Ever been fooled by a video\DVD sleeve? You get sold that what you are about to see is the greatest action movie ever and you end up with a turgid melodrama and action sequences that have the excitement of a party political broadcast? In the west, we got that a lot,as distributors would look to capitalize on the latest trend. On occasion we get the reverse and despite being sold as one thing we get a really good example of something else. “Sword with No Name” got a Blu-ray release in the UK and I expected a full on period action movie. What I got was something definitely not as advertised but equally fascinating in its own right.
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A period set drama and the land is in turmoil. A young woman (Soo Ae) is selected to be the new bride for the Emperor (Kim Young-min). On her journey to the capital, she is unwittingly protected by the bandit My Myeong (Cho Seung-woo) who falls in love with her along the way. Unable to forget her, he joins the guards despite the efforts of their commander (Choi Jae-woong). With the country seen as weak, the emperor seeks to form alliances with other countries to the wrath of his father Dae Won-gun (Cheon-Ho-jin). Despite single-handedly defeating the army of Dae Won-gun, revelations of his affections for the Empress see My Myeong removed in disgrace. As the Japanese seek to take control, they plan to assassinate the Empress. My Myeong returns to his beloved's side one last time in an effort to protect her against all odds.
“Sword with no Name” is essentially a romantic tragedy with action sequences interspersed across it as opposed to an action movie with romantic undertones. The action when it occurs is mostly swift and on the whole, mostly grounded. There is one sequence though that feels quite out of place. About half way through, we get a moonlit duel between My Myeon and Noe-jeon and it's as if the movie decides to take a time out and transform into a different feature entirely. Firstly, the CGI backdrop looks significantly different and this is also emphasised by the change in musical score to a more modern beat from the classical score that is played for the rest of the piece. It's a good sequence but it has the feel of one that would get added when producers go “we need a bit more action”, and so is shoehorned in. As a character beat it works, it just sticks out.
The flow of the narrative will be familiar to most regular watchers of period action movies. The romantic story gradually darkens as it heads to the inevitable tragic denouement. The opening sequences have a mostly light touch although this is balanced by a world that is increasingly dangerous. It needs strong performances to make it work, and as Myeongseong we get just that with Soo Ae. It's a role that requires her to present both a vulnerability and inner steel. You get the feel of a character that has to subsume her own desires for the sake of duty whilst never quite letting them go. It's a characterization that gets stronger as the film progresses and leaves a lasting impression. Cho Seung-woo's love-struck My Myeong gets an equally hard role as he has to balance the skilled bandit warrior with a man who is utterly devoted to his Queen. The lighter moments need to be believable and whilst he does his best, he appears more comfortable in the action sequences and when he needs to be dramatic.
This though is as much to do with the challenges created by the script as opposed to his own delivery. His one man stand against the whole army of Dae Won-gun is a goose bump moment. There are very solid supporting performances to elevate the piece. The somewhat weak Emperor Gojong is excellently played by Kim Young-min who shows a very flawed man that is dominated first by his father (a very stern Cheon Ho-Jin) and then overshadowed by his wife. Choi Jae-woong as the initial antagonist is equally good in his brief scenes and gets to show his own character's dignity in adversity.
Like a fair number of these pieces there is an element of patriotism that we get demonstrated. The Japanese are not portrayed well and indeed all countries are seen as exploitative of a country that was behind them in industrial terms. If the film has a weakness, then it's that these villains are never written as anything more than the standard pantomime bad guys with no redeeming features or indeed any additional character shading to elevate them. This is nothing new and is to be expected but a bit of development would at least have made them a bit more interesting.
The finale is tragic, noble and also surprisingly romantic as the two leads meet their fate. There are some lighter moments to alleviate the increasing danger and some blackly comic absurdity with the development of protection against guns that resemble similar scenes of farce from “Legendary Weapons of China”. Kim Yong-gyun has had a varied directorial career from the drama “Wanee & Junah” to the horrors of “The Red Shoes” and “Killer Toon”. He handles the tonal shifts quite well and never allows the romantic elements to become too saccharine. The score, apart from the out of place sequence aforementioned, is a rousing one by Choi Yong-rak with an enjoyable love theme that plays over the end credits.
I really liked this feature. However, your enjoyment will depend on your expectations. Go in expecting a full on action period piece and you may be disappointed. Treat it as a romantic melodrama with the odd action set piece and it will be much more rewarding. An ideal date night movie for Asian cinema lovers.
