Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait
Encyclopedia
Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait is a 2007
South Korea
n/Vietnam
ese horror film
starring Jo An, Cha Ye-ryeon and Anh Thu. It became the first horror (in Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon) and also first rated film in Vietnam.
folklore centered around a girl named “Muoi” and her haunted portrait
. It just so happens that in Yun-hee’s prior novel
, she wrote a semi-autobiographical tale concerning her friends title “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.
Over a century ago, Muoi was born as a normal child, but was ostracized by the locals and led a lonely existence. She grows up with dazzling beauty and eventually falls in love with a handsome painter
named Nguyen (Binh Minh), but Nguyen also charms a wealthy girl (Hong Anh) who is extremely jealous and vindictive. Once she finds out about Muoi’s relationship with Nguyen, she has Muoi’s ankle
broken and face
disfigured by something like acid
in an utterly gruesome manner. Shortly afterwards, on the 15th day of the lunar calendar (the full moon
day), with full grudge of social isolation, terrible maltreating and a current horrible face, Muoi hangs herself to return as a ghost
out for revenge
. Eventually, village monk
s are able to capture Muoi’s vengeful spirit
and seal it within her portrait by a hairpin
.When Yoon-hee hears about a mystery of the portrait of Muoi from her best friend Seo-yeon in Vietnam, she goes there to meet her friend. However mysterious things occur as they try to uncover the secret of Muoi's portrait.
Upon investigation, Yun-hee knows a Korea
n professor who was some years ago involved in the curse's research and also a friend of Seo-yeon. The professor has disappeared without any clue. Finally, after a long time of horrors throughout the exploration, she finds out a terrible fact that Muoi's spirit was stuck with him and transferred into Seo-yeon. His bloody corpse falls into Yun-hee when she discovers a secret chamber
in Seo-yeon's villa. Coming down the subway, she finds a recorded tape
made by the professor with an incantation
to call Muoi's spirit. At the end, he counts from one to ten in Vietnamese (Muoi means Ten originally) and the portrait
appears in the dark with Muoi's corpse emerging from the picture. Muoi is now awakened and chases Yun-hee while she tries her last energy to exit the chamber. At the end of her way, she fin
ds her friend Seo-yeon standing together with Muoi's sudden disappearance. Seo-yeon insists Yun-hee to kill her by a hairpin
as she is marred by the ghost. Tearfully, Yun-hee then stabs her friend. However, Seo-yeon suddenly laughs out loud, signing that Muoi is now transferred into Yun-hee. Without struggle, Yun-hee was highly hanged and entered by Muoi.Yun-hee smirks after avenging Seo-yeon's betraying lover.
She turns around and sees the ghost of hong she disappears into the painting just to be found again.
ion to be made in Vietnam. Despite high public expectation, the picture also received bad reactions.
Upon examination, it received a disapproval from Vietnamese Bureau of Cinema for
"unsuitable contents," 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 distrubing 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 fell and So-hee's death.
chose to send Muoi to the examining judge; afterwards, controversy arose because it was not considered a "real Vietnamese film" (most of the film was shot by Koreans). However, the film still received accolades for Best Cinematography and Best Sounds.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n/Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
starring Jo An, Cha Ye-ryeon and Anh Thu. It became the first horror (in Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon) and also first rated film in Vietnam.
Plot summary
Yun-hee 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 VietnameseVietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
folklore centered around a girl named “Muoi” and her haunted portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
. It just so happens that in Yun-hee’s prior novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, she wrote a semi-autobiographical tale concerning her friends title “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.
