Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (DVD) (Japan Version) DVD Region 2

Employing a flashback structure, the film explores the life of poet Yoon Dong-ju (Kang Ha-neul), from his childhood in China, through to his imprisonment by the Japanese rulers for his involvement in the Korean independence movement, along with his cousin Song Mong-kyu (Park Jung-min). With Song being the more outwardly nationalistic of the two, Dong-ju's passion flows from his words, which he begins translating into English at the suggestion of a Japanese professor after they are banned by the authorities, as is anything written in Korean at the time.

Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet sees Lee Joon-ik teaming with writer director Shin Yeon-shick, known for his work on the likes of The Russian Novel, Rough Play and others, and the film certainly has more of an indie feel than most of Lee's other works. It's a quiet, thoughtful film, almost to the point of stoicism, dealing with the relationship between politics, both personal and national, and poetry, and the ways in which people use them for different purposes. The film's main strength is the moral grey area in which it unfolds, questioning the role of the Korean people in the country's occupation by Japan, and making it clear that not all Japanese people were in support of the action. At the same time, the independence movement and communism are never depicted as being entirely heroic or the solution to the country's ills, no easy answers being offered.

This does make for interesting, searching viewing, though it should be pointed out that the film does require at least a passing knowledge of and an interest in the subject matter, Lee and Shin making few concessions or falling back on the usual spoon-fed storytelling of commercial Korean cinema. Though undoubtedly worthy and intelligent, the film isn't always the easiest or most gripping to watch, and even with a modest running time of less than two hours does feel a touch dry and overstretched in places, despite a few touches of humour here and there. The portrayal of Dong-ju as a fairly indecipherable and ambiguous protagonist doesn't help much in this regard, and though not the fault of Kang Ha-neul, it's hard to warm to his plight, the outgoing, though no less complicated Mong-kyu making for a far more engaging figure, Park Jung-min being well-deserving of his Best Actor win.

To be fair, this does give the film a grounded and historically accurate feel compared to most other Korean historical dramas, and Lee and Shin arguably deserve points for not pandering to the kind of lowest denominator melodrama that might have been expected. This is matched by the film's gorgeous black and white cinematography which, while visually impressive, is at once subtle and stark, making for an evocative recreation of the time period. The film’s look also serves well to give it a more intimate feel that other recent Lee films such as The Throne, successfully masking what was clearly a lower budget and again giving it a more indie air.

Although perhaps not likely to be one for all tastes, Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet is nevertheless an accomplished and, in its own way, bold historical drama that never whitewashes or dumbs down its subject or themes. It's good to see Lee Joon-ik trying something a little different, and though the film isn’t the easiest or most entertaining of watches, it’s one of the more challenging and even-handed explorations of Korean history and culture of late, for the right audience at least.

by James Mudge - EasternKicks.com