Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait (2007) - full transcript

Do you know about the curse of Muoi?

Isn't that the curse
for betraying a friend?

No, it's for betraying love.

Muoi has two faces.

A pretty face for bewitching.

And a scary one for revenge.

Do you know about the curse of Muoi?

No, I don't!

He seems to know something!

It's just passed down as a legend now.

But older people in the village
believed it,



saying that Muoi put a curse
on the whole village.

As you can see, people are still
singing songs about Muoi.

You were the one who said
Seo-yeon was crazy about guys.

You even said you felt sorry
for Ji-hun when he got involved with her.

You're the one who became a writer
by using a friend.

If you hated it so much,
you should've told her.

Why make a fuss now?

SECRETS AND LIES

There's no point digging up the past.

But she's going to Vietnam
to see Seo-yeon.

No, it's for my new book!

What, the legend of Muoi?

Think about it. What if she read
your book? Why would she have invited you?

There's no way she could've read my book.



And I don't care
as long as I can get the story.

Well, you haven't written for three years.

You're desperate to get something
to write about, aren't you?

When will you stop using her for your
career? Do you want to live as a parasite?

Park Seong-eun!

Am I wrong?

You said you two were childhood friends,

but you kept badmouthing her.

I don't get it.

Enough about her.

Let's just drink.

Let's take a picture.

At Wild Moon with my darling Ji-hun.

Show her how Ji-hun and I are doing.

It would be okay if she hasn't
read your book, right?

Didn't you want to borrow my camera?

Take some photos so we can see
how much she's changed!

This is Shin Yun-hui.
Please leave a message.

Listen, Yun-hui. I mean, Ms. Shin.

It's me, your editor.
This is your last chance.

If you don't bring anything,
you'll have to cough up every penny.

Get your work done properly, okay?

JANUARY 10TH OF THE LUNAR CALENDAR

PLEASE CONFIRM
72 HOURS BEFORE FLIGHT

You don't seem happy to see me.

Are you…

Chae Seo-yeon?

Of course.

I haven't seen you in ages.
You've changed a lot.

It's only been three years.

Thanks for coming. Welcome to Vietnam.

I missed you,

Yun-hui.

I did, too.

"After countless wars against
foreign powers,

Vietnam managed to
achieve its independence."

Knowing Vietnamese history
will help you write.

It isn't much different from our own.

I'm not here to have fun,
or to study history.

Why are we here? You said the legend
is from where you're living.

We just met and you want to talk business
straight away?

I'm on a tight schedule.
It's a scary story, right?

You'd better treat me to something nice
if you make it big with the story.

People say that's Muoi
when she was little.

Her name Muoi means the number ten
in Vietnamese.

It could also mean the 10th child.

She was born with the power
to cast a curse?

She was a normal child.

Like us.

As her ghost was rumored
to haunt the village,

water turned black,
and the villagers became terrified.

Monks sealed her spirit in a portrait,

but the seal came undone,
and the curse began.

What does her curse do?

They say that the curse is cast
on the 15th, the night of a full moon.

Or that it lasts for 15 days.

But I don't know what it does.

If the curse has been around
for 100 years…

How come nobody has seen any victims?

Don't you think it's odd?

If the legend is true,
nobody would've survived.

How was the seal lifted?

I don't know. It's your job to find out.

A revenge of the dead
that nobody can stop…

How did you learn about this?

There's a professor who studies shamanism.

I put subtitles in video footage for him.

That's how I learned about this story.

Then I should meet him.

Unfortunately, he's gone back to Korea.

I'll meet him in Korea.
Do you have his number?

I don't know his number in Korea.

No?

How are the others doing?

I've lost touch with them.

You have? I wonder how they're doing.

We should go to bed early for tomorrow.

Seo-yeon!

The door was open.

No other rooms are available.
I heard this room is haunted.

Well, it should be okay.

What's wrong?

I…

Well…

Aren't you going to go in?

