Duelist

A bizarre love story set within a tale of swordplay and mystery, Duelist is very much a part of the Korean fantasy/historical tradition. Set around the turn of the last century, it follows a group of police officers investigating a complex case of fraud in the small town which they protect. It soon becomes clear that the case goes right to the top and may represent part of a plan to topple the government.

Their efforts have never been more urgently needed - yet the youngest of their number, Namsoon (Ji-Won Ha) is finding it hard to keep her mind on the job. Chasing suspects through the marketplace, she has stumbled upon a mysterious sad-eyed young man who keeps reappearing and getting in her way. He's handy with a sword, but so is she, and the two engage in a series of duels as she attempts to arrest him. But gradually her pursuit acquires a different motive, and a fateful cup of tea leads to the admission of an obsession she cannot control.

Beautiful to look at and elegantly told, Duelist is nevertheless a familiar story with few new ideas to contribute to the genre. Its intense romantic focus is repeatedly interrupted by slapstick humour and dramatic fight sequences, but sadly it doesn't deliver on action as one might hope. There's too much focus on fancy camerawork and not enough on actual swordplay. A tendency to punctuate action scenes with moments of darkness is witty at first but soon becomes annoying, making it hard to follow what's going on and giving the impression of being a get-out clause for when the choreographer ran out of ideas. There's an abundance of visual ideas here and fans of innovative film work will love the experimental style, but it does sometimes distract one too much from the action. There's a lot of speeding up and slowing down and billowing fabric, too, a more familiar trope of the genre.

The essential problem with the story as it is presented is that the mysterious young man is required to be silent so much that Namsoon has to express what's going on for both of them, leading to scenes of hysteria which are sometimes unintentionally funny even after the plot begins to darken. She comes across like a spoiled teenager and it's difficult to see why she was ever given a position of responsibility. Dong-won Kang acquits himself well as the object of her desires, but he's a walking cliché and has little opportunity to expand his role beyond that. Nevertheless, it's a charming story in its way, and an enjoyable way to pass the time if you like that sort of thing.