Painted Fire
Kino International | Release Date: February 14, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
A handsome film, filled with lavish costumes and set designs and told in a series of exquisitely composed images. But even with its visual polish, it's a chilly, largely unaffecting film about an unsympathetic man. Read full review
80
VarietyDavid Stratton
Grounded by a vigorous, physical performance from Choi Min-Sik, who brings both earthiness and grandeur to the central role, the film vividly evokes the world of an obsessive natural talent. Read full review
100
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Another masterpiece from one of the world's more neglected great directors, a master artist who here reveals the soul of another. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Mr. Im's own aesthetic command is evident in the movie's wealth of beautiful, perfectly framed images of nature -- shots so full of passion and perception that they could almost be paintings themselves. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
In the scope of things, Ohwon's story is a route into the larger story of an uncertain and tumultuous period in Korea, and it's here that Chi-hwa-seon loses its grip. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
The film is art in all its visual splendor, and no matter how confusing the historic story line may be to Westerners -- and it is -- the images on screen more than compensate for the faults. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
This is that rare art flick whose subject goes nuts because his work is not self-indulgent ENOUGH. Read full review
63
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Beautiful to look at, with scrumptious period detail and a knowing performance by Choi Min-sik as the portly, goatéed painter. At the same time, Chihwaseon is slow and stilted. Read full review
90
Village VoiceEd Park
Succeeds as the rehumanizing of a near mythical figure. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Im distinguishes what might have otherwise been a standard Hollywood biopic through his use of exquisitely composed shots that could have been imagined by Jang himself. Read full review
80
Film ThreatDarrin Keene
Scene after scene blends masterfully with the work of Ohwon’s paint brush, and the power of images and symbols reveal not only a great artist, but also a pivotal era in Korean history. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
The mystery of the artistic process is left mysterious -- as it should be. Read full review
70
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
A binding strength of the film is the performance of Choi Min-Sik as Ohwon: far from any fake-Barrymore antics, he makes us feel that we are intruding on the heat and genius of a man for whom life -- existence as is possible in the world -- is insufficient. Read full review
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
It is quietly observant, with a detached eye for the telling moment, and the visual compositions are often exquisite. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Art history majors may write in with corrections. Meanwhile, I'm declaring that the masterly, big-canvas biographical drama Chi-hwa-seon: Painted Fire is about the Jackson Pollock of 19th-century Korea. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderShelly Kraicer
Old-fashioned, beautifully crafted biopic of painter Jang Seung-up. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Im recounts the painter's life in bold strokes rather than with the literalist's painstaking detail, and in the process tells us more about the mysteries of genius than a bushel full of quotidian fact. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The artist's life and times were turbulent and tragic, but the effect of the movie is the opposite: it's somehow a very calming, almost Zenlike experience, and it left me with a peaceful glow that I managed to carry around for the rest of the day. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Once again, the director's eye is faultless as he captures both the essence and beauty of the art of Jang Seung-up, Korea's legendary 19th-century painter. But he doesn't capture the artist's soul. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
A beautiful and exhilaratingly clear-eyed new film by the equally celebrated South Korean director Im Kwon-Taek. Read full review
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
While this isn't a masterpiece on the level of his great "Chunhyang," it packs a sophisticated cinematic punch. Read full review
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