"Sharing this year's Best Director prize at Cannes, veteran Korean filmmaker Im Kwon-Taek has crafted a stirring, poetic portrait of the creative process as personified by Ohwon, an eminent late-nineteenth century Korean painter. A colourful individual with a healthy appetite for living, Ohwon, at least in temperament, was something of the Pollock of his time. Born in 1843, toward the end of the Chosun Dynasty, Ohwon would later earn the nickname of 'Drunken Painting Immortal', given his taste for wine and women - both of which he maintained were indispensable as far as producing great works of art were concerned." - Hollywood Reporter

"Grounded by a vigorous, physical performance from Choi Min-Sik, who brings both earthiness and grandeur to the central role, the film vividly evokes the world of an obsessive natural talent who lived and worked in a sometimes violent and repressive era. There's a complete fascination in watching as the artist attacks his canvases... Director-co-writer Im Kwon-Taek uses rich colours and vibrant sound to recreate the world of a man who was a law unto himself." - Variety

Im Kwon-Taek (born in Changsong, Cheollanam-do, Korea, 1936) grew up in the southern city of Kwangiu and later moved to Pusan in search of work. After completing his first film in 1962, Farewell to the Duman River, he has made close to a hundred films.