(Korean Movies) The Sword with No Name, 2009

The queen was a slender woman with an elegant figure. His thoughtful kindness, his extraordinary intellectual ability, and his splendid speech were truly remarkable.
– British geographer Isabella Budd Bishop (<Korea and its Neighbors> 1897)

An intelligent woman with outstanding composure and always looking for something.
– Rose Foote (1883), the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Korea, the first Western woman to have an audience with Empress Myeongseong.

Empress Myeongseong, 'Min Ja-young', whose picture has never been found.
One day, a portrait of Empress Myeongseong was found in France.
Missionary 'Isabel' looks at the picture and recalls:

“Empress Myeongseong, Min Ja-young,
She looks strong, but when you get to know her, she is infinitely soft and weak.
She was a woman just like us.”

A woman everyone knows but no one knows, Empress Myeongseong 'Min Ja-young'
This is how the hidden story of an escort samurai named Myeong-myeong, who risked everything for love, begins.

[ Hot Issue ]

Empress Myeongseong 'Min Ja-young' and escort samurai 'Mumyeong'
The last melodrama of the Joseon Dynasty <Like a Flame, Like a Butterfly>
Everyone knows but no one knows, the last woman of the Joseon Dynasty, Empress Myeongseong, 'Min Ja-young'. A heartbreaking love story for her unfolds on the screen. 'Min Ja-young', a woman who lived a stormy life amidst the power struggles between great powers, was an ordinary woman who missed her husband's love and a friend who could communicate with her. The escort samurai 'Moon Myung', who did not leave the side of 'Min Ja-young' like a shadow, was the only person who protected her by giving everything with love as hot as a flame and pure as a butterfly. Focusing on one woman 'Min Ja-young' rather than Empress Myeongseong as the mother of the country, <Like a Butterfly, Like a Flame> emotionally depicts the story of the inside hidden behind the 'Empress' and her escort samurai 'Moon Myung'. pay It also records the heartbreaking love and history of 'Anonymous', which had to be protected for the rest of his life because he couldn't have <Like a Flame, Like a Butterfly>, which tells the story of 'Min Ja-young' and 'Moon Myung', not 'Empress Myeongseong', which has been covered by numerous cultural contents. It will stimulate the emotions of the audience this fall with the unfortunate fate of those who could not.

Evolution of Faction Movies!
Empress Myeongseong's new discovery, <Like a butterfly, like a flame>
<The King's Man> <Taegeukgi Waving> <Silmido> <Glamorous Vacation> followed by <Shinjeon> and <Beautiful Island> and <Ssanghwajeom>, which were very popular last year. These works are faction films that have succeeded in box office success by stimulating the curiosity of the audience by adding cinematic imagination to the history recorded by someone. These works, which add dramatic elements of 'brotherly love', 'community love', and 'national love' that no one could have imagined to the fragmentary history learned only through textbooks, as well as 'forbidden love', overturn the known facts and give the audience a fresh feeling. provided fun. And <Like a Butterfly, Like a Flame>, which is about to be released on Chuseok in 2009, is foretelling another sensation as a well-made faction movie to follow them.

In the late Joseon Dynasty, Empress Myeongseong 'Min Ja-yeong' and the escort samurai 'Mum-myeong' who gave everything for love, <Like a Butterfly,> tells the story with the motif of real people, Empress Myeongseong and General Hong Gye-hoon. Empress Myeongseong, who was only portrayed as the center of a power struggle, is excited like a girl with the fragrant wine and sweet chocolate she tasted for the first time, and tries on a corset by herself, highlighting 'Min Ja-young' as a woman and presenting a new charm. Also, during the Eulmi Incident, from the appearance of Hong Gye-hoon, the leader of the protesters who confronted the savages to protect Empress Myeongseong, he reborn the escort samurai 'Mumyeong' who protected her even to the moment of death. In addition, <Fire, Like Butterfly> is armed with a variety of attractions by beautifully reproducing the period of the storm when Western cultures coexisted and East and West coexisted through a harmony of historical research and cinematic reinterpretation. Like a Butterfly> will present a new trend in historical dramas that are changing in various ways, crossing the lines of historical taboos.

Cho Seung-woo & Soo-ae, an ensemble of Korea's representative emotional actors!
Korean young actors Jo Seung-woo and Soo-ae meet to draw the last melodrama of the Joseon Dynasty. Jo Seung-woo, who devoted himself to acting for the last work before enlisting in the military, and Soo-ae, who was reborn as Empress Myeongseong, passed through by top stars. Two representatives of emotional acting resurrect the last love of the Joseon Dynasty through <Like a Flame, Like a Butterfly>.

