Chun-hyang: A classic story that doesn't need to be fancy

If you have any patience for traditional folktales, you will probably dig The Story of Chun-hyang. If you need pacing that moves like a bullet train, stay away. This isn't a movie for people who check their phones every five minutes.

The plot is simple. Girl meets boy, boy leaves, bad guy shows up to make everything miserable. It is a story told a thousand times in a thousand ways, sort of like the romantic entanglements in Border Romance, but with way higher stakes for the heroine.

Chun-hyang is the heart of this. She refuses to give in to the corrupt magistrate even when things get really bleak in that prison cell. Her stubbornness is the best part of the whole film. It feels less like a performance and more like a stand-off.

The bad guy is truly a piece of work

Byeon Hak-do is the kind of villain you just want to see get hit with a chair. He is so slimy that he almost makes the movie feel like a thriller. It reminded me a bit of the tension you find in The Mark of Cain, where one person holds all the cards and you are just waiting for the trap to spring.

The pacing is… well, it is slow. The scenes in Namwon drag on, but honestly, I didn't mind. There is a weight to the way the characters speak that you don't get in modern stuff. It feels like watching a play, where the silence between lines matters just as much as the shouting.

• The costumes are great.
• The prison set looks like it is held together by hope and wood glue.
• Nobody rushes anything.

When Lee Mong-ryong finally shows up as the undercover detective, the movie shifts gears. It is not exactly a high-octane rescue, but it feels earned. I found myself grinning when he finally puts the hammer down on the magistrate. It is satisfying in that old-fashioned, righteous way that makes you feel good for about ten minutes after the credits roll.

Is it a masterpiece? Probably not. It is just a solid, grounded version of a story that has been around forever. It doesn't try to be clever or change the world. It just tells the story. Sometimes, that is all you really need on a rainy Tuesday.