Musa (2001)

Synopsis: In 14th century China, during the Ming rule, a group of Korean envoys is accused of espionage and sent to exile. During the crossing of a desert they encounter a troop of Mongols (aka the Yuan people) who fight the envoys' Ming captors; the Mongols win and release the Koreans. Later, while trying to return to Korea, they encounter another party of Mongols that are holding a Ming princess hostage; they fight them and release her. They then decide to bring her back to her palace, but have to face the Mongols yet again in a terrible battle.
Appraisal: Badly written epic film, that has nevertheless some fine battle sequences. The screenplay has lots of poorly conceived situations and dialogue; one of them stood out as asinine: after a raid in a village, the Chinese commander that led the raid orders his soldiers to "kill all [the villagers], because they have seen us". And they will, what, testify in court? Shifting to good things, the film is mildly entertaining: it is visually nice most of the time and has a good amount of action. And there is one scene that is very beautiful: the princess standing unperturbed amidst the raging battle all around her. It lasts only a few seconds, but is quite memorable.
Rating: 38