JANUARY 11TH OF THE LUNAR CALENDAR

It was built long ago
by a French military officer.

I decided to settle down here
when I first saw this mansion.

My dad was against the idea
since he had to stay in Ho Chi Minh City.

But I managed to talk him into buying it.

What do you think?

It's pretty nice.

But you live alone here. Isn't it too big?

I love its spaciousness.

What a nice country.

It's changed you completely.

It'll do the same to you.

You'll find the room comfortable.
I stayed there when I first moved in.

That's where I paint. It's a bit messy,

and it's my secret spot.
So don't go up there.

If you need anything, let me know.
I'll get you everything.

My room is downstairs.
Do you want to check it out?

Maybe later. Let's get to work.
Where do we go first?

Chae Seo-yeon on a boat.

This reminds me of when we rode a boat
back in high school.

You were rowing the boat, and I wished…

for the river to take us

to a place where nobody could find us.

Back then, I had nothing to worry about
when I was with you.

You got what you wished for.

You think?

Everyone kept their distance from Muoi,
the stranger who moved to their village.

Muoi was lonely, and one day,
she met an artist named Nuen.

But he left far away
before completing her portrait.

She wanted to keep the portrait,
but she knew she couldn't

because Nuen had another woman.

Hong, the daughter of a landowner.

She couldn't stand the fact that someone
as lowly as Muoi stole her love.

So she started spreading rumors,

saying that Muoi was a devil
who bewitched men with a pretty face.

So did she kill Muoi?

No, she did something worse.

At that house right there.

Help!

Help!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Let go!

It was right here.

I can only imagine

how painful it must've been.

Nuen thought Muoi left him and went back
to Hong.

Muoi wanted to tell him,

but she couldn't face him
with her terrible face.

So she decided to seek revenge.

On the 15th of the lunar calendar…

Muoi became a vengeful spirit
to seek revenge.

I bet you don't know how it feels
to want revenge so badly that

you'd even kill yourself.

Did I scare you?

Look around. I'll wait outside.

Is this girl Muoi?

This is all the data I have.

Thanks.

No problem.

I should go paint now.

Where does Professor Kim work?

What is it that you want?

The data must still be there,
even if the professor's gone.

Are you saying you'll steal it?

If I have to!

But there's a problem.
It's Biet, who's half-Korean.

After having so much trouble
for being bi-racial in Korea,

she came back here.

So she's rather mean to Koreans.

We'll see.

How can you say that right now?

Don't you know
the importance of this seminar?

You'll be in big trouble
if you keep working like this!

I have a friend from Korea.

Okay, fine. Whatever it is, fix it. Okay?

God, my stomach…

Is the bathroom locked?

It's the last room on the second floor.

Wait.

Take this.

Oh, my stomach…

JANUARY 12TH OF THE LUNAR CALENDAR

Thanks.

Got anything?

You know how the seal was lifted?

How?

It was near the end of World War Two.

The Japanese soldiers robbed the temple

where Muoi's portrait was kept.

Major Yoshimoto.

He entered a place he shouldn't have.

So what happened to him?

Nobody knows for sure.

But Muoi's portrait is still
in this country somewhere,

waiting for her revenge…

When the pin was removed,
the seal was lifted.

But the grudge was not resolved.

That's when Muoi's curse began.

You ask her to seek revenge for you,

and she does it like it's her own revenge.

Does it say how do you undo the curse?

I wish it did…

-But there's something's odd, though.
-What?

It says that whoever casts the curse
must pay a price.

Like what?

What would a ghost need?

A human body, of course.

There's a copy of her portrait.
Want to go check it out?

Wow, they look genuine.

The artist can copy anything he sees.

Excuse me.

Looking for anything?

Muoi's portrait.

No. I can't let you see it.

-What's he saying?
-He says he can't let us see it.

She's been cursed.

He saw it when he was young, and copied it
because the image was so intense.