As an escort samurai who risked everything for 'Self-Young', Cho Seung-Woo, who returned as 'Unknown', once again stimulates women's hearts following <Wani and Junha> <Classic> and <Who Are You>. At the side of Empress Myeongseong, whom no one could protect, Jo Seung-woo raised a sword for only one person, as hot as a flame and as pure as a butterfly. Soo-ae, who played the last national mother of Joseon, boasting a passionate acting chemistry with Jo Seung-woo, also brought out the deep emotions of 'Min Ja-young' with a more mature appearance. Soo-ae, who portrays a woman who is the mother of a country and is loved by a man, with a sophisticated acting. She will be completely reborn as Empress Myeongseong's 'Min Ja-young', which she has never seen before, and will express her innocence, dignity, and unconventional beauty with her natural acting as if wearing a tailored suit.

The meeting of the best staff who splendidly revived the Joseon Dynasty!
The hands of Midus in the Korean film industry have gathered for <Like a Flame, Like a Butterfly>. Art director Min Eon-ok, costume director Shim Hyeon-seop, and costume director Shim Hyeon-seop, who revived the chaotic and splendid image of the Joseon Dynasty where the West and the East coexisted, are the main characters.

First, art director Min Eon-ok, who directed a different spatial beauty beyond historical evidence in the drama <The Palace> and the movie <Blood Nude> and <Shinjeon>, will once again show the pinnacle of creative art through <Like a Flame, Like a Butterfly>. . Director Min Eon-ok adds vitality to the atmosphere of the play with unique spaces that reflect the characteristics of the characters and the time when Eastern and Western cultures coexisted. In addition, costume director Shim Hyeon-seop of <The King's Man>, <The Palace Lady> and <You Are Far Away> breathes life into each character's costumes and makes the sights more abundant. Here, even the action design of a professional martial arts director who produced unforgettable action scenes through <Nothing to See>, <Detective Duelist> and <The Movie is a Movie>. <Like a Butterfly, Like a Flame> will show the essence of a well-made historical drama by captivating the audience with a variety of attractions.

Gathering all the time and time that has been linking the universe for billions of eons,
Gathering all the spaces and spaces that have continued the eons of reincarnation,
I only loved that one person.
Sometimes a woman can be everything to a man.
From the novel 「Like a flame like a butterfly」

Transcending the limits of type, <Like a flame, like a butterfly>
<Like a Flame, Like a Butterfly> was born based on the novel of the same name by the martial arts writer Yasulloc, who boasted excellent storytelling and hit the Korean martial arts small design in the 1980s and 1990s. Yasulloc's representative work 「Like a Butterfly Like a Flame」 is 'I was surprised at the detailed description and expression, I wonder how far it is true, I think it will be remembered for a long time. Those who read this novel are lucky, I hope it will be made into a movie.' The work has been highly praised by readers. In fact, the novel vividly depicts the fierce power struggle that took place both inside and outside the country, the anguish of Empress Myeongseong, and the devoted love of the unknown, set in the late Joseon Dynasty. Accordingly, the movie <Like a Butterfly Like a Flame>, which is coming to the screen this fall, tries to overcome the limitations of the typeface of the novel with its impactfully reconstructed texture and visual effect. The movie <Like a Butterfly Like a Flame> where the best production crew and actors met on the solid story base built by Yasulloc, the story writer of hit comics such as 「Nambeol」 and 「Armageddon」. Full of flame-like love revived by Cho Seung-woo and Soo-ae, spectacular sights created by the famous staff, and action scenes that make you sweat, <Like a Butterfly, Like a Flame> hits the theaters as a well-made movie by stimulating the five senses of the audience. something to do.

[ Production Note ]

1. Location
Primal beauty that has never been touched by the screen!
The production team of the last melodrama of the Joseon Dynasty, <Like a Butterfly, Like a Flame>, traveled around the country for three years before the full-scale filming began, excavating hidden gem-like spots. Thus, the places that were chosen were upo Wetland and Sinduri coastal sand dunes and other places. These were unpolished and rough-bred 'Moon Myung', a natural space where the untouched beauty of the Joseon language is alive while the character's personality is best reflected.

