I don't want to write a pan of Kim Han-min's war pic Noryang: Deadly Sea. I'd rather watch the movie again with the sound off so I can relish the stunning range of stylish battlewear. You'd think the military costumes of a movie set entirely on ships along the Southern coast of what's now South Korea would grow repetitive or look somewhat bland. How wrong you are. To the contrary, the 16th-century military clash of couture depicted in Noryang is runway ready, with impeccable uniforms representing three countries with no shortage of fashion finesse: Korea (f.k.a. Joseon), Japan, and Ming China.
The good guy is Admiral Yi Sun-Shin (Kim Yoon-seok). The bad guy Admiral Shimazu Yoshihiro (Baek Yoon-seok). And the one who's hard to pin down is Admiral Chen Lin (Jeong Jae-young). All look fabulous. Yi wears a snake-scaled leather bolero jacket with fur trim and a metal helmet topped by a trident and flanked by generous ear flaps; Shimazu wears a boldly striped armor tunic with an open vest with exaggerated shoulders, his own intricate headpiece a constant source of wonder; Chen's helmet may be simpler yet it frames his face with leather flames, a millinery choice so exquisite that the rest of outfit becomes irrelevant. In fashion terms, Noryang is unending splendor, right down to one POW's leather eyepatch flawlessly stitched down the middle. Yes, there are fascinating-looking ships. Yes, there are theatrical explosions. Yes, a national hero's acchievements are being replayed by history buffs with fashion fetishes. But Noryang never serves dialogue that's ever quite as memorable as the wispy beards worn by its major characters.
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