While painting it, he got scared
because he could feel her spirit.

Really? But how did you persuade him
to show it to us?

I told him you've been cursed.

What?

Her spirit is very powerful.
I can feel it from the portrait.

Though it's just a replica.

He said he could sense a strong spirit
in the portrait.

It felt like her spirit was taking over
him when he looked into her eyes.

That's why he covered her eyes.

Hey, this is a hoax.

-What do you mean?
-I've seen that picture.

-When?
-At Muoi's house.

I even took a photo. Do you want to see?

This is weird.
I'm sure I took a photo of it.

At Wild Moon with my darling Ji-hun.

It's not my camera.
I borrowed it from Seong-eun.

I forgot that there was a photo
of her with Ji-hun.

I lied to you because I knew
you still had feelings for him.

That's not the problem.

There's no portrait at that house.

What?

If what you're saying is true,
you've seen her spirit.

You've been cursed,
and you'll end up dying like Muoi.

Hey! You scared me!

I invited my friends,
so let's go have some fun.

Say hi to Mai and Wan.

This is my friend Yun-hui from Korea.

Hi.

-Hi!
-Hi!

Alright, cheers.

To our friendship and youth!

-One, two, three. Cheers!
-One, two, three. Cheers!

Bottom's up!

-Come on, drink up.
-What's wrong? Drink!

Drink up!

Drink up!

How's it going with that guy
you met last time? He seemed cool.

It's okay.

That's not true.

She's crazy about him.

Good luck!

I don't know what will happen.
I hardly understand men.

Gosh, there you go again.
Come on, let's drink.

You're going to dance with a stranger?

Plus, he's a foreigner.

So?

It's obvious what guys like him want.

So what?

You're not jealous, are you?

What?

Are you upset?

Yun-hui?

You're being so reckless
just because nobody knows you here.

Come on, I just danced with him.
Don't be so harsh.

Never mind.
You just confirmed those rumors about you.

What do you mean?

I'm tired. Let's go home.

Seo-yeon?

You had a fever, and you were screaming
all night. Are you feeling better now?

Yes.

Thanks.

You shouldn't have drunk that much.

My dad got transferred abroad
after mom died.

I should've just gone with him.

Then nobody would've said that
he abandoned me because of a woman.

And Ji-hun wouldn't have toyed with me.

Right?

What did you tell them about me?

What made Ji-hun do what he did to me?

I'm sorry! Stop it!

A kleptomaniac? Crazy about men?

You lied about me in your book.

Do you have any idea how hurt I was?

You're the one who caused all this.

It's all your fault!

Hey, you're up. Breakfast is almost ready.

Sorry about last night.
I guess I was on edge because of my book.

It's okay. I had so much fun.

How's the book coming?

No, I need more information.

She killed herself to seek revenge
on the 15th of the lunar calendar.

So it's about her grudge and jealousy.

It's boring. The motive is too weak.

Any ideas?

I think it's enough, though.

Not at all.
Readers want provocative stories.

It's Vietnam. Isn't there
anything more cruel and provocative?

What's cruel? What's provocative?

Doing something that humans could never
do, or being a victim of such things--

Are you saying that what happened to her
is nothing?

Put yourself in her shoes.
How would you feel?

It's so painful to be unable to see
or approach the person you love.

Don't you know how it feels?

Shouldn't you at least try to imagine
the pain that she was in?

I'm writing about
what happened 100 years ago.

Do you think she wasn't human?
Was she born a ghost?

People like you are to blame.

People like you are the cause
of that curse!

Got that?

JANUARY 13TH OF THE LUNAR CALENDAR

I don't know.

She's dangerous! Don't find her.

You know about Muoi?

Are you talking about her?

What are you doing? Let go of me!

What's wrong with you?

Let go of my arm!

Anything else?

God, this is so pretty. Try this one on.

Let's see…

Wow, it looks great on you.

Hey, it looks better on you than me.

