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Duelist

 

aka: Hyeongsa
South Korea 2005, 111 minutes
Dir. Lee Myung-Se
In Korean with English subtitles
Rating: [M]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Action/Adventure / Martial Arts

 

Aroview: A restless, meta-revisionist sword epic from the dir. of NOWHERE TO HIDE places two undercover police officers in pursuit of an elusive counterfeiting 'duelist' in historical Korea, holding nothing back in terms of style.

Drenched in stunning, bravura visuals, dir. Lee nevertheless bites off more than he can chew in ambitiously crossbreeding genres of slapstick comedy, political intrigue and martial arts mayhem. Much like his previous film, this reads like a rolodex of every conceivable editing and camera technique known to man. Despite a startlingly original approach to fight sequences – in which sword duels often take the form of a kinetic ballet or heated tango – Lee doesn't know when to say when, making this an ultimately overcooked affair.

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