Gansin

If your an audience member that wants to see a historically accurate film about one of the most sadistic and tyrannical King in Korean history. This film will not be for you. However this is a color, vibrant and super erotic and sexual film. Sometimes the plot just didn't seem all that focused at times and I just didn't really know what direction this film was trying to go. Is it a vengeance movie or is this suppose to be an exploitation film like "Caligula". However it's a uncomfortable movie to sit through, because the cinematography and the design of the setting and costumes is done really well. So when it comes to the really uncomfortable sexual parts it can really grab the audiences attention. It's quite obvious the director wanted to arouse and shock the audiences and that is clearly the direction it was going despite the super oppressive elements of this movie. However there is porn for that, except this sometimes seemed like a really high quality porn with really good acting. Overall if you are looking for a fantasy like movie that takes place during the Joseon dynasty. And has a lot of uncomfortable sexual and erotic elements in it, this might be for you. Also nothing against the up and coming actress Lim Ji-Yeon that is hitting the big screen, but her acting just wasn't impactful enough to carry the climax. I say this since it would be nice to see Lim Ji-Yeon making other movies that doesn't revolve around her exposing herself to sell tickets. I give this movie a 6 because I didn't feel bored all the way through, and because of the good costume design, setting, acting and cinematography.

6/10

I watched this movie not expecting much, considering it's probably not the best budget movie out there, but was really impressed with how the story caught me. It contains a good dose of intelligent political intrigue and and the beginning and the end are well chosen.

When the seemingly mad king orders a search for the "perfect beauty", it's subjects search around all the land for beautiful women and drag them to the palace offering them a royal life or, if they're not choose in the end, slavery.

It's a good depiction of the madness of an absolute power and as the story goes forward, the women contest become itself a political contest, for the ministries and other subjects in the palace know that the chosen girl will have a tremendous power over the crazy king. Eventually, different sides do whatever it takes to classify their favored candidates, and the king's madness has its peak when he finds about possible traitors inside the contest, adding to his paranoia.

After all, I found it to be very intelligent overall. The king's madness is shown progressing in the course of the movie, the scenario was beautifully recreated and the scenes (although they might be uncomfortable if you're not watching alone) are pretty good. All in all, it's a remarkable movie.

I was expecting to look bad due to the budget, but the acting, special effects and quality was amazing, the gore/violence scenes were the best I've seen, the sexual stuff was very questionable and often times really hard to digest (subjective to everyone), but sometimes its pretty comical, pretty good movie overall.

I didn't know anything about this being a true story, as some reviewers have said here, before watching this. As a narrative story I found this a little all over the place. I was never sure who was who and whose side they were all on, although I think that may be lost in translation and more of a 'me' thing.

The acting of the king was simply ridiculous, crazed one minute and crying the next.

The sets, the cinematography and the costumes are wonderful and although the story may be difficult at times, the film is always a delight to look at.

References to this being the Korean Caligula on the right track. This is not a film for the feint of heart.

A slow and overlong historical drama from South Korea, telling the story of one of that country's most sadistic kings and his mad reign. It's a little similar to CALIGULA in that respect and the king's two corrupt advisors serve to only increase the drama in the film. However, like Tinto Brass's film version of the Caligula story, this film focuses on the sexuality of the situation to its detriment. It could have been really interesting had it focused on the political intrigue in an engaging way, but instead it merely wallows in explicit sexuality and the degradation of women, which isn't something that I particularly wanted to see.