| Mười: The Legend of a Portrait | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hangul | 므이 |
| Revised Romanization | Meu-i |
| McCune–Reischauer | Mui |
| Directed by | Kim Tae-kyeong |
| Written by | Zizak |
| Starring | Jo An Cha Ye-ryun Anh Thư |
| Cinematography | Park Jae-hong |
| Edited by | Ko Im-pyo |
| Music by | Ryu Hyeong-wook |
| Distributed by | Cinema Service CJ Entertainment (South Korea) Phuoc Sang Films (Vietnam) |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Countries | South Korea Vietnam |
| Languages | Korean Vietnamese |
| Box office | US$1,245,621 |
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 as well as the first rated film in Vietnam.
Plot
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
Muoi is considered the first horror film production 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 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.
Awards
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" (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-ryun ... Seo-yeon
- Anh Thu ... Muoi
- Hong Anh ... Hong
- Hong So-hee ... Eun-jung
- Lim Seong-eon
- Ly Nha Ky ... young girl
See also
- Ghosts in Vietnamese culture
- Onryō
- Japanese Urban Legends
- The Amityville Horror (folk story)
- The Grudge (film series)
- Fatal Frame (video game)
References
- Korean Film List 2007, Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved on January 20, 2008.
- "Muoi". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 04, 2012.
- 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
- Tin Tuc Online – Vietnamnet Archived 2008-03-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ LAODONG.COM.VN | Dưới 16 tuổi không được xem phim Mười - Duoi 16 tuoi khong duoc xem phim Muoi
- ": Tuoi Tre Online :". Archived from the original on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- VnExpress - Phương Thanh giành giải Cánh diều vàng 2007 Archived 2008-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait at IMDb
- Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait at HanCinema
- Film review at Koreanfilm.org