considered the first horror film production to be made in Vietnam.[4] Despite high public expectation, the picture also received bad reactions.

Upon examination, it received a disapproval from Vietnamese Bureau of Cinema for "unsuitable contents,"[5] which led to a delay in Vietnamese release. Because of this, it became the second horror film to be released in Vietnam, while another in the genre, Ngoi nha ma am/Suoi oan hon (Haunted House/Ghosted Stream), came out in August.

Finally, Muoi was released on December 24, 2007 with the first rating in Vietnamese film history: an under-16 ban for disturbing violence and horror image. Though stuck with this restriction, Muoi also had to suffer from scene cuts requested by the bureau. These include Muoi's right leg breakage, a monk's body falling, and Eun-jung's death.[5]

Awards

edit

At 2008's 7th Golden Kite Awards (the local equivalent of the Oscars), Phuoc Sang Films chose to send Muoi to the examining judge; afterwards, controversy arose because it was not considered a "real Vietnamese film"[6] (most of the film was shot by Koreans). However, the film still received accolades for Best Cinematography and Best Sounds.[7]

Cast

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Korean Film List 2007, Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on January 20, 2008.
  2. ^ "Muoi". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 04, 2012.
  3. ^ The first Vietnamese horror film was South Vietnam's Con ma nha ho Hua (The Ghost of Family Hua). Oan hon (Spirits) in 2004 from Vietnamese Americans
  4. ^ Tin Tuc Online – Vietnamnet Archived 2008-03-08 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b LAODONG.COM.VN | Dưới 16 tuổi không được xem phim Mười - Duoi 16 tuoi khong duoc xem phim Muoi
  6. ^ ": Tuoi Tre Online :". Archived from the original on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  7. ^ VnExpress - Phương Thanh giành giải Cánh diều vàng 2007 Archived 2008-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
edit