Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2007
Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait
Buy Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Mi: The Legend of a Portrait
| image = Muoi film poster.jpg
| caption =
| director = Kim Tae-kyeong
| producer =
| writer = Zizak
| starring = Jo An
Cha Ye-ryun
Anh Th
| music = Ryu Hyeong-wook
| cinematography = Park Jae-hong
| editing = Ko Im-pyo
| distributor = Cinema Service
CJ Entertainment (South Korea)
Phuoc Sang Films (Vietnam)
| released =
| runtime = 93 minutes
| country = South Korea
Vietnam
| language = Korean
Vietnamese
| budget =
| gross = [https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/intl/?page=&wk=2007W30&id=_fMUOITHELEGENDOFA01 "'Muoi'"]. 'Box Office Mojo'. Retrieved March 04, 2012.
| native_name =
}}
'Mi: The Legend of a Portrait' is a 2007 horror film starring Jo An, Cha Ye-ryun and Anh Thu. It became the first horror film in Vietnam after the Fall of SaigonThe first Vietnamese horror film was South Vietnam's 'Con ma nha ho Hua' (The Ghost of Family Hua). Oan hon (Spirits) in 2004 from Vietnamese Americans as well as the first rated film in Vietnam.
Plot
Yun-hee, a South Korean writer, is under pressure by her editor to produce something of interest for her next book. She hasnt had a book published in three years and is all too cognizant of this fact. Things look up when her old friend Seo-yeon calls from Vietnam. Seo-Yeon informs Yun-hee about a local Vietnamese folklore centered around a girl named Mi and her haunted portrait. It just so happens that in Yun-hees prior novel, she wrote a semi-autobiographical tale concerning her friends titled Secrets & Lies. In the book Seo-Yeon was portrayed in the most horrible manner, but Yun-hee is sure that Seo-Yeon hasnt read the book as she has been living in Vietnam for years. Yun-hee eagerly flies to Vietnam to learn more about Muoi.
Vietnamese reaction
'Muoi' is considered the first horror film production to be made in Vietnam.[http://tintuconline.vietnamnet.vn/vn/vanhoa/134325/ Tin Tuc Online Vietnamnet] Despite high public expectation, the picture also received bad reactions.
Upon examination, it received a disapproval from Vietnamese Bureau of Cinema for
"unsuitable contents,"[http://www.laodong.com.vn/Home/vanhoa/sankhauda/2007/8/52690.laodong LAODONG.COM.VN | Di 16 tui khng c xem phim Mi - Duoi 16 tuoi khong duoc xem phim Muoi] which led to a delay in Vietnamese release. Because of this, it became the second horror film to be released in Vietnam, while another in the genre, 'Ngoi nha ma am/Suoi oan hon' ('Haunted House/Ghosted Stream'), came out in August.
Finally, 'Muoi' was released on December 24, 2007 with the first rating in Vietnamese film history: an under-16 ban for disturbing violence and horror image. Though stuck with this restriction, 'Muoi' also had to suffer from scene cuts requested by the bureau. These include Muoi's right leg breakage, a monk's body falling, and So-hee's death.
Awards
At 2008's 7th Golden Kite Awards (the local equivalent of the Oscars), Phuoc Sang Films chose to send 'Muoi' to the examining judge; afterwards, controversy arose because it was not considered a "real Vietnamese film" (most of the film was shot by Koreans). However, the film still received accolades for 'Best Cinematography' and 'Best Sounds'.[http://vnexpress.net/Vietnam/Van-hoa/2008/03/3BA000C4/ VnExpress - Phng Thanh ginh gii Cnh diu vng 2007]
Cast
* Jo An ... Yoon-hee
* Cha Ye-ryun ... Seo-yeon
* Anh Thu ... Muoi
* Hong Anh ... Hong
* Hong So-hee ... Eun-jung
* Lim Seong-eon
* Ly Nha Ky ... young girl
See also
*Ghosts in Vietnamese culture
*Onry
*Japanese Urban Legends
*'The Amityville Horror' (folk story)
*'The Grudge' (film series)
*'Fatal Frame' (video game)
References
Buy Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2007