''Musa'' (), released as both ''The Warrior'' and ''The Ultimate Warrior'' in English-speaking countries, is a 2001 South Korean

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

action drama The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

film directed by Kim Sung-su, starring Jung Woo-sung,

Ahn Sung-ki Ahn Sung-ki (; born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years. He received Bog-wan Order of Cultural Merit in 2005 Culture Day. ...

, Joo Jin-mo and Chinese actress

Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi (; ; born 9 February 1979), sometimes credited Ziyi Zhang, is a Chinese actress, known for playing independent and strong-willed characters. Born and raised in Beijing, Zhang was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama in 1996. Th ...

. The semi-historical story follows the adventures of a Korean peace delegation as they try to get back to Korea through the inhospitable deserts of northern China. The film is regarded as being one of the biggest motion pictures in the history of South Korean cinema. At the time of its production, its budget was the largest ever for a Korean film. It features a high degree of historical accuracy in period costumery, props, settings and most unusually, language; that is, everyone speaks in their native tongues or through an interpreter conversant in a

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

. The film was the eighth highest-grossing film of 2001 with over two million tickets sold.

Plot

In 1375, a small diplomatic mission from the Korean kingdom

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

travels to

Ming China The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

to meet the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...

, but they are arrested in retaliation for the death of a Chinese diplomat in Goryeo. They are put in chains and taken across a desert. However, Mongol raiders suddenly show up and kill the Chinese soldiers transporting them, while killing some Koreans in the process. The Mongols ride off, leaving the rest of the Koreans to die of hunger or thirst. The head of the Korean soldiers in the group, General Choi-Jung, takes command because the two diplomats are dead. Later, they discover that the Mongols have kidnapped the Hongwu Emperor's daughter so they ambush the Mongol convoy and rescue the princess. Yeo-sol, a former slave of one of the diplomats, defeats the Mongol general Rambulwha in single combat, but allows the latter to live and escape. The Koreans flee with the princess, determined to return her safely to the Chinese capital,

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

, to atone for their diplomatic failure. The Mongols give chase in the hope of recovering the princess and presenting her to their Khan while the Koreans head towards a coastal fortress the princess tells them about, where they expect to find safe haven. Along the way, the Koreans pick up some Chinese peasants who are also fleeing from the Mongols. Fighting their way through Mongol search parties, the group experiences many internal conflicts stemming from social class, love, and honour. The lower-class soldiers chafe under their poor treatment in comparison to the soldiers of the upper-class. They have little confidence in their young general, and prefer taking orders from their veteran sergeant, Dae-Jung. The princess has difficulty adjusting to the rough necessities of her position on the run. Choi-Jung and Yeo-sol become nemeses, competing for the affections of the princess and exchanging blows on several occasions. When the group finally reaches the fortress, they are disappointed to see that it is nothing more than abandoned ruins. At the same time, the Mongols have caught up with them and have set up a camp outside the fortress. As the Koreans prepare to make a last stand, the princess attempts to give herself up to the Mongols in exchange for peace, but Yeo-sol and Choi-Jung stop her. A fight breaks out between the two men and the Mongols, resulting in Yeo-sol being captured. Rambulwha, who is impressed with Yeo-sol's skill, offers to let the latter join his army but Yeo-sol refuses and returns to the fortress to help his fellows. In the final battle, the defenders' gunpowder traps backfire when the Mongols launch a fire attack and stage a raid on the fortress. Yeo-sol sacrifices himself to save the princess while Choi-Jung and Rambulwha kill each other. All the Koreans perish along with their Mongol enemies, except for Dae-Jung. The princess stays with the peasants at the fortress and promises to tell her father of the Koreans' sacrifice while Dae-Jung builds a makeshift raft and sails back to Goryeo.

Cast

* Jung Woo-sung as Yeo-sol, a hot-headed but loyal former slave who is skilled in using

polearm A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly melee we ...

s *

as Dae-Jung, a veteran archer and sergeant of the lower-class soldiers * Joo Jin-mo as Choi-Jung, the inexperienced general of the mission *

as Princess Bu-yong (Princess Furong), a kidnapped Chinese princess *

Yu Rongguang Yu Rongguang (; born 30 August 1958), also known as Ringo Yu, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. He is best known for the title role in '' Iron Monkey'' along with Donnie Yen as well as being featured in films such as '' The East Is Red'', ' ...

as Rambulwha, the honourable but cruel Mongol general * Park Jung-hak as Ga-nam, the experienced lieutenant of the upper-class soldiers * Park Yong-woo as Ju-myeong, a cowardly interpreter * Lee Doo-il as Ji-san, a burly Buddhist monk * Yoo Hae-jin as Du-chung, an axe-wielding soldier who loses an eye * Han Young-mok as Dan-saeng, a very young soldier * Jung Suk-yong as Ha-il

Historical context

The film presents a fictionalised account of a real Korean diplomatic mission sent to China in 1375. Chun-Yong Son was to present a herd of horses as gifts to the

but he and his party were reported to have been exiled and there was no record of their return to Korea. At the time, the Ming government was unhappy with Korea as the Korean government continued to acknowledge the Mongols as the legitimate rulers of China (this was true until 1378). Eventually the Koreans managed to gain favour with the Ming government and the relationship became very cordial. The film also portrays the political conflicts in China at the time, between the fading Mongol-ruled

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

and the new

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

that returned China to

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

rule.

Release

The 158-minute South Korean theatrical cut was edited and regraded to create a 133-minute international version, for distribution in various foreign markets. In the UK, the international version was further edited by 27 seconds to remove scenes of real animal cruelty, mainly involving deliberate horse falls. The same versions were later issued in the respective markets on DVD. As of September 2020, ''Musa'' has not been released anywhere on Blu-ray or in HD.

References

External links

* *{{KMDb film, 05472, Musa 2001 films 2000s war drama films 2000s historical drama films 2001 action drama films Films scored by Shirō Sagisu South Korean epic films South Korean action drama films South Korean war drama films South Korean historical drama films 2000s Korean-language films Films set in 14th-century Ming dynasty Films set in Goryeo Films set in the 1370s War epic films South Korean historical action films Historical action films 2000s South Korean films