(Painted Fire)
Director: Kwon-taek Im
Country: South Korea
Year: 2002
Runtime: 117 minutes
Language: Korean with English subtitles
Awards: Cannes Film Festival – Best Director
Kwon-taek's ninety-fifth film tells the story of renowned nineteenth-century painter Jang Seung-up an artist whose revolutionary work - and persona - has forever changed the face of Korean art. CHI-HWA-SEON (PAINTED FIRE) begins in the 1850s, when Kim Byung-moon saves the young Jang Seung-up from being beaten by a group of drifters. In return, Jang draws him a picture, and as Kim carefully examines the child's rough drawing, he notices the extraordinary potential of the young boy. Years later, Kim Byung-moon becomes Jang Seung-up's mentor and encourages him to pursue the life of an artist. Kim eventually gives Jang the pen name of Oh-won. Later on his life, Jang Seung-up meets Mae-hyang, a daughter of a Yangban (social elite) who attracts him deeply. Although their passion is strong, they are eventually forced to separate when she runs away from catholic persecution. Jang Seung-up eventually leaves his house and wanders about in pursuit of "true art," soon realizing that it is through pleasure that he can produce his greatest works. Oh-won's life is thus marked by the paradox of his inspiration derived by addiction to alcohol and convoluted love affairs with women. As Jang continues to search for artistic transcendence, he stretches the limits of traditional Korean art, rapidly becoming a worldwide artistic reference - and one of Korea's national legends.
Principal Cast: Choi Min-sik, Ahn Sung-ki, You Ho-jeong, Kim Yeo-jin, Son Ye-jin
Writers: Kwon-taek Im, Yong-ok Kim, Byung-sam Min
Producers: Woo-Suk Kang, Michael Kim
Cinematographer: Il-sung Jung
Film Editor: Seon-deok Park
Official Website: http://www.chihwaseon.com/