An homage to a poor family of pansori singers, Im Kwon-taek's Sopyonje sure pays attention to the period details: the corsetting under a man's shirt; the caretaking of a traditional buk drumskin; the proper position assumed by a gonsu, the artform's requisite percussionist. It also passes on the classic generalities attached to musicians of many genres: a blind young chanteuse who feels more deeply; a woman who kills herself for a talented performer; two squabbling, competitive vocalists who drink in excess while flanked by flirtatious groupies.
Sopyonje's anti-hero is the irasicible pansori artist Youbong (Kim Myung-gon, who also wrote the screenplay!). A master musician banished from the troupe which schooled him and now raising two children — one his by birthright; the other, by fate — he's prepping the new generation to carry on the venerable art and inspire a lot of enjoyable incidental dancing from those who listen. But this is back in the days when artists get no respect: "Just because I sing, it doesn't mean that I'm low in stature." That's poorly translated but I didn't write these subtitles. You get the gist.
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