Origin and release year: South Korea (2008 – Portrait of a Beauty)

Korean title: 미인도

Starring: Kim Nam Gil, Kim Gyu Ri, Kim Young Ho, Choo Ja Hyun, Park Chang Ik, Kim Seung Hoon, Jeon Gook Hwan, Park Yong, Oh Man Seok, Ra Mi Ran

Director: Jeon Yoon Soo

Screenwriter: Jeon Yoon Soo

Synopsis: Born to a family of established court painters, a woman is forced to carry on her family name and take over her brother’s life after he commits suicide. (IMDb)

Trigger Warning: this film is QUITE explicit. The adult scenes were quite detailed as the film basically delves into Korea’s explicit art portraying intimate poses from the Joseon Dynasty called ‘Chunhwa’. It also starts with a suicide scene.

What is Chunhwa?

‘Chunhwa’ is the Korean erotic art tradition from the Joseon era that often depicted intimate moments and positions. Inspired by novels from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the art movement gained popularity but couldn’t become mainstream due to the conservative and Confucian lifestyle at the time. (Wikipedia)

In Portrait Of A Beauty you can see the pushback against these artworks and others portraying civilian life that were considered vulgar by the nobles and royalty.

The film is centered around Shin Yun Bok/Shin Yun Jung (played by Kim Gyu Ri) who lives in disguise as a man. She lives as an artist who discovers their fascination with painting the true nature of civilians – no matter how explicit it may be.

Kim Gyu Ri’s acting was superb as you could see her characters conflict, having been forced to live as a boy but curious about the things her female peers get up to.

She expressed the frustration and restraint of living a life that was forced upon her very well, especially in the form of her chemistry with Kim Nam Gil’s character.

The two of them had such organic chemistry that it was beautiful to watch them together even whilst doing mundane things. It’s a shame how things ended between them.

However, this film is not meant to be heartwarming in any aspect. It’s very much a story of tragedy and ends in heartbreak no matter which angle you look at it. There are a lot of uncomfortable story motifs, as well.

For instance, on top of everything else, there’s a grooming aspect that comes into the story, too.

All things considered, whilst the film is uncomfortable to watch, it’s intriguing to watch nonetheless. Every moment of storytelling has an impact that will keep you watching.

What did you think of Portrait of a Beauty? Let us know in the comments.