바람의 화원 Painter of the Wind

Cast:
Moon Geun Young as Shin Yoon Bok
Park Shin Yang as Kim Hong Do
Park Jin Woo as Jang Hyo Won
Moon Chae Won as Jeong Hyang

Genre:
Period, Romance, Art

Plot:
Ten years ago, Seo Jing and his teacher are mysteriously murdered while assigned to painting the King’s portrait. Although Seo Jing and has wife died, their daughter Shin Yoon Bok still lives with the memory of her parents’ murder. She is adopted into a family of artists and continues the legacy of her father with her artistic talent that may even surpass that of her father. While becoming more and more skilled in her art, she also searches for the murderers of her parents. While struggling to overcome her difficulties and feelings, she falls in love with the beautiful courtesan Jeong Hyang. By chance, Shin Yoon Bok also meets one of the nation’s finest painters Kim Hong Do. Hong Do is amazed at Yoon Bok’s natural talent and quick mind that he takes her on as his disciple.

Will the people around her ever find out Yoon Bok’s identity as a girl? Will she ever find her parents’ killers? What will happen when she falls in love with a courtesan?

Review:
I have not seen such a great period drama in a long time and when I started watching I had really high expectations. In the past I have seen many of Moon Geun Young’s movies and her acting ability is amazing and cute that I felt this would turn out to be a great drama. I have to say I was impressed. Although sometimes the court politics got a little boring, I was enraptured by the story, especially by the connection between Yoon Bok and Jeong Hyang. Their relationship is both heartfelt and beautiful that it didn’t really seem weird or awkward, even with both of them being females.

Moon Geun Young’s acting of course was top notch. Acting as a male, she was surprisingly good in her own way. I think a good comparison would be that she did just as well as Yoon Eun Hye from Coffee Prince. She really got into her role and she did not overact at all. Trying to maintain that hoarse voice must have been hard on her. I have to say that I am not a fan of Park Shin Yang at all. I’ve sat through Lover’s in Paris and some of Money’s Warfare to know that I don’t really like to watch him act. He didn’t seem to pair well with Moon Geun Young but I still finished the drama because of her. I went into the drama with little expectation for him and I did not like his acting at all as Kim Hong Do. The scenes of him and Shin Bok sharing touching moments always gave me the creeps. The best parts were probably seeing Moon Geun Young with Jeong Hyang and when she dressed as a woman.

Unlinke many of the period dramas these days like Hong Gil Dong and Chilwoo, I really felt that Painter of the Wind really got the feeling of a period drama right. It didn’t give me the awkward feeling of say Hong Gil Dong’s costumes and sets. It brought me back to the days when I watched Damo and Hwang Jini with Ha Ji Won. The music and songs were awesome and everytime I heard the theme song I would feel the emotion of the scene much better. The filming locations were beautiful and legitimate. I wouldn’t have minded for the writer to create a longer ending but I felt that the drama finished pretty well.

If you are fan of Moon Geun Young or period dramas you should really finish this drama. I would say that the beginning of this drama does much better for me than the last few episodes but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Rating:
4.8/5.0

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