I will be the pattern of all patience; I will say nothing.

For the longest I refused to watch Musa, because I thought I couldn’t stomach another zhang-ziyi-period-drama piece. Why the rest of the world chooses to glorify some of the lianest specimens of our race I fail to comprehend.

So finally, because of Jung Woo Sung, I decided to watch Musa once and for all. Zhang Ziyi notwithstanding, it was really a good movie.

You can probably read the synopsis somewhere else, so I’ll be brief. A small Korean delegation – diplomats and a small army – are sent to China to establish ties with the Ming dynasty King. Thwarted, on the way home to Korea they run into a Mongolian army which has kidnapped a Ming princess. They decide to rescue her and send her back to Nanjing to the King to complete their mission. Needless to say, when you piss off the Mongolian army by stealing their prize, lots of blood ensues.

What I like about this movie is that it isn’t a superficial, vacuous visual treat. It’s not a lush, complicated narrative. It’s an honest account. It’s no-frills, but full of human emotion.

My Korean favourites are changing week to week, and Jang Woo Sung is hunk du-jour. He plays Yeo-sol, a slave in the contingent, who is freed, albeit in the middle of nowhere. He hardly says two lines in the movie, but he doesn’t really have to. His loyalty and simple devotion was contrasted with Ju Jin Mo’s arrogant General Choi, who slowly loses his grip on the delegation. Ahn Sung Kee is the experienced advisor of the support delegation, and he was like a Gandalf in the movie. The voice of reason, the voice of security.

You can tell where the lines are drawn, the Korean cast seemed have a camraderie that showed up on screen. Even though their characters were fighting among themselves, they seemed to hold it together internally, like it was them against the world. It was awesome.

The other thing I liked about the movie was that there was no one super shining star of the movie. The characters were flawed, real and still believeable. The ensemble made the movie work. The theme of duty and brotherhood are not the most popular with Hollywood movies, but it pretty much underpins most Asian movies. And true to that, they didn’t glorify any one person. Every one of the characters made the movie the rich, compelling story it was.

The other thing I liked about the movie, was the honesty they accorded the opposition. Mr Iron Monkey, Yu Rongguang played the Mongolian general who was hell-bent on capturing the Princess and bringing her back to Mongolia to fulfil the legacy of his predecessor and bring hope and honour to his people back home. You don’t hate the men in the film, you just end up wishing life wasn’t so complicated.

So in all, I really liked this movie. In my books, it’s right up there with Joint Security Area. I’m a little disappointed that the Zhang Yimou’s Hero and House of Flying Daggers, and Chen Kaige’s The Promise fall short compared to Musa, not because their technology was inferior, but mostly because they felt it necessary to overcompensate for Crouching Tiger and take the visual appeal highway, resulting in a bunch of flight attendant movies.

I’m still waiting for that one iconic Chinese movie. I’m hoping it won’t take too long.