Upo Wetland, designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is a space where the pristine nature that has been preserved since prehistoric times remains intact. For this reason, of course, it has never been fully open for filming, and it is true that it is impossible to move a filming equipment vehicle due to the thick forest. However, after the efforts of the production team of <Like a Butterfly, Like a Flame>, the Nakdong River Environment Agency and other related organizations, who highly valued the specificity and purpose of the film's subject matter, received permission to shoot and was able to obtain active cooperation in the filming. In a place where there was not even a parking space, let alone moving vehicles, the officials of Upo Wetland planted a field and made a parking lot, and even smoothed the road to allow smooth movement to the filming location. Not only that, he also manually searched for hunting in Upo Swamp, and even sponsored the water bird eggs he had in his possession as props, which impressed the production team. Thanks to active cooperation and support, <Like a Flame, Like a Butterfly> was successfully filmed and was able to bring a never-before-seen natural appearance to the screen.

'Ja-young' visited the beach before the wedding with King Gojong, and 'Mumyeong' followed her. The scene with the pure image of 'Ja-yeong' who looks out at the vast sea, and vows to live as a mother who will overcome the fear of becoming a queen, and 'Mumyeong,' who presents flowers to her, is the only coastline in Korea. It was filmed at the Sinduri Coastal Sand Dunes, a sand dune and natural monument. In this place, as well as the location selection was not smooth, there were many restrictions on access to the filming equipment. However, due to their insistence on visual beauty and their efforts, the production team, who obtained permission to shoot, was able to create a beautiful scene with the setting sun in the background. The emotional screen of 'Jayoung' before she was Empress Myeongseong, who rolls up her skirt and hits the water, and the scenes that vividly express the image of 'Mumyeong' who is dedicated to practicing swordsmanship alone with four-wheel drive. It will cause a calm wave in the

2. Art
Sets & props that reproduce the splendid beauty of the late Joseon Dynasty and the East and the West!
The palace was created as a maze-like space by art director Min Eon-ok, representing Korea. Like the outside world with no end in sight, the palace of 'Self-young' with neither beginning nor end known. The set of <Like a Butterfly Like a Flame>, built in a large space of about 800 pyeong, was designed in the form of a maze, and the space changes fluidly, creating various scenes. The set of <Like a Butterfly Like a Flame>, in which the yard sometimes turns into a stage, and moves one wall to create another room, said, "I hope the audience doesn't know what a palace is until the end of the movie." As director Min Eon-ok said, it is unbelievable that it is one space, showing so many different sides.

In addition to the set structure, <Like a Butterfly Like a Flame> catches the eye with a variety of props that realistically show the transitional situation in the late Joseon Dynasty, when the influx of Western culture began. In fact, the standing furniture that I first entered during the reign of King Gojong, and the Western-style study and curtains adorning 'Jayoung's room' are reflected by historical research conducted by the director and production team. In addition, the light bulbs airlifted for the scene of the first electric light on the Korean Peninsula were made by the Edison light bulb company for over 100 years. do too. From detailed props such as light bulbs to expensive antique mattresses in the bedrooms of King Gojong and Empress Myeongseong, art director Min Eon-ok recreated beautiful Joseon scenes by adding imagination to historical facts.

3. Costume
More than 1,000 costumes that gave wings to the character were created by thorough handwork!
Production period of one year, production of 1,000 actual garments, hand-dyed and embroidered. Shim Hyeon-seop, the costume director of <Like a Butterfly, a Flame>, chose a path of justice to differentiate it from the Joseon costumes that have been shown in existing dramas and musicals. It was not the splendor of the West and the Chinese scale, but the costumes based on the naturalism of the white-robe people of the small Eastern countries. Costume director Shim Hyeon-seop refrained from artificial aesthetics and exaggeration as much as possible, made the costumes by hand taking advantage of the unique taste of Korean hands, and tried to express the depth of the clothes by creating calm colors with natural dyeing.

In particular, the costume of Empress Myeongseong 'Min Ja-young' was made with the image of a mother of Joseon, a strong and simple woman. Empress Myeongseong's costumes, with the clear blue and pink colors before the entrance to the palace highlighting her girlishness, the purple and green colors as benevolence as a mother, and sometimes red color to add strength. Among them, the costumes in the final ending scene are expressed in the pale yellow color of the white-robed people (the color of the fabric that is not bleached or dyed), revealing the dignity and sadness of the mother of the country. It is a product of hard work that took 4 months to produce one piece, and the costume in the ending scene, where the entire body of the costume was completed by hand, is difficult to measure the value of money. The costumes of <Like a Butterfly, Like a Flame>, which contain naturalistic Korean aesthetics, blend naturally with the beautiful scenery and drama, enriching the beauty of the characters and the film.

4. Action
CG meets stylish action!
The essence of speedy dagger action never seen before unfolds!
The dagger 'Heukmyeongdo' was inspired by Kwon Gaya's cartoon [A Man's Story]. 'Black Myeongdo', which 'Moon Myung' considers to be an alter ego of himself, is a crude-looking dagger rather than a long sword that has been handled by many historical drama protagonists. The professional martial arts director, who has created famous action scenes in various movies such as <No Admittance>, <Detective Duelist> and <The Movie is a Movie>, has the speedy of the wild 'Unknown' without being refined with the crude 'Black Myeongdo'. I designed an action. In particular, this movie emphasized the sum of the actions in that the main character with a dagger must get closer to attack the opponent with a long sword. Jo Seung-woo, who played the role of 'Moon Myung', was unfamiliar with the dagger action he encountered for the first time, but with absolute trust in the professional martial arts director, he devoted himself to martial arts practice enough to lose 7 kg of weight. In particular, he received rave reviews from director Kim Yong-gyun and professional martial arts director for his excellent sense of action.

In addition to the stylish design of a professional martial arts director, <Like a Butterfly Like a Flame> raises the difficulty of the action with specialized CG technology. That is, Hong Jae-cheol, who was in charge of major CGs for masterpieces such as <Pirates of the Caribbean>, <Transformers> and <Iron Man> at ILM, the world's best CG company, joined forces to create action aesthetics that transcend human limitations. The action of <Like a Butterfly Like a Flame>, created by making the character itself 3D rather than the conventional motion capture method, will captivate the audience's eyes with a total of 440 cuts of sophistication.

<Like a butterfly, like a flame> Stylish action BEST 3!

water wire action
The place where the first full-fledged confrontation between 'Anonymous' and 'Thunderbolt' standing in front of him takes place is the ferry boat of 'Anonymous'. 'Anonymous' and 'Thunderbolt', met on a small ferry that seems difficult to support two adults, show dynamic action despite the limited space. In particular, on a moonlit night, the 360-degree rotation action of 'Moon Myung', which kicks up water to attack the 'Thunderbolt', and the longsword action of 'Thunderbolt', which blocks the bamboo spear of the 'Thunderbolt', are outstanding.

3D sword fight action
'Mumyeong' and 'Thunderbolt' met again at Gyeonghoeru after 'Mumyeong' became an escort. The two perform a spectacular action against the backdrop of Gyeonghoeru in the festive atmosphere where the electric lighting ceremony is being held. In particular, the 3D sword battle scene made in Full 3D not only shows the battle of the dagger of 'Unknown' and the long sword of 'Thunderbolt' in an exciting way, but it is also upgraded from the motion capture method. It transcends the limits of action that can be shown.

1:10,000 Battle of Gwanghwamun
In order to protect 'Jayoung', 'Moon Myung' faces 'Daewongun'. 'Daewongun', who was dismissed due to 'Gojong''s declaration of his father's office, leads the soldiers into Gwanghwamun, and 'Mumyeong' fights against them. In Gwanghwamun, which is widely reproduced through CG, in the image of 'Myung' who fights alone while surrounded by numerous soldiers, the strong love to protect 'Self-young' confirms the dazzling defense of 'Myung', who does not yield despite being inferior in numbers. do it

Geoncheonggung Nangin Blood Battle
The Eulmi Incident where the last bloody battle for 'Jayoung' takes place. Facing the rogues who broke into the Geoncheong Palace, 'Moon Myung' spews out a flaming life and cuts down the rogues one after the other. 'Moo-myeong', who opposes 'heuk-myeong-do' against the rogues armed with rifles, fights for the last time, risking everything so that they cannot take even one step closer to Empress Myeong-seong's 'Min Ja-young'.

[ Epilogue ]

Today, I am writing a letter that I cannot deliver.
I wrote it like this and burned it again and again… I think there were a lot of things I wanted to say.

Sea… Now, the thing I miss the most is the sea with you.
Someday a better world will come,
We wanted to visit the beach together again.

General. Looking back, I have never been able to fulfill your wishes.
Now… that's a regret.
However, your heart is forever…
… I will never forget you even if I die.

The general… It's my sea.

– Among the love letters of Empress Myeongseong 'Min Ja-young' that Isabelle kept (Chinese)