You should keep it.
It looks so pretty on you.

Why are you here bothering me?
What about Seo-yeon?

She's busy painting.
I think she's upset with me.

So?

What do you want from me?

You too?
Seo-yeon told you about Muoi, right?

What?

Professor Kim got obsessed with Muoi
because of her.

She wore a hat all year round.
So I thought she was sick.

I found out later
she was losing hair due to stress.

It felt a bit strange that someone
like her told him about Muoi.

But somehow, Professor Kim became obsessed
with the Muoi story, too.

Seo-yeon knew about Muoi
before Professor Kim?

It's just a legend.
It doesn't matter who knew about it first.

Anyway, she changed afterward.

She became more cheerful,
and her hair grew back.

Is that so?

If you want, I can take you
to Professor Kim's place.

What are your friends doing here?

It's so pretty, isn't it?

I'm going to throw a wine party.
Wouldn't it be nice?

Let's go enjoy the party.

Are you still seeing him?

No, not anymore.
But I met someone better in my life.

-Really?
-Yeah.

What's he like?

He's very handsome.

Handsome?

Aside from being handsome, he's cool!

Really?

We met at a gallery,
and fell for each other later that night.

What is truth?

There's only one answer,
but it's different for every person.

You said the truth about Vietnam
had been distorted.

Do you think power decides the truth?

Even if you put on makeup
and wear a dress,

you're still the same.

Is that so?

You seem different, though.

What are you trying to say?

Nothing in particular.
I heard you'd been sick.

Are you healthy now?

-It's raining.
-Let's go inside.

Did you see Seo-yeon?

She's sleeping in her room.

Did you just speak Korean?

No, you spoke Vietnamese.

What?

Looking back, Seo-yeon
was more eager than Professor Kim.

She even managed to find
a victim of the curse.

So there was actually someone
who was cursed?

No, that's nonsense.

I bet she paid that girl
to convince the professor.

Is it true that he's gone back to Korea?

To Korea?

No way. I have his passport.

What?

I'm sure he's somewhere
digging into this legend thing.

He's often out of touch
when he's out doing research.

He's taking quite a while this time.

It's funny that you're thinking of writing
a novel about this ridiculous legend.

Don't think of me as too cruel.

You have an hour.

JANUARY 14TH OF THE LUNAR CALENDAR

TAM THAI PAGODA

What symptoms did you have?

I can't sleep.

I feel a strong heat coming over me,
and I hear singing.

I hear a girl singing every night.

Her singing never stops.

One day,

I saw myself in the mirror.

But it wasn't me.

I saw her.

A girl limping toward me.

What's happening to me? Am I going to die?

Do you know about the curse of Muoi?

Don't wake her up! You'll die!

You'll all die!

Seo-yeon!

We need to talk! Seo-yeon!

LIES AND SECRETS

THE OPPOSITE OF LIES

WHORES AREN'T JUST WOMEN
WHO WORK AS PROSTITUTES

It was far from the truth.
So I didn't think it was me at first.

But as I kept reading it, I couldn't
tell if it was the truth or not.

So I thought you might have
planned everything from the beginning.

What's your truth?

Is that why you wanted revenge?

Revenge?

There are signs of Muoi in this house.

You knew that.

Yet you used the book as bait
to bring me here.

Did you want to curse me? Is that it?

If you do something wrong, you either
pay the price or seek forgiveness.

Isn't that life?

Seong-eun was right.

I shouldn't have come here.

Whatever you have in mind, it won't work.

That's what I want.

Your safe return to Korea.

What do you think? Do we look alike?

This could be our last time together.
Why don't we talk about the old days?

When we were ten,

we played with my mom's ring.

Remember that?

No.

You wanted the ring. Don't you remember?

That's not what I want to know.

Why did you lie about Professor Kim?

And about witnesses.

Why did you edit out
the interview of that old lady?

Do you think what you know is everything?

Answer my question!

What are you up to?

