Chihwaseon aka Painted Fire, written by Yong-ok Kim, Byung-sam Min, Kwon-taek Im and directed by the latter, 9 out of 10

Chihwaseon aka Painted Fire, written by Yong-ok Kim, Byung-sam Min, Kwon-taek Im and directed by the latter

9 out of 10

Notes and thoughts on other books are available at:

-              https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E and   http://realini.blogspot.ro/

Painted Fire is a magnificent meditation on art, sacrifice, the suffering required by chefs d’oeuvre and the meaning of life

It has been awarded the Best Director prize at the most important completion, The Cannes Film Festival.

The audience is invited to learn from the life a great artist, the painter Jang Seung-up, also known as Owon.

He lives in Korea between 1843 and 1897, but it is from 1882 to the end of his life that the film takes events.

The most important theme seems to be the sacrifice and pain required by everlasting works of part, paintings that will stand the test of time.

Notwithstanding this familiar statement, psychology has proved that the truth may contradict this saying:

-          No pain no gain…and transform it into no pain more gain

The Harvard Professor of Positive Psychology Tal Ben-Shahar goes as far as to suggest that a more positive, optimistic Marcel Proust- the greatest writer for this reader- could have been even more creative if he weren’t so negative and depressive.

From the beginning of his apprenticeship, Jang Seung- up shows great promise and talent that will make him famous.

The film has plenty of lessons for would be artists, especially painters, if they want to take a more traditional path:

-          The stone must have life for a real painter

-          Hold the brush like it was an egg, touch it with all fingers and watch the energy go into it…not quotes, but words to that effect…I hope

If a very gifted, magnificent painter, the man appears to fit the profile portrayed by Paul Johnson in his accomplished work:

-          The Intellectuals, in which he looks at the lives of Jean Jacques Rousseau, Ernest Hemingway, Henrik Ibsen, Leo Tolstoy and comes to the conclusion that many –maybe most? – Prominent intellectuals have despicable sides…

Owon is drinking too much and following excesses he becomes violent with those around, women included.

His pride is justified and admirable when he faces up to corrupt officials, Chinese or Japanese invaders.

But at times, he takes an arrogant, defiant stand even towards those who are close to him and who try to support the artist.

The painter is evidently haunted and a rebel, when he is taken to the royal palace, he is feeling trapped.

In his early days, he copies famous art and he is even invited to draw pornography, as “this is a part of life”.

Korea is trapped in a struggle between Japanese, reformers and conservatives, Chinese and different warring parties.

At one stage, an admirer of the paintings of Owon says something like: “Your paintings are the only thing left for this humiliated people”

The genius becomes so famous that his art is widely imitated and copied and when a buyer shows him one drawing and asks if it is real, the answer is: “most of the paintings attributed to me are false…this one is”.

And he is very harsh on those around, but he has even less patience with himself, destroying most of the drawings he makes.

When he became a household name, someone says to him that “he should relax, what more can he achieve?”

The answer brought to mind the Japanese concept of those who live on Okinawa, most of whom live for a long time:

-          Ikigai

-          They never retire and do not even have a word for that…instead, they keep busy and animated by a reason to keep working