Manshin
만신

  • Cast

    Kim Sae-ron, Ryu Hyun-kyung, Moon So-ri, Kim Keum-hwa

  • Release Date

    2014

  • Runtime

    104 mins

  • Cert

    TBC

A documentary spanning a lifetime,
Manshin centres on a woman who has
been shunned for being ‘possessed’ by
spirits as a girl, oppressed for her superstitions beliefs as an adult and how
she has grown into a great shaman has
been honoured as a nation treasure of
Korea. Kim Keum-hwa is one of Korea’s
greatest shaman who was actually born
in Hwanghae Province, North Korea
before the Korean War. Her shamanic
traditions hark back to when she was
seventeen and became possessed by
spirits during an initiation rite called Nae-rim-gut. Though this film documents
the life and times of Kim Keum-hwa, it
also gives a history of the oppression
of people who believe in shamanism
throughout 20th century, through the
Japanese colonial period, Korean War,
and 1970’s New Community Movement.

The film is told through a mixture of
rare archive footage, music perfor-
mances, provoking mythical fantasy
scenes and reenactments with actors
including; Moon So-ri, Kim Sae-ron and
Ryu Hyun-kyung. This magical and eye
opening story is imaginatively brought
to life through the eyes of director Park
Chan-kyong who previous work all in-
clude shamanic themes such as short
film Night Fishing co-directed with his
brother, Park Chan-wook. As with past
work Park Hyun-kyung looks to mainstream Korea’s near lost shaman identity and religion. Whether you believe
in the shamanic teachings or not, Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits is a fascinating and visually compelling film.