Over a century ago, Muoi was born as a normal child, but was ostracized by the locals and led a lonely existence. She grows up with dazzling beauty and eventually falls in love with a handsome painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
named Nguyen (Binh Minh), but Nguyen also charms a wealthy girl (Hong Anh) who is extremely jealous and vindictive. Once she finds out about Muoi’s relationship with Nguyen, she has Muoi’s ankle
Ankle
The ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot...
broken and face
Face
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
disfigured by something like acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
in an utterly gruesome manner. Shortly afterwards, on the 15th day of the lunar calendar (the full moon
Full moon
Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...
day), with full grudge of social isolation, terrible maltreating and a current horrible face, Muoi hangs herself to return as a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
out for revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
. Eventually, village monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s are able to capture Muoi’s vengeful spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
and seal it within her portrait by a hairpin
Hairpin
A hair pin or hairpin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place.Hairpins made of metal, ivory, bronze, carved wood, etc. were used in ancient Assyria and Egypt for securing decorated hairstyles. Such hairpins suggest, as graves show, that many were luxury objects among the Egyptians...
.When Yoon-hee hears about a mystery of the portrait of Muoi from her best friend Seo-yeon in Vietnam, she goes there to meet her friend. However mysterious things occur as they try to uncover the secret of Muoi's portrait.
Upon investigation, Yun-hee knows a Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n professor who was some years ago involved in the curse's research and also a friend of Seo-yeon. The professor has disappeared without any clue. Finally, after a long time of horrors throughout the exploration, she finds out a terrible fact that Muoi's spirit was stuck with him and transferred into Seo-yeon. His bloody corpse falls into Yun-hee when she discovers a secret chamber
Room
A room is any distinguishable space within a structure.Room may also refer to:* Room , by Emma Donoghue* Room, Nepal* Room for PlayStation Portable, a social networking service* Thomas Gerald Room , Australian mathematician...
in Seo-yeon's villa. Coming down the subway, she finds a recorded tape
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
made by the professor with an incantation
Incantation
An incantation or enchantment is a charm or spell created using words. An incantation may take place during a ritual, either a hymn or prayer, and may invoke or praise a deity. In magic, occultism, witchcraft it may be used with the intention of casting a spell on an object or a person...
to call Muoi's spirit. At the end, he counts from one to ten in Vietnamese (Muoi means Ten originally) and the portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
appears in the dark with Muoi's corpse emerging from the picture. Muoi is now awakened and chases Yun-hee while she tries her last energy to exit the chamber. At the end of her way, she fin
Fin
A fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, . The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices...
ds her friend Seo-yeon standing together with Muoi's sudden disappearance. Seo-yeon insists Yun-hee to kill her by a hairpin
Hairpin
A hair pin or hairpin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place.Hairpins made of metal, ivory, bronze, carved wood, etc. were used in ancient Assyria and Egypt for securing decorated hairstyles. Such hairpins suggest, as graves show, that many were luxury objects among the Egyptians...
as she is marred by the ghost. Tearfully, Yun-hee then stabs her friend. However, Seo-yeon suddenly laughs out loud, signing that Muoi is now transferred into Yun-hee. Without struggle, Yun-hee was highly hanged and entered by Muoi.Yun-hee smirks after avenging Seo-yeon's betraying lover.
She turns around and sees the ghost of hong she disappears into the painting just to be found again.
Vietnamese reaction
Muoi is considered the first horror film productFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
ion to be made in Vietnam. Despite high public expectation, the picture also received bad reactions.
Upon examination, it received a disapproval from Vietnamese Bureau of Cinema for
"unsuitable contents," 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 distrubing 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
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
's body fell and So-hee's death.
Awards
At 2008's 7th Golden Kite Awards (the local equivalent of the Oscars), Phuoc Sang FilmsPhuoc Sang Films
Phuoc Sang is a private film studio in Vietnam. It was founded in 2004 by actor Luu Phuoc Sang. Some notable motion pictures have been produced under its trademark:*Khi dan ong co bau 2004*De muon 2006...
chose to send Muoi to the examining judge; afterwards, controversy arose because it was not considered a "real Vietnamese film" (most of the film was shot by Koreans). However, the film still received accolades for Best Cinematography and Best Sounds.
Cast
- Jo An ... Yoon-hee
- Cha Ye-ryeon ... Seo-yeon
- Anh Thu ... Muoi
- Hong So-hee
- Lim Seong-eon
- Ly Nha Ky
External links
- Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait at HanCinema
- Film review at Koreanfilm.org