The Tale of Shim Chong (1985)
- Original title
- 심청전
- Directed by
- Shin Sang-ok
- Genre
- musical film
- Country
- North Korea
- Runtime
- 1h 40m
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A poor blind farmer's daughter sacrifices herself to the sea god so her father can get rice to pay for his sight. She is saved and lives in a giant orchid, then marries a king who helps her find her father.
melodramaticfantasticalsentimentalmusicalfolklorictragichopefulancient
What happens
The Tale of Shim Chong (Korean: 심청전) is a 1985 North Korean musical film directed by Shin Sang-ok. It is based on the traditional story of the same name. The story centers on Shim Chong, the daughter of a poor blind farmer. The peasant signs a deal with a monk to deliver 300 sacks of rice in return of his sight, but is unable to deliver the goods. Shim Chong agrees to be sacrificed to the God of the Sea on behalf of sailors who wish to appease the deity. She is thrown into the sea and meets the god who praises her for her filial piety. Shim Chong returns to the surface inside a giant orchid that fishermen take to the king of the land. The king falls in love with her and helps her find her desperate father who has gone missing by organizing a feast for all the blind people in the kingdom. The Tale of Shim Chong was made when Shin and his wife Choi Eun-hee, who plays the part of Shim Chong's mother, were abducted by North Korea. The two were allowed to complete the filming of the underwater sequences of the film at the Bavaria Film Studios in Munich, West Germany. The negatives of the film went missing for some time, before Shin re-discovered them in Pyongyang. The Tale of Shim Chong has been likened to the work of Busby Berkeley. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Love, Love, My Love (1985)
The Tale of Fifteen Children (1985)
Pulgasari (1985)
Salt (1985)
The Oldest Son (1985)
Whale Hunting 2 (1985)
Deep Blue Night (1985)
The Great Jungle Escape (1985)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.