''Mulleya Mulleya'' ( ; also known as ''Spinning the Tales of Cruelty Towards Women''), is a 1984 South Korean film directed by

Lee Doo-yong Lee Doo-yong (born December 24, 1942) is a South Korean film director. Since his debut in 1969 with the film ''The Lost Wedding Veil'' (1970), Lee has made more than 60 films in a wide array of genres. In the 1970s, he introduced Korean-style ac ...

. It was chosen as Best Film at the

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section of the

1984 Cannes Film Festival The 37th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 23 May 1984. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Paris, Texas'' by Wim Wenders. The festival opened with ''Fort Saganne'', directed by Alain Corneau and closed with '' The Bounty'', directed by Roger D ...

. The film was also selected as the South Korean entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

57th Academy Awards The 57th Academy Awards were presented March 25, 1985, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. Jack Lemmon presided over the ceremonies. This ceremony marked the first time that multiple black nominees would win an Oscar, when Prince and ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

A historical drama about the life of a widow. 15th century life was sometimes cruel to Korean women and this story depicts a lot of the injustices that could occur as happening to Kil-Rye, the heroine.Synopsis based on

Cast

Won Mi-kyung Won Mi-kyung (born April 24, 1960) is a South Korean actress. Won was born in Chuncheon, Gangwon, South Korea. She graduated from Seoul Girls' High School. Won is referred to as one of "The Troika of the 1980s" along with Lee Mi-sook, and Lee Bo ...

: Gillye * Shin Il-ryong: Yun-bo * Moon Jung-suk: Mother * Choe Sung-kwan: Father * Park Min-ho * Choe Seong-ho * Moon Mi-bong * Yang Chun *

Hyun Kill-soo Korea's provinces (''Do (administrative division), Do''; hangul: 도; hanja: ) have been the primary administrative division of Korea since the mid Goryeo dynasty in the early 11th century, and were preceded by provincial-level divisions (''Ju'' ...

* Choe Jeong-won

Critical reception

Comment on contemporary reactions to this film: There was a great deal of controversy in the Korean media when this film came out, saying that this work did not represent Korea well. Some objected to the shade of the lead actress' skin, saying that she looked too dark for a Korean. Whiteness of skin was and is still considered important among many in Korea. Others scoffed that it was unlikely that all of the injustices depicted could have happened to one woman. However, it is a vivid and visually spectacular depiction of the struggles many women went through in that time period. The film also polarized audiences and stirred controversy when it was shown at the

East–West Center The East–West Center (EWC), or the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peopl ...

and the Fifth International Film Festival in Honolulu.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * {{South Korean submissions for the Academy Award 1984 films 1980s historical drama films Films set in the Joseon dynasty Films directed by Lee Doo-yong Best Picture Grand Bell Award winners 1980s Korean-language films South Korean historical drama films 1984 drama films