You liked Ji-hun too, didn't you?

Chae Seo-yeon!

Ji-hun asked me to meet him.
He said he had something to say.

I was so excited, waiting for him.

But everything changed that day.

Everything.

Hey, she's pretty cute.

Wait, I'm going first.

-No, I am!
-Hey, I…

Please, don't do this. Stop it!

Does that hurt?

-You do that every time.
-What?

What?

What are you doing?

Let's go. Those guys…

Stupid jerks! Can't you handle one girl?

Ji-hun…

What are you doing?
Finish what you started.

Come here. Come on!

Let go! Let me go!

You like it rough, don't you?
Ji-hun prepared this to match your taste.

-Don't do this!
-How dare you hit on him?

I couldn't live in Korea.

Wherever I went, whoever I met…

I felt as if they all recognized me
through the tape.

There was nothing

I could do.

I'm sorry.

I didn't know any of that.

I wrote a book based on rumors about you.

It's okay.

I've changed.

I'm really sorry.

Go to the temple.
You'll learn more about the curse.

Seo-yeon!

Yun-hui. Help me…

Seo-yeon…

Can you change anything
if you go to the temple?

That's where Muoi's portrait was.

I'm not sure, but there might be a way.

Why are you helping Seo-yeon?

I owe her. I should repay her now.

I won't bother you anymore.

Do you think all I care about is money?

It's Eun-jung. My Korean name.

HUYEN KHONG CAVE

Muoi, I know you were in so much pain.

But this isn't right.

Come to me.

Let me finish the portrait.

Muoi!

Go back to the world beyond!

Go back to the world beyond!

He says if you don't stop now,
Muoi's curse will last forever.

lf what you're saying is true,
Seo-yeon is Muoi.

If you want to break the curse,

stick this brooch into Seo-yeon's heart.

What?

Take this brooch
and stick it into her heart.

What is it? Tell me what he said!

If I tell you, then what?

It'll help me decide what to do!

-You have to stab her heart with this.
-What?

Killing her is the only way
to end the curse.

Can you do it?

What if it's true?

What if the curse is real?

What about Seo-yeon?

What about me?

There's no curse. It's a pile of bullshit!

Forget about the book
and go back to Korea.

It's for your own sake. Okay?

Eun-jung!

Eun-jung!

No!

Eun-jung!

JANUARY 15TH OF THE LUNAR CALENDAR

Professor Kim?

"Death begins the curse"?

As that old lady said…

the one who awakens Muoi
cannot evade death.

Where Yoshimoto resided…

That's where Muoi's portrait is kept.

I have to stop the curse.

But…

But…

I'm not sure if this is the way to do it.

Here's the chant to call her sprit.

You…

Stay away from me.

Stop there.

Stop!

One of us has to die.

I should die

for you to live.

I can't do it. No.

Don't you get it?
Both of us will end up dying, then.

You want to die?

You're right.

What did I do wrong?

Nothing. Why should I die here?

I'm not going to die here. Why should I?

That's right. Kill me.

Go ahead, stab me. Stab me now!

I'm sorry.

I'm really sorry, Seo-yeon.

Thank you. My death will begin the curse.

It says that whoever casts the curse
must pay a price.

DEATH BEGINS THE CURSE

What would a ghost need?
A human body, of course.

I couldn't forgive you, either.

Muoi is back.

This is Shin Yun-hui.
Please leave a message.

Yun-hui, I can't believe you.

You just shipped my camera to me
a month after you came back?

I know you're busy,
but shouldn't you at least see me?

We'll meet soon. Just be patient.

Damn, she's still so boorish.

Chae Seo-yeon on a boat.

FEBRUARY 15TH OF THE LUNAR CALENDAR

What's this?

What's wrong with this?

Did she break it?

Damn, why does she want to meet here?

DEATH BEGINS THE CURSE

-Stop fighting.
-Let go.

Stop it. What are you doing?

Let go of me!

Help!