Le roi et le clown

anyone anywhere that gets the opportunity to see this movie on the big screen must absolutely do so!! as a Korean i'm quite critical about films from my home country. i personally think this is another movie my country's created that will live up to international standards and expectations. it has made me prouder to be a Korean. i won't say anything about the storyline except that it was a new perspective in looking at the Korean history of that era, and has brought a new dimension to productions based on Korean history. the acting, sound, costume and of course story all fit together like a beautiful jigsaw puzzle made complete. i'm just worried the incredible script won't be translated properly across to the world.

people everywhere, please watch this movie if you get the chance to. you won't regret it. i've already seen it four times on the big screen. now i'm just waiting for the DVD to come out (i hear they're going to release the full 4 hour version)

I knew this movie was extremely popular in South Korea, but I never had a chance to watch it until today. And I am very glad to report that it exceeded my already high expectations.

Not so many excellent movies draw my full attention from the beginning; they tend to pull me in toward the climax. With this movie, I found myself completely immersed after the first few minutes. Although the theme of love, jealousy, and politics are commonplace (except the subtle homosexuality which I don't believe plays too much role in this movie), director Jun-Ik Lee magnificently put together the beautiful Joseon dynasty Korea, euphonious dialogs, and some great acting. I particularly liked that of the King (Jin-yeong Jeong) and Jang-sang (Woo-seong Kam).

It made sense why the movie was so popular and why many people have seen it more than once. It is a multifaceted masterpiece which can appeal to multifarious crowds: it is a love story, a political drama, a comedy, a tragedy, a musical, a historical gallery, and maybe more.

I believe the dialogs are straightforward enough to be translated well into English, but non-Korean audiences may lose some great rhymes and subtlety - especially those of the clowns as their dialogs are downright colloquial and hilarious. Granted, I still believe everyone will find the film enjoyable from at least one perspective.

King and the Clown was South Korea's best selling film of 2005, having sold more than 12 million tickets over a span of 7 weeks. But after watching it, it's difficult to fathom the craze, nor about the New York Times hype that it "may be the equivalent of 'Brokeback Mountain'". Not that it is a bad movie, it is actually entertaining and tells an intriguing story in the courts of the Korean emperor.

Perhaps anything to do with the gay theme will suffer inevitably comparisons to Lee Ang's acclaimed Brokeback Mountain. But somehow, the way this film developed, I saw it in a different light - a story between two male best friends, even though one of them might look and behave more effeminately than even some girls do. Instead of jumping to the straight conclusion that both the protagonists are gay, why can't it be a platonic relationship, and that the more effeminate one had chosen what he had to do, i.e. sell backside, because being poor minstrels, they cannot afford to put food on the table? Literally capitalizing on his looks, to bring back the dough. Sure his friend might not like the idea, and it could be interpreted as either being jealous (as a lover), or disapproving (as a friend). Then again, because of culture, this movie might have decided to be more subtle about the theme. Ambiguous to say the least, but it makes for interesting debate if you watch this with a friend.

Two friends, Jang-seng (Kam Woo-sung) and Gong-gil (Lee Joon-ki), are impoverished street performers who dream of having their entertaining performances reap rewards they should be getting. They come up with a wildly popular and bawdy performance poking fun at the emperor and his consort, and it's not long before they get arrested, only to have Jang-seng proposition a dare, that if the King doesn't laugh at their skit, they can be put to death.

As fate would have it, their jittery performance brought on a favourable response from the tyrannical King (Jung Jin-young). Having now become official court jesters, their subsequent plays, whose content they obtain from coffee-shop talk of those days, about the royal family and other court scandals, serve as suggestive fuel for the King to break free from his constrictive shackles, and take some serious action according to his whims. But dictator attitudes aside, he casts a lustful eye at Gong-gil, and turns almost childlike when in his presence, in private. The most powerful man in the kingdom, reduced to a vulnerable kid in the presence of a lowly minstrel. What ensues is an interesting look at the relationship dynamics amongst the three men, and with the people around them.

Set during the Chosun Dynasty, King and the Clown has some of the most gorgeous sets bringing to life an era long gone, and beautiful costumes that drown the movie in a myriad of colours. The songs are also fairly pleasing to the ears, and the skits, I believe, are likely to be many times more enjoyable if you understand Korean, instead of having to rely on subtitles.

The movie also makes discreet jibes at those in power, and their ability, or inability, to accept satires about themselves. It is always easy for men in power to dismiss harshly the satires and their creators, but it takes a lot more to be able to look past the comic and understand the issues made fun of. There are brief scenes at courtroom politicking and on corruption, but these scenes are too short to leave any lasting impression or distract the audience.

The cast is a delight to watch as they carry their roles with aplomb. The chemistry between the 3 main leads was almost perfect, especially Jung Jin-young as the temperamental King - childish at times, serious at others, and the androgynous looking Lee Joon-ki truly owned the role of Gong-gil, that even as a guy, I thought he was beautiful to look at (*ahem*).

All in all, King and the Clown is a story of friendship, how good friends fend for each other, how, despite shortcomings and misunderstandings, the best medicine is always laughter, and it's the strength of the bonds between men that can ultimately stand up against fear and overcome any adversary. If only the opening didn't spoil the entire movie.

It is difficult to compartmentalize "The King and the Clown". It is part drama, part comedy, part forbidden love story and part artistic freedom struggle all combined into a wonderful period movie. One of the best things I liked about this movie is that all the characters are shades of gray. Whether it is the King or the clown, you find yourself agreeing with them at one point and rooting against them at the next.

It starts at a very light note and becomes dramatic towards the end. But it never becomes preachy or soapy. There are no explicit messages here. This film has a homosexual angle so I was surprised to read that it was a big hit in Korea. I guess a good movie can triumph against all odds. A must-see for all cinephiles.

King Young San was perhaps the most infamous tyrant in Korean history (or perhaps the most well known). He showed sociopath tendencies even as a child(hurting animals and such)but what drove him over the age and started his tyrannical reign was his discovery of the circumstances under his mother died.

His mother Yoon, was the King's favorite concubine. She was falsely accused of plotting to kill her rivals and ordered to drink poison by the king. The circumstances of her death were kept a secret until King Young San found out by accident. Upon his discovery, he was seized with sorrow and rage, and put to death or exiled anyone who was responsible of his mother's death. Even those those who didn't strongly oppose her execution were put to death.

Although he is portrayed as a terrible dictator, his love for his mother and the terrible pain her death caused adds an extra dimension to his tyrannical reign.

It is interesting to note (according to the movie) his bringing the clowns into the palace and having them perform those skits was what drove his ministers into a rebellion.