Magic and mayhem

Gods and goblins and fireball-hurlin’ wizards…need I say more?

Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard (2009) features all of this good stuff, and Portland State students will have an opportunity to enjoy it on the big screen.

The Korean fantasy adventure film will show at 5th Avenue Cinema this Friday as the final installment of the ongoing Korean Film Festival. The festival has been hosted as a fundraiser by the Korean Student Association with the help of the PSU Institute for Asian Studies.

Directed by Choi Dong-hoon, Woo Chi follows the dynamic steps and death-defying leaps of Woo Chi (Kang Dong-won), a roguish young wizard who battles goblins and demons while searching for the artifacts that will earn him glory. Joining Woo Chi is the bombastic Chorangyi (Yu Hae-jin), a faithful dog magically morphed by the wizard into human form.

The film begins in the past, during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, where Woo Chi serves as a student under his master (Baek Yoon-sik) and several other esteemed Taoist wizards. Ever the troublemaker, Woo Chi mocks the king in a feat of transformation, causing an uproar even as a group of goblins acquire the fabled Pipe of Prophecy.

Despite his scoundrel’s demeanor, Woo Chi proves to be an apt wizard with a heart of gold as he fights to protect a noble young widow (Im Soo-jung) from bandits. After he sees her home, however, he and his superior wizards return to their master to find the elder wizard murdered. The goblin who did the deed frames Woo Chi, and he is then imprisoned in a scroll.

The film continues in present-day Seoul, 500 years later, during the next awakening of the goblins. The wizards, now retired from their Taoist lives, reluctantly decide to free Woo Chi to enlist his aid after a particularly humbling run-in with their foes.

A drowsy Woo Chi reluctantly agrees to give them aid after a tumultuous battle of his own, setting off the last chapter in the wizards’ war to restore balance and reclaim the Pipe of Prophecy from the goblins who stole it.

Woo Chi combines all the elements of a high-octane action film, a soaring fantasy and a comical adventure. The film weaves them together into an energetic tale full of laughs and adrenaline. It is light and fun while managing to be epic in scope and fierce in action.

The comedy in the film is plentiful. The wizards bumble at times, and the dog (in human form) has his share of gags. Woo Chi is a quick-witted smart-ass—and then, of course, there is the magical mayhem.

The visual effects waffle between stunning and campy, but the fights are brilliantly executed, meshing the grace of weapon-based martial arts and imaginative use of the heroes’ and villains’ magical prowess. The magic itself is depicted with style and substance, conveying an array of powers from the subtle to the grand; from nuanced spells to in-your-face effects.

The goblins tend to be a little corny in their natural forms, but they spend the vast majority of their time as their human hosts, and one or two of the monster fights are pretty amazing.

As the last film to be screened for the Korean Film Festival, Woo Chi is a bit of a departure from most of the other, heavier films. Previous films screened include Cyrano Agency (a romantic comedy), Poetry (an artistic drama) and Don’t Cry for Me, Sudan (a documentary). In addition, a documentary about Korean history and contemporary society titled The Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project was screened at the PSU School of Business Administration.

The films were provided by the Korea Foundation and Korea International Trade Association along with a grant to fund the student association’s annual Korea Night. They are being shown in an effort to raise funds for PSU Korean studies.

It isn’t too late to contribute and take in a wonderful piece of Korean blockbuster cinema. If you don’t mind reading subtitles and enjoy a little magic in your hat, Woo Chi will really take you on a